In my early years I attended many Ute and Navajo Pow-Wows and dance events and love the music of the deserts- the music of winds and strings make me feel at home. John Amidei’s myspace page is full of Fahey tunes that he very graciously sent to me for this tribute.Ībout John- I grew up in the mountains around Durango and Silverton, here in Colorado. Here’s a version of Sunflower River Blues. This is from The Backporch Drifters release. Ragtime Ralph did a great version of Poor Boy Long Ways From Home that I just had to put on here. This was something I came up with just for Fahey Week. I've never played these tunes as a medley before. Who better to make a pallet than Christ himself?)Īnd finally, the upbeat "Song #3", which ends with the final chord from "Special Rider" (had to sneak that in!) Then into the spiritual blues "Jesus is a Dying Bedmaker" (yes that's spelled Bedmaker. Starting with the Classical-influenced "Dvorak". I strung together all the pieces in this tuning and was surprised at how well they all seemed to complement one another, despite their different origins and time signatures. The notes ring out with expansiveness reminiscent of the American landscape.įahey explores the classic open G tuning (DGDGBD) to the max on this album. It's almost as if it was all recorded in one sitting (maybe it was?) Like America the country, this album is a melting pot of influences from Country Blues to Classical to Appalachian Folk all tied together with one unified voice. One of the things I love about America is the consistent tone and mood throughout the entire work. Pat says: I decided to record a medley of tunes from my favorite Fahey album, America. Pat O’Connell’s contribution is called America Medley. Jim was more than happy to contribute an effort to the tribute, he lays down multiple instruments here on When the Catfish is in Bloom. Jim Wilson plays fiddle and banjo with a southend-on-sea based band called The Lucky Strikes. The following people contributed to this effort, please visit their sites and give them a listen. Fahey songs by the faithful followers of the Takoma school of pickin' and grinin'. Hope you all liked the TAB book, quite hard to come by I believe.Īnd today I'm very fortunate to be able to make a few songs available for download. Well here we are at the end of the week and it's Fahey's b-day and you get the gifts. I count this night as one of the pinnacle experiences of my life. John had a big energy…there was a presence about him…something I haven’t felt from many people. Another thing that impressed me is that he gave people his full attention when speaking with him. He was such a good sport and signed all three for me, one after the other, as we spoke…he was so personable and charming. The only thing I could come up with were the tickets from the show which you see here, and a business card from a barbeque place in Denver. I’ve always been a bit of an autograph hound so I was digging around in my purse for something for him to write on. He spoke with us for about 20 minutes or so…wish I could remember more of what we talked about. I was so star struck that all I could manage to say was, “Wow that was really good!” as he shook my hand. After the show, we went over to tell John how much we loved the show. ![]() There were only about 30 people in attendance that night. I never experienced live music in such a personal way before and I remember distinctly getting chills as he played In Christ There Is No East Or West and Sunflower River Blues. ![]() My friend and I sat right smack in front of the small platform that served as a stage, roughly four feet from John. I had not heard of John Fahey before I saw him play at Conley’s Nostalgia on this night in 1986. What follows is Helen's recollection of that show. This show is listed in The John Fahey Handbook, Volume 2- on page 418, Appendix C. I can sure appreciate saving the ticket stubs all these years, I have a collection of all mine. I missed this show, I wasn't too hip to Fahey in 1986, too bad. It's always nice to hear from fans during Fahey Week, below is a memory and some great ticket stubs from a Fahey show right in my home town of Denver.
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