Description
Old Time Music of SW Pennsylvania
Mark Tamsula: fiddle
Richard Withers: banjo, fife, accordion
Dave Krysty: guitar
Barbara Rosner: upright bass
Between 1928 and 1963, Samuel Bayard and his collaborators traveled throughout southwestern Pennsylvania collecting and transcribing over 1000 traditional folk tunes. Our 7th recording (2026) of traditional Pennsylvania old-time music features tunes from Bayard’s collections
Lew Stern –
Just got the new album from Snappin’ Bug – “Straight Fours.” With one or two exceptions (including “Grey Eagle” and “Fine Times”) these were all new tunes to my ear. And they were all done with exceptional musical finery. The bass captured the drive of the music, and showed up in all the (sample) recordings at a consistent, appreciable level that did not fade into the sound mist or interfere with the cadence of the band. Your fiddle was snappy, precise, assertive where it needed to carry a fast piece, and poetic on waltz music. The banjo pushed the tunes forward – as though the five-string player was placing his hand on the backs of each musican and pressing them forward to keep in charge of the beat. It brought me back to Clifftops long ago – especially David Winston’s clawhammer that found a way to charge ahead with the sound and feel of a steam driven locomotive. The guitar, fife, and accordian – just the right amount of syrup over those tasty, warm pancakes to make the whole thing come together with a special chemistry (not the way I usually think of either a good breakfast or old-time music, but the best I could do in the early morning hours.) I had listened to Samuel Bayard’s music making early on, but not really retained a sense of that Pennsylvanian traditional music flavor. This brought the whole package to my doorstep – MANY THANKS!