Catherine “Ol’ Lemon Pledgerton”, Pinhook, July, 2010.
One-man-bands occupy a big part of my musical appreciation, especially in live settings. There’s real magic in watching someone chug-a-lugs out a rhythm with their feet while strumming steadily on their guitar. Throw in a harp and you’ve got some first rate, damned if I don’t, entertainment.
I’ve come to develop this appreciation with the help of Phil Cook, who did me a big one by dropping the needle on an Abner Jay album that blew my hair straight back.
Abner Jay is truly a one-of-a-kind American musician. A self-described folk song stylist, he played a daily set for a number of years at the Stephen Foster Museum Center in White Springs, Florida. Mississippi Records, out of Portland oddly enough, has re-released several of his albums using the original cover art and liner notes written by Abner himself.
Abner is now enjoying his seventh wife and he claims that she is just about wore out too. His worst tragedy was the first time he got married. NOW IT’S BUCK DANCING TIME. – from True Story of Abner Jay
Abner passed away in 1993, you can read more about him in this piece by The Guardian. But before you check that out, do give a listen to one of my favorite renditions of St. James Infirmary Blues done by Abner with a six string electric banjo . . .
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This past summer Phil, who performs in his own one-man-band called Phil Cook and His Feat, organized a show called Do Itcha Damn Self, featuring a line up of one-person-bands inside the always cozy and red Pinhook in downtown Durham, N.C. Some highlights included a stirring rendition of Space Oddity by Catherine “Ol’ Lemon Pledgerton” Edgerton and the haunting musical stylings of Frank Fairfeld out of Los Angeles.
Tambourine Tape, Dave Rodgers, Pinhook, July, 2010.
In addition to the bands, there were also few DIY booths set-up to teach folks skills to help them make all sorts of stuff their damn self. I sincerely hope that this event becomes an annual tradition in the ol’ Bull City. Sho nuff.
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your hair is always blown straight back, btw, though I get what you were saying