Roots Music Roundup: Brian Vollmer – Hannah Glavor and the Family Band – Levi Fuller and the Library

Brian Vollmer – Old Time Music Party
2013. Patuxent Records.

The title says it all here, really. Young East Coast fiddler/banjo player Brian Vollmer just picks the hell out of a bunch of great Southern old-time tunes. Honestly, was there really a point where we worried that this music wouldn’t get passed on? Seems like my generation and younger have fallen hard for old-time music, and I think most of that comes from a desire for community and connection that goes far beyond the digital flickers of Facebook and Twitter. I know that’s what got me into old-time; I just wanted to be part of these great all-night jams! A native of Washington DC/Baltimore, Vollmer’s spent 10 years living in and around Asheville, North Carolina, picking up tunes from friends in the area before moving to Ithaca, where he’s currently roommates with Rosie Newton (her album’s covered just above!). I imagine the two of them probably shared “Lost Goose”, a Clyde Davenport tune that appears on both albums. Vollmer actually learned it at Davenport’s house, but Davenport got the tune from Dick Burnett of the truly amazing 78rpm-era duo Burnett and Rutherford. Damn it’s a great tune. Kudos to Vollmer and Newton for their excellent taste! Other tune highlights on the album include French Carpenter’s creepy-ass version of “Elzik’s Farewell,” a bombastic cover of the Roan Mountain Hilltopper’s “Birchfield’s Sally Ann,” and the intriguing tune “The Green Door,” which I’d never heard before. On the one-sheet for the album, they talk about how “this album is a tribute to anyone who has ever caroused until the break of dawn.” Amen, brother. Amen.

Brian Vollmer: Lost Goose

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Hannah Glavor and the Family Band – Halcyon EP
2013. self-released.

I recently saw Hannah Glavor and the Family Band (spoiler alert: actual family band!) perform live at the beautiful Fremont Abbey in Seattle, opening up for Alela Diane, and her music completely impressed me. Her songs are beautiful and atmospheric, but what impressed me was that each note was so carefully considered. She has a powerful songcraft, in the most literal sense of the word. Each song sounds exactly hand-crafted, built in her Portland home, and tested extensively among her family before being brought forth to the crowd. There aren’t too many artists these days who can do this, and I think it’s really a blend of a natural performer and a master craftsman. Halcyon is Hannah’s recent EP, released early this year, and it’s just about perfect for a rainy Northwest night like the one I’m writing this in.

Hannah Glavor: Kingfisher

LISTEN to the whole EP on Bandcamp!

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Levi Fuller & The Library – Social Music EP
2013. self-released.

Levi Fuller is a well known fella around Seattle’s indie scene. A blogger for KEXP (where he chronicles the strange DJ comments pasted to old LPs), and a community organizer (his Ball of Wax compilations have involved hundreds of musicians and are far-reaching documents of many different NW sounds), Fuller is tied into many musical scenes in Seattle and beyond. His newest release with his band, The Library, is a short but sweet look at the music of Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music (plus a song from his buddies The Foghorns). Levi Fuller should know the music of Harry Smith’s Anthology (I’ve written about this before HERE). After all, every year he and Greg Vandy (and me too, actually) organize a tribute to the anthology, drawing from an eclectic array of NW artists. What’s surprising here is how sensitive he is to the music. He covers the songs here– “John The Revelator,” “Dry Bones,” “Since I Laid My Burden Down”– in such a way that he manages to tap into the wild heart of each one. His band is electric, and the music drives like a hammer, but this isn’t some indie hipster covering old folk music. Levi gets what made these songs special in the first place, and the joy here is hearing his understanding come forth through a different musical palette. Another surprise? His great cover of local band The Foghorns’ (no relation to Foghorn Stringband) song “80 Proof,” a bleak song about alcoholism that’s near perfectly written.

Levi Fuller & the Library: 80 Proof