How about some post-Thanksgiving Doughnut Regret blues
We are back with 6th Restrung-Resung-Remixed-Remastered: BROKEN EVERY VOW & EARLY IN THE EVENING. Originally recorded and mixed at the Thunderground Sound Studio by Dan Tinker in Laramie (WY), we revisited two moody blues songs of regrets/no regrets, written way over yonder in the minor key, to borrow a phrase. Perhaps you have some post-Thanksgiving regrets…these two songs suggest you acknowledge them and move on.
BROKEN EVERY VOW – This song in Gm is my favorite recording and live performance at Thunderground Sound. Sit back and listen to the rhythm section—Jascha on drums and Mark on the double bass are amazing—they capture the intensity of negotiating for more time. Bergman’s the Seventh Seal maybe was not a direct inspiration for this song, but I did watch the movie several times living up in the darkness of a Swedish winter up north. Combine that with my dad’s best friend—Mr. Wolf—telling me (after he officially retired from 40+ years at the paper mill) that he took a new part-time job for a funeral home as “a retriever”—you can figure that one out. Bill McKay’s fretless old-timey banjo helps make this arrangement especially haunting.
EARLY IN THE EVENING – a blues song about love tangled in the thorns and not believing all you hear and see, not ignoring all you do not. Mike Krupp’s conga playing is spot on and so cool, as always; as is Shawn Kelley’s snaky bass melody and Sally van Meter’s hovering resonator with the eerie harmonics. I’ve always liked the ambiguity of the song because no one is blameless in a blues song.
Doughnut Regret - Art by Frida
credits
released December 1, 2021
BROKEN EVERY VOW (J Shogren, ASCAP)
Jascha Herdt—Drums; Mark Zieres—double bass; Bill McKay—fretless banjo; Mandy (Bohlender) Gifford—vocals; J Shogren—vocals, mandolin, misc; Original recordings at Thunderground Sound Studio (Laramie, WY); Dan Tinker, engineer; Original mastering by Jim Wilson. New recordings and remixing by J Shogren at the Stump (Laramie, WY); Remastered by David Benyamin (Paris, France), with significant suggestions to improve the mix. Original is on Bird God Bless these Crooked Little Songs (2012), JAHA!#4
EARLY IN THE EVENING (J Shogren, ASCAP)
Mike Krupp—congas; Sally Van Meter—resonator; Shaun Kelley—bass; J Shogren—vocals, guitars, misc. Original recordings at Thunderground Sound Studio (Laramie, WY); Dan Tinker, engineer; Original mastering by Jim Wilson. New recordings and remixing by J Shogren at the Stump (Laramie, WY); Remastered by David Benyamin (Paris, France). Original is on American Holly (2008), JAHA!#2
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
