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the aluminum wonder

by Joseph Decosimo

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alabama gals 02:40
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mushrat 03:21
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about

RARE BANJO TUNES AND SONGS
At some point in high school, I scrawled the words "the aluminum wonder" across the head of the cheap banjo that I got in 7th grade. It's a funky, unruly, and completely delightful instrument. Like that poor banjo, this album of rare old-time banjo tunes, songs, and styles is funky, unruly, and (hopefully) delightful. When I pick up the banjo, I'm interested in meandering. Sometimes the meandering leads to special places. Sometimes it doesn't. This album captures some of the more pleasurable jaunts. A lot of these tunes come from the Cumberland Plateau—the mountain range in Tennessee where I grew up and cut my musical teeth.
more info/lessons/booking: www.josephdecosimo.com

Over the last year, I started recording this batch of music. I recorded a handful of these holed up in the attic on lonely, balmy North Carolina Christmas Eve. These are some of the pieces that I keep returning to when I sit down with the banjo It's mostly old tunes and songs from TN, KY, GA, and NC. They're played in a range of Old-time styles that I've picked up from listening to old stuff and messing around. Some of these tunes haven't seen the light of day in years—some are tucked away, sitting silently in archives. There's more info on that front in the liner notes.

They may be fun to listen to. They may be fun to learn.
The repertoire draws from Virgil Anderson, Clyde Davenport, Florrie Steward, Dee Hicks, Charlie Acuff, Clyde Troxell, Chesley Chancey, Dink Roberts, Jimmy McCarroll, Marcus Martin, and Roscoe Parrish.

Purchases include a pdf of sloppily handwritten liner notes that have lots of information and some "character." They are probably hard to decipher, but there's a lot of information there for those willing to persevere. Feel free to holler at me if there's some bit that you can't untangle. I like to blame a stint in Montessori preschool for my bad hand.

Let's be honest: If you've read this far, you're probably a banjo weirdo. I teach folks a lot of this stuff. No pressure, but feel free to holler if you hear something that catches your ear and want a lesson or would like to explore some of this stuff. Ok, bye for now.

credits

released May 7, 2021

recorded, mixed, and made by Joseph Decosimo

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all rights reserved

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about

Joseph Decosimo Durham, North Carolina

plays rare fiddle/banjo tunes and sings old songs, especially fiddle/banjo music from the Appalachian South. Joseph has made a deep study of the the music of the Cumberland Plateau/East TN/Western NC regions and has performed and taught it around the world with the Bucking Mules. Beyond trad music, his fiddle/banjo can be heard on projects by Hiss Golden Messenger and others. ... more

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