Tompkins Square   Page 2

Raymond, Gwenifer

You Were Never Much Of A Dancer

Tompkins Square

Tompkins Square is very proud to release the new album by Welsh multi-instrumentalist, Gwenifer Raymond. Hailing from Cardiff and now residing in Brighton in the South of England, Raymond began playing guitar at the age of eight. Tompkins Square released her debut 7" on Record Store Day. Early praise via The Wire, MOJO, and more.  In her own words : When I was about eight years old a pretty formative thing happened to me ... my mum bought me a tape of Nirvana’s Nevermind. and what I heard blew my little 8 year old mind. I don't know what it was about that wall of sound that so captured me, but I spent many hours running around the house with headphones on, volume at full blast, and Nevermind on repeat. I spent all my teenage years playing either guitar or drums in various punk and rock outfits around the Welsh valleys, but around that time I was also getting seriously into older stuff, Dylan, The Velvet Underground and the like. I found that a common influence amongst these guys was pre-war delta and country blues, as well as Appalachian music. Eventually I discovered Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James and Roscoe Holcomb, and they became the holy trinity of musicians I so wanted to able to play like. Eventually, I tracked down a blues man in Cardiff who could teach me and it was in studying these guys that I was introduced to John Fahey and the whole American Primitive...

Baker, Duck

Les Blues Du Richmond: Demos & Outtakes 1973-1979

Tompkins Square

***DUCK BAKER is one of the most highly regarded fingerstyle guitarists of his generation. His repertoire ranges from traditional Irish music through old-time mountain music and bluegrass to blues, gospel, and ragtime to swing and modern jazz, to free improvisation, and while he is best known in the guitar world, he has made a reputation in several other camps, including the Celtic music world and the avant-garde scene. He explains this eclecticism by pointing out that folk musicians have always been more eclectic than folklorists want to admit, and noting that his approach to American music is similar to that of a classical musician to that tradition. Baker is also a prodigious composer, having written well over 200 pieces, mostly for guitar, and an even more prodigious arranger for the instrument. His recording career spans five decades and includes some 29 records under his own name, another 8 in duo or trio settings, and a further 32 appearances on anthologies or as a sideman. He has also authored 12 music books and a similar number of instructional videos. All tracks are previously unreleased. Edition of 1,000 copies worldwide. (RECORD STORE DAY RELEASE - STREET DATE - 4/21/2018)

Raymond, Gwenifer

S/t

Tompkins Square

***A teaser 7-inch to the upcoming debut album from Welsh multi-instrumentalist GWENIFER RAYMOND, who's been playing guitar since the age of eight. Includes the album track "Bleeding Finger Blues," backed with the non-LP B-side "Deep See Diver." Already buzzing via Uncut, Mojo and the like. Edition of 600 copies worldwide. (RECORD STORE DAY RELEASE - STREET DATE - 4/21/2018)

Entourage

Ceremony Of Dreams: Studio Sessions And Outtakes 1972-1977

Tompkins Square

***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Received a 7.6 rating from Pitchfork.  Sampled by Four Tet, their name whispered in reverence through the decades, ENTOURAGE forged bold musical ideas on their two rare '70s Folkways LPs. Now, collected for the first time, on three CDs are 30 previously unreleased tracks from their archives. LP version features a selection of the CD tracks. Notes by J.D. CONSIDINE, and by sole surviving Entourage member, guitarist WALL MATTHEWS.

Power, Brigid Mae

The Two Worlds

Tompkins Square

***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Received a 7.4 rating from Pitchfork.  Ireland's BRIGID MAE POWER returns with a new album. The sadly topical first single, "Don't Shut Me Up (Politely)," seems to express what's on the minds of many women right now. Tompkins Square's Josh Rosenthal noted on social media, "I don't usually have the opportunity to say something political about the music I put out, but in the case of Brigid Mae Power's new single, 'Don't Shut Me Up (Politely),' I think this song may resonate with any woman who's been gaslit, mansplained to, paid less, bullied, sexually harassed by a C-List celebrity or famous movie producer, had her birth control systematically taken away, or told she had to go to another country or across state lines to get an abortion." The Two Worlds.   Power's self-titled debut, released on Tompkins Square in 2016, received wide praise from Uncut (9/10, "Masterpiece"), MOJO (4 stars), The Guardian (4 stars), Irish Times (4 stars) and was featured on NPR World Cafe, as well as several BBC programs. The Two Worlds' was produced by PETER BRODERICK and recorded at Analogue Catalogue in County Down, Ireland.

Conklin, Larry & Jochen Blum

Jackdaw

Tompkins Square

***BACK IN STOCK!!!  The fourth LP in Tompkins Square's series of private press solo guitar reissues, all by artists featured on the compilation Imaginational Anthem Vol 8 : The Private Press. LARRY CONKLIN bought his first guitar, a Gibson J-45, in 1970, after he got out of the army. “I taught myself to play. I wrote songs and instrumentals (at that time Bert Jansch was my guiding light). I listened to a lot of people—Leo Kottke, John Renbourn, Django Reinhardt, Lonnie Johnson, Robert Johnson—and especially Rev. Gary Davis, who played only with his thumb and index finger as I did.” Larry’s first record, Jackdaw was self-released in 1980 and includes beautiful solo 12 string acoustic guitar tracks, as well as gentle acoustic duets with violinist, JOCHEN BLUM. Larry met Jochen in Florence, Italy, in 1980 and commented that “his violin playing put excitement into my music. It was special. I pressed 300 copies and sent them out into the world.”  Larry wrote '”The Diamond Cutter” in 1978 while going to Seattle Community College, in a creative writing course. The inspiration for the song, according to Larry “was a girl who wrote a poem to a departing lover - You only deal with cut glass. I deal with diamonds. I introduced myself to her as the Diamond Cutter.” In 1985 while living in Berlin, Larry got a letter from a woman in Seattle who informed him that Charles Royer was running for a third term as Mayor of...

Deitrick, Rick

Gentle Wilderness

Tompkins Square

***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Tompkins Square is proud to release two solo acoustic guitar albums by RICK DEITRICK. Gentle Wilderness was released as a private press LP in 1978. River Sun River Moon consists of previously unreleased recordings from the same time period. Rick pressed 500 copies of his tranquil solo guitar record, Gentle Wilderness, in 1978 on Niodrara Records, and sold many at performances and directly to music shops who would pay for them.  He gave copies to various libraries and left a few albums in the middle of the wilderness, next to trails, “so people would find them.” Rick sought inspiration in nature and in particular the various rivers scattered around the Western United States, often composing songs seated beside them—and even occasionally perched on boulders in them. He never played the songs the same way twice and did two passes on each composition in studio. Rick would sometimes literally come straight out of the mountains and rush to the studio to record the ideas he’d gathered. Rick currently resides in Los Angeles, “still strumming, waiting for the other shoe to drop.”  (STREET DATE - 8/25/2017) 

Beeley, Will

Gallivantin'

Tompkins Square

***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Tompkins Square reissues two albums by Texas singer/songwriter WILL BEELEY—the self-released mega-rare (only 200 copies) private press LP Gallivantin' from 1971, and Passing Dream, originally released by Malaco Records in 1979. Recorded in San Antonio, Gallivantin' shows Beeley's heartfelt, folky side—a wistful set of original tunes, plus a cover of Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and a spaced-out, 10 minute-plus Eastern-influenced psych take on Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Little Wheel Spin & Spin / Co'Dine." Now a truck driver living in New Mexico, Will Beeley recently recorded his first new album since 1979's Passing Dream. Produced by Jerry David DeCicca of The Black Swans (who also produced Larry Jon Wilson's final album), the new one features Michael Guerra (The Mavericks), and is mixed by Stuart Sikes (Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose, Cat Power's The Greatest). The album is slated for release on Tompkins Square sometime in 2018.

Taussig, Harry & Max Ochs

The Music Of Harry Taussig & Max Ochs

Tompkins Square

***Fifty years ago, HARRY TAUSSIG and MAX OCHS were featured on a sampler LP, Contemporary Guitar - Spring '67, alongside John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Bukka White. Both guitarists were "re-discovered" by Tompkins Square in 2005, and have since released new recordings for the label. On May 26th, Tompkins Square will release The Music of Harry Taussig & Max Ochs featuring newly recorded material, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Takoma sampler they first appeared on. The pair will also meet for the first time and play select shows on the West Coast. The May 28th concert in Berkeley will also feature Tompkins Square recording artist Richard Osborn, a student of the late Robbie Basho.

Armstrong, Tom

The Sky Is An Empty Eye

Tompkins Square

***Tompkins Square's recent double-LP, Imaginational Anthem vol 8: The Private Press shed light on forgotten, impossibly rare guitar recordings spanning several decades. TOM ARMSTRONG's The Sky Is An Empty Eye is the first of several reissues planned by Tompkins Square of full albums by artists featured on IA8. Armstrong's self-released LP from 1987 sports blissed out acoustic numbers like the one featured on IA8, along with some electric workouts and even a deep pysch vocal tune. Tom's main mode of distribution for the album was handing the LP to drunken patrons at a bar in Pinos Altos, NM. Now Tompkins Square makes it a bit easier to acquire.

Lewin, Philip

Am I Really Here All Alone?

Tompkins Square

***A reissue of this 1975 private press LP originally released in an edition of 300 signed and numbered copies. Remastered from the original tapes. "Phil Lewin's homespun debut is a loner folk masterpiece; accidentally psychedelic, lit by heartbreak and timeless in its sadness and hope."—Jeff Conklin, WFMU.

Osborn, Richard

Endless

Tompkins Square

***First-generation American Primitive guitarist RICHARD OSBORN studied with Robbie Basho in the late '60s. 40 years later, Osborn finally recorded, appearing on Tompkins Square's Beyond Berkeley Guitar comp in 2010. Endless is his first widely available solo guitar album.   "He's a student of mine and he's better technically than me or Fahey."—Robbie Basho  "[Osborn has] an unhurried, quiet spirit of adventure, a love of ringing strings and slowly revelatory meditations on the natural world."—Acoustic Guitar

Mandell, Harvey

Snake Pit

Tompkins Square

***Harvey Mandel is among the most innovative guitarists to emerge from the Chicago blues scene of the late 1960s. His career began at Twist City and other local hotspots, sharing stages with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Buddy Guy. He came up in that scene alongside Charlie Musselwhite, Mike Bloomfield, Barry Goldberg and Steve Miller, leading to an invitation from Bill Graham to open for Cream at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium in August 1967.  Mandel was a member of Canned Heat, appearing with them at Woodstock. He played on numerous John Mayall albums, and on the Rolling Stones' 1975 LP Black and Blue ("Hot Stuff", "Memory Motel"), having auditioned for Mick Taylor's job, which ultimately went to Ron Wood.  Known for his "tapping" technique and sinewy, sustain-driven phrasing (thus his nickname, "The Snake"), Mandel's solo albums such as Cristo Redentor, Baby Batter and Righteous have been sampled and drooled over by guitar geeks, DJ's, and fans of funky, soulful, otherworldly composition.  Harvey's fifteenth studio LP and his first widely distributed album in 20 years, Snake Pit was recorded in two days at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. Harvey teamed with fellow Chicago-based musicians Ben Boye (keys), Ryan Jewell (drums), Brian Sulpizio (guitar), and Anton Hatwich (bass), who have all played with singer/songwriter Ryley Walker, among their many other musical pursuits. Harvey and the band had not met previously, nor had they rehearsed. He played snippets of song ideas for the band on his iPhone, and then they...

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Imaginational Anthem Viii - The Private Press

Tompkins Square

***Tompkins Square label presents the 8th volume of Imaginational Anthem, the acclaimed series focusing on acoustic guitar, particularly in the American Primitive vein. Volume 8, compiled by hardcore record collectors MICHAEL KLAUSMAN (former used LP buyer for NYC's recently shuttered Other Music) and BROOKS RICE, features some of the best and most obscure private press guitar records virtually no one has heard. In fact, so-called guitar soli expert, Tompkins Square owner JOSH ROSENTHAL, had never heard of a single artist on the comp (except for PERRY LEDERMAN, whose track was Josh's sole contribution to the collection). Amidst the obscure entries are bits of rock-star lore; JOE BETHANCOURT was supposedly given a sitar by an admiring Jimi Hendrix, and Perry Lederman was reportedly responsible for teaching Bob Dylan how to fingerpick. But the true joy of this collection is derived from discovering incredible acoustic guitar performances completely lost to time. Until now.

Power, Brigid Mae

Brigid Mae Power

Tompkins Square

***Irish singer-songwriter BRIGID MAE POWER's stunningly beautiful new solo full-length is an album drenched in reverb-soaked emotion and lament. Enchantingly performed and produced, the record showcases a songwriter of immense talent in a soundscape that naturally merges itself to Brigid Power's engulfing sound. The magic lies in the songwriter's expression of raw emotion, in all its delicate beauty. Themes include transformation, change, motherhood, acceptance, strength, courage and trust. In the words of Power, the album is about "trusting if you lose yourself or your way—you can come back." A wave of inspiration abounds the sprawling canvas of sound, mapping the rawest of emotion and deepest of fears. A mystical spell is cast by the meeting of these two kindred spirits: Brigid Mae Power's songwriting prowess and Peter Broderick's deep musical understanding.

Brown, Bob

The Wall I Built Myself

Tompkins Square

***The first legit reissue of this rare, stellar LP by DC-based singer/songwriter BOB BROWN. RICHIE HAVENS took Bob under his wing, produced two albums—The Wall I Bulit Myself (1970) and Willoughby's Lament (1971)—and released them on his Stormy Forest label distributed by MGM. Although they failed to make a commercial impact at the time, cosmic-folk enthusiasts and vinyl-heads have long placed these albums in high esteem alongside the works of exploratory greats like Tim Hardin and Tim Buckley. Bob is still with us. He recently performed with Ryley Walker's band at Tompkins Square's 10th Anniversary show at Rough Trade, and he'll make special appearances to celebrate the reissues.

Brown, Bob

Willoughby's Lament

Tompkins Square

***The first legit reissue of this rare, stellar LP by DC-based singer/songwriter BOB BROWN. RICHIE HAVENS took Bob under his wing, produced two albums—The Wall I Bulit Myself (1970) and Willoughby's Lament (1971)—and released them on his Stormy Forest label distributed by MGM. Although they failed to make a commercial impact at the time, cosmic-folk enthusiasts and vinyl-heads have long placed these albums in high esteem alongside the works of exploratory greats like Tim Hardin and Tim Buckley. Bob is still with us. He recently performed with Ryley Walker's band at Tompkins Square's 10th Anniversary show at Rough Trade, and he'll make special appearances to celebrate the reissues.

Taussig, Harry

Fate Is Only Once (And Other Blues, Ragtime, And Fingerpicking Tunes)

Tompkins Square

Hulburt, John

Opus Iii

Tompkins Square

***Guitarist and singer-songwriter RYLEY WALKER discovered the 1972 private press LP in a Chicago record store, loved what he heard, and teamed with Tompkins Square to produce the reissue. JOHN HULBURT (1947-2012) was a member of legendary mid-60's Chicago garage rock band THE KNAVES, whose records were recently reissued by Sundazed. Opus III showcases his exceptional talent on the acoustic guitar, proving somewhat of an anomaly in a city not known for its solo guitar recordings during this era. Walker writes in his liner notes, "Solo acoustic guitar music was adopted by several in the Berkeley school and the ever expansive roots fanatics in the South, but here in the middle of the country with harsh winters and the landlocked prison of corn fields, it was almost destiny that the amplifier assault of electric blues and controlled chaos of dance music came from the South Side." Opus III has another notable Chicago connection : It's one of the earliest studio credits for Styx and Ohio Players engineer / producer BARRY MRAZ.. Styx's debut album would also be released in 1972. The reissue of Opus III includes illuminating liner notes by John Hulburt's sister, CYNTHIA FRITZ; The Knaves' GENE LUBIN; and Ryley Walker, as well as vintage photographs.

Gerrard, Alice

Follow The Music

Tompkins Square

***The trailblazing folksinger famously collaborated with Hazel Dickens. Their classic recordings for Folkways and Rounder in the ‘60s and ‘70s “rank among the most influential recordings in folk music history,” (All Music Guide), and laid the groundwork for many artists, especially female bluegrass and folk musicians. Follow The Music features traditional tunes and original songs by ALICE GERRARD, produced by HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER’s M.C. TAYLOR, and features members of Hiss Golden Messenger and MEGAFAUN.   “Alice Gerrard has one of those voices that harkens back to the likes of Sara and Maybelle. She is the real deal with the right stuff and hasn’t forgotten where country music came from.”—Emmylou Harris (June 2014)

Dawson, Smoke

Fiddle

Tompkins Square

***GEORGE “SMOKE” DAWSON played banjo in MacGrundy’s Old-Timey Wool Thumpers with Peter Stampfel (later of Holy Modal Rounders) in 1960, lived for years at Cafe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY, and roamed around the US as an itinerant bagpipe and fiddle player for decades. His life is laced with small triumphs and lots of tragedy. But he’s still with us. Tompkins Square reissues his only album, a remarkable 1971 private press LP, called Fiddle.

Bachman, Daniel

Jesus I’m A Sinner

Tompkins Square

***Jesus I'm a Sinner is the fourth LP by DANiEL BACHMAN. The album was recorded in Rappahannock County Virginia at FORREST MARQUISEE’s studio inside his father's woodshop in May of 2013 after spending just around 8 months on the road. The first song “Sarah Anne” is a song for one of his best friends and sister Sarah Anne Bachman, and is also his first full song for the lap guitar. “Honeysuckle Reel” is a springtime tune. For that first day when the heat and humidity sets in and the smell of the honeysuckle bloom creeps in your open windows. “Happy One Step” is a guitar/fiddle duet with SALLY MORGAN of the BLACK TWIG PICKERS / FREIGHT HOPPERS. It is a Cajun tune by Dennis McGee. “Jesus I'm a Sinner” is for cutting loose. “Variation on Goose Chase” is a version of Virgil Anderson's “Goose Chase.” Although attempted to adapt to the guitar, playing it on the banjo was the only way to keep the feel of the original version. “Under the Shade of the Trees” has the undertone and drone of the 17 year cicada hatch that hit Virginia summer of 2013. ”Chattanooga” is played by Sally Morgan abd CHARLIE DEVINE (banjo). This version was taken from Blaine Smith. “Blenheim” is the name of the Latané family's property in Westmorland Co. Virginia. Its a song for good food, drinks and solid company nestled on the banks of the Potomac River. “Leaving Istanbul (4 AM)” is a frustration song and the...

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Turn Me Loose - Outsiders of “Old-Time” Music

Tompkins Square

***FRANK FAIRFIELD curates another reissue of 78 rpm records—this time with the help of a few of his collector friends. The collection focuses on some of the most seldom acknowledged varieties of Anglo-American vernacular music. You'll hear unusual performers, uncommon intrumentation and great fiddlers from California to Ohio, New Mexico to West Virginia. Forget "Americana", this collection shows Anglo-American down-home music as it actually was and in many cases (although largely unrecognized) still is. With painstaking audio restoration by the great MICHAEL KIEFFER.

Poole, Charlie With The Highlanders

Complete Paramount & Brusnwick Recordings, 1929

Tompkins Square

***From 1926 to 1930 one of the most popular rural string bands on record was CHARLIE POOLE & THE NORTH CAROLINA RAMBLERS. Through their 78 RPM discs and their various performances, Charlie Poole was second only to Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. Poole's uniquely syncopated three finger banjo picking style coupled with his Piedmont vocal inflections eventually colored and defined much of what we consider "old-time" music. The classic configuration of banjo, fiddle and guitar with vocals was encouraged by the main label that promoted Poole but he also wanted to record instrumentals featuring twin-fiddle and piano. As renaming his group THE HIGHLANDERS, Poole was able to actualize this musical vision. This collection contains all of the sides that Poole made with ROY HARVEY, LUCY TERRY, and twin-fiddlers LONNIE AUSTIN and ODELL SMITH. Remastered in beautiful sound by CHRISTOPHER KING and with notes written by old-time musician and scholar KINNEY RORRER. (STREET DATE - 4/30/2013)

Bikoff, Don

Celestial Explosion

Tompkins Square

***DON BIKOFF released one lone, rare solo album, Celestial Explosion, on Keyboard Records in 1968, now reissued by Tompkins Square. Watch the YouTube video of Bikoff playing on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, taped May 12, 1968. You'll see the sheepish, long-haired, mustachioed musician spinning gold in a style (still?) so foreign to the mainstream listener. The befuddled host concludes after Don's performance, "That's unusual to say the least." A kid from Oyster Bay, LI, Bikoff got his start in Greenwich Village, annoying Dave Van Ronk and playing the folk/blues circuit where he met Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Jesse Fuller and Mississippi John Hurt. The comparisons to John Fahey's and Robbie Basho's work stated in the LP liner notes touched a nerve with Fahey himself at the time. Today, those comparisons are still inevitable, however they are for lazy ears. Bikoff has his own approach. Don is only 65 years old, and he's still playing strong. Don will appear with labelmate Daniel Bachman at Union Pool, Brooklyn NY on April 30th. (STREET DATE - 2/26/2013)

Hughes, Lena

Queen Of The Flat Top Guitar

Tompkins Square

***Impossibly rare recordings by the legendary finger-picker LENA HUGHES. A musical “amateur” that best exemplified true artistry, Lena Hughes was born in Grape Grove Township, Missouri in 1904. Though she never recorded any 78s and only one LP, Hughes was most influential through her steady performances at various fiddler conventions and folk festivals throughout the Ozarks. She was an excellent fiddler, banjoist and guitar picker who retained the largely extinct repertoire of parlor pieces and the variety of specialized tuning that were necessary to play them. She lived most of her life in Ludlow, Missouri and passed away in 1998. Lena Hughes repertoire can be divided roughly in half: finger-picked numbers adapted from fiddle tunes and recast parlor guitar pieces gleaned from popular sentimental songs, hymns and 19th century airs. As a faithful attendee at folk festivals, Hughes was accompanied by her guitar-playing husband JAKE. Her most mesmerizing performances, such as “Pearly Dew,” “Spanish Fandango,” and “Kentucky Moon Waltz,” depend heavily upon the resonance of the open chord as it relates to the picking of the melodic line, primarily on one string. This tonal reliance is most similar to the “celestial octave” that Washington Phillips employs, with similar effect on his “Train Your Child.” This ethereal harmonic technique, which seems so natural in Hughes’ playing, is the holy grail for most finger-picking guitarists. Her lack of pretense and her mastery of this repertoire is what defines her legendary status.

Chapman, Michael / Williams, Lucinda

Williams, Lucinda / Chapman, Michael

Tompkins Square

A limited edition 10-inch release featuring LUCINDA WILLIAMS covering MICHAEL CHAPMAN’s “That Time Of Night” from the the Chapman tribute Oh Michael, Look What You’ve Done.” B-side features Chapman’s own version of the song. Packaged in brown paper sleeves.

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Obscure Giants Of Acoustic Guitar

Tompkins Square

37 Trading Cards in a box. San Francisco's Tompkins Square label has released new and reissued recordings by many of the greatest acoustic guitarists of the past several decades. The label presents 37 cards, featuring vivid portraits by artist SHANA CLEVELAND, plus biographies detailing the work and lives of some of these masters. We hope these beautiful cards inspire you to seek out their music. Shana Cleveland is an artist, musician and writer living in Seattle. Her music can be heard in the bands the Curious Mystery, Shana Cleveland and the Sandcastles, and MC ESP. Her work has appeared in Yeti and The Believer.

Bachman, Daniel

Seven Pines

Tompkins Square

***NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!!! DANIEL BACHMAN is a 22 year old musician born and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He has been playing what he describes as "psychedelic appalachia" since he was a teenager, releasing small run editions of tapes, CDs and LPs for the past three years, with a sound that evolved from drones and banjos to a now guitar centered focus. Touring off and on since the age of 17, Bachman has managed to cover thorough ground across the US, sharing stages with like minded folk such as fellow Fredericksburg native Jack Rose, for whom he fashioned the artwork for the posthumous release of Luck In The Valley. His newest effort is the full length LP Seven Pines, sprung from a year living and working in the city of Philadelphia. The sound results in a combination of homesick worried blues and the ecstatic buzz of fresh experience and a new life in unknown territory. Familiar and known, but also seeking to access memories from lives past, dead and gone.

Taussig, Harry

Fate Is Only Twice

Tompkins Square

***Released as a short-run private press LP in 1965, Fate Is Only Once has long been a coveted collectible among American Primitive guitar enthusiasts. The album presages the broader movement. Acoustic musicians were still largely stuck in a rigid "Folk" mindset in 1965, and there are just not that many other examples of the exploratory guitar sounds found on Fate during this time period. Alternating between haunting originals and jaunty blues-based traditional numbers, this absurdly rare LP was reissued by Tompkins Square in 2006. HARY TAUSSIG’s only other recorded works appear on the long out-of-print Takoma compilation Contemporary Guitar Spring '67 alongside John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Max Ochs and Bukka White. Taussig spent years as an educator, published instructional guitar books, and traveled extensively to photograph weird museums. Amazingly, he returns with his first album in 47 years, appropriately titled Fate Is Only Twice. The same stark, smoldering playing is evident, all the humor and inventiveness intact. (STREET DATE - 8/21/2012)

Fosson, Mark

Digging In The Dust: Home Recordings 1976

Tompkins Square

***Kentucky native MARK FOSSON recorded one album for John Fahey’s Takoma Records in 1976 which went unreleased until 2006. Mark recently found the home demo for that session. Fosson says: “These 11 tracks are the songs I began writing after acquiring my first 12-String guitar. I recorded them in my living room on a Pioneer RT1050 2-track reel-to-reel with a rented microphone. All are originals except for ‘Back In The Saddle Again,’ which resulted from my other obsession at the time of watching old black & white Gene Autry movies any chance I could...usually at 5:00 AM! I met Mr. Autry many years later and tried to tell him this but the crowd was too loud & his ears were too old & he couldn’t hear a word I was saying. Anyway...thanks Gene. Many of these songs would appear later in slightly altered form on The Lost Takoma Sessions, but these original versions are my personal favorites. I can’t believe the tapes have survived so long and still sound as clean as the day I recorded them.”

Davis, Nick Jonah

Of Time And Tides

Tompkins Square

***NICK JONAH DAVIS is a guitarist from Nottingham, England. His early blues rock leanings led to the discovery of prewar blues, as well as modal British folk. Nick steadily absorbed these influences over many years of solitary improvisations. The post-Takoma acoustic guitar solo scene has provided a context for Nick’s music, which might otherwise have remained a private endeavour. Live, Nick has shared bills in the UK and USA with the likes of James Blackshaw, Alasdair Roberts, Jozef Van Wissem, Max Ochs, Ellen Mary McGee and Eric Carbonara.

Tyler, William

Behold The Spirit

Tompkins Square

***NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!!! WILLIAM TYLER is a native of Nashville, Tennessee and a guitarist who has spent the last several years recording and touring with SILVER JEWS and LAMBCHOP among others. In addition he has contributed to albums by artists as diverse as CHARLIE LOUVIN, CANDI STATON, and WOODEN WAND, as well as taking part in a large ensemble piece by composer RHYS CHATHAM. He also recently contributed a track to Tompkins Square’s acoustic guitar compilation, Imaginational Anthem Volume 4 : New Possibilities. Behold The Spirit reveals an astounding array of talents. In addition to his beautiful playing, Tyler is also an ace arranger, augmenting complex textures and various instrumentation with his lyrical compositions. A stunning, beautiful and varied guitar album for the ages.

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Imaginational Anthem Iv

Tompkins Square

***Since it’s first volume in 2005, Tompkins Square’s Imaginational Anthem series has introduced many new acoustic guitarists, and unearthed many forgotten legends of the American Primitive genre. Volume 4 strays from the formula by focusing on the present generation of pickers, representing American and English musical traditions. The stunning gatefold LP (limited edition of 500) and CD are created by PAUL ROMANOo, best known for his incredible designs for Mastodon. Features C JOYNES, TYELR RAMSEY (BAND OF HORSES), WILLIAM TYLER (SILVER JEWS) and more.

Mcmillen, Shawn David

Dead Friends

Tompkins Square

***SHAWN DAVID MCMILLEN is a guitarist living in Austin, Texas. Along with various compilations, CDRs, cassettes and LPs, SDM has appeared under his own name via Catfish, End Of The City and now, Dead Friends. Past involvements have included work with FRIDAY GROUP, ASH CASTLES, MAX OCHS, JANDEK, WARMER MILKS, TOM & CHRISTINA CARTER, PETER WALKER, RALPH WHITE, STARVING WEIRDOS, and many others. Dead Friends is Shawn’s new record. It has electric and acoustic guitars, strings, piano, electronics, vocals, fiddle, drums, and tapes. All rendered in amber fidelity. From “Phantom Rivers” to “Sick on Navasota” it’s all here. A real slow burner. LP limited to 500 copies.

Buckley, Tim

Live At The Folklore Center, Nyc, March 6, 1967

Tompkins Square

***NOW AVAILABLE!!! The unreleased recording was captured by folk impresario IZZY YOUNG at his famed Folklore Center located at 321 Sixth Avenue, which served as a nexus for up-and-coming singer-songwriters during the folk boom of the late ‘60s. The entire night’s concert, performed in front of about 35 people, is presented in its original running order of sixteen songs, six of which are TIM BUCKLEY compositions that have never appeared on any studio or live album. The CD package includes an unpublished interview with Buckley conducted by Izzy Young on March 17th & 18th, 1967, along with new notes from Young. The album was produced for release by Tompkins Square label’s JOSH ROSENTHAL and mastered from the original tapes by Grammy-winning engineers STEVE ROSENTHAL, WARREN RUSSELL-SMITH and JAMIE HOWARTH.