Black Twig Pickers

Black Twig Pickers

Friend's Peace

Vhf

Following a series of records with Thrill Jockey (including the sensational Seasonal Hire with Steve Gunn), the Black Twig Pickers return to the VHF mothership to continue their charming and original take on old time and Appalachian-inspired string band sounds. Together since 2001, and a continuous presence in the music’s true home of Southwest Virginia, the Twigs represent the actively working evolution of the traditions—learning songs from other locals, playing dances at the Floyd Country Store, etc—without retro-artifice or nostalgia. The ragged-but-right performances and recording (and Sally Ann Morgan’s perfect cover design) sit at the ideal intersection of DIY / “underground” and local string-sound values. On Friend’s Peace, the band travels a range of styles, from the lovely harmony on the trad-classic “Moonshiner” to the racing fiddle / guitar / banjo on the “Money Musk” medley. Mixed in with the traditional songs are several perfectly-placed original tunes, including Mike Gangloff’s keening “Cara’s Waltz” and Isak Howell’s solo guitar spotlight on “Barnswallow.”

Black Twig Pickers

Hobo Handshake

Vhf

Hobo Handshake, the fourth full-length from the Black Twig Pickers, finds a slightly reshuffled lineup and a renewed emphasis on kicking out raw, percussive takes on both traditional Appalachian and original material. With Ralph Berrier Jr.'s retirement from the group, Mike Gangloff has added fiddle to his already considerable arsenal, and along with stalwart guitarist Isak Howell, brought in Nathan Bowles (Pelt, Spiral Joy Band) on percussion and several guests who make substantial contributions to the party.   The Twigs work the fine line between the Friday night old-time dance party and the wellspring of grim and evocative tragedy that runs through the tradition, delivering these laments, travelogues, and wild whoops with sawing, rocking joy. This is a sprawling collection, with visceral group takes on "Crossing the James," "Cherry River Line," and "Old Joe Clark." Charlie Parr and Lane Prekker join the crew on "Last Kind Word Blues," "Train 45" and "Twin Sisters" (first essayed by Pelt way back in '98) with Parr's amazing, ragged voice leading the charge over Bowles and Prekker's driving percussion. Along with the full group material, the Twigs throw in other welcome oddities such as Howell's Fahey-like "At the Head of Every Creek," "P.E.A. Vine Blues," an arrangement of a tune from Portuguese Africa, and a book-ending solo version of "Crossing the James," with Gangloff on baritone banjo.

Black Twig Pickers

Soon One Morning

Vhf

***The second CD by this SW Virginia area trio is firmly planted in Old-Time Appalachian tradition, but concentrates mostly on original material. Standing out in particular is "Floyd Allen," Ralph Berrier Jr.'s masterful retelling of an area tragedy with a sweet and unexpected major/minor chorus change-up. Mike Gangloff's lengthy and elegiac instrumental "This War Is Killing Me" glides along on a sad melody passed around between resonator guitar, cello and fiddle. Many tracks are anchored by Gangloff's unusual gut-string baritone banjo. Two solo instrumentals on the CD add balance between the vocal numbers - Isak Howell's "Have You Been To Alabama?" is a subtle fingerpicked workout, while Gangloff's "Ironto Special" is a considerably more exotic-sounding modal construction on the big banjo. Elsewhere, there's an upbeat essay of "Pallet On The Floor," a relation to "Poor Boy Long Ways From Home," which appeared on the group's debut North Fork Flyer CD. Among the traditional numbers, none is more striking than the group's charging and rough treatment of "Oh Death," with Gangloff and Berrier spitting out the call-and-response vocal which gives the album its title.  Personnel:  Isak Howell: Guitar, Vocal Ralph Berrier Jr: Fiddle, Vocal Mike Gangloff: Banjo, Resonator, Vocal  * Fiddle, cello, banjo, finger-picked guitar - VHF stays on the porch with the big dogs  * If we told you this group features one of the guys from Pelt, you'd be impressed, wouldn't you?

Black Twig Pickers

North Fork Flyer

Vhf

***North Fork Flyer represents the continued persistence of a type of Appalachian folk music that has come and gone from the popular radar over the years, but has never completely disappeared from the Black Twig Pickers' Southwest Virginia home. The songs on North Fork Flyer are mostly traditional numbers (with a few originals sprinkled in) that form the backbone of a century-old tradition - the music of bonfires, front porches, coal miner's festivals, and informal gatherings. These "mountain ragas," as the group calls them, have been recorded, performed, and revised continually by a who's who of true American artistry - luminaries such as Bukka White, Mississippi John Hurt, John Fahey, Bob Wills, Holy Modal Rounders, New Lost City Ramblers, etc., etc.  Recorded live to DAT on front porches and in family rooms, North Fork Flyer blends the fiddle blues of Ralph Berrier Jr., Isak Howell's sinewy guitar and the drone and twitch of Pelt's Mike Gangloff's fretless clawhammer banjo with the trio's rough-around-the-edges but warm vocal harmonies. Played to the accompaniment of night insects, passing trains, and the noise of wandering children, the music retains the charm of tradition but is free of fake antiquarianism and nostalgia. Regardless of age, the music is just as relevant today as it was 100 years ago and the band plays it like they mean it.  The name of the band comes from the oldest, most crotchety apple variety in the orchard that fiddler Ralph Berrier's family maintains along the musically fertile...