… then I’m turning into the Jesse James of the interstate. Or more appropriately, the state highway. I managed to incur a couple of speeding tickets over the summer while driving the band’s rental vans on tour. One was on U.S. highway 19 in West Virginia near Lochgelly and the other on Iowa state highway 3 just past the town of Marcus. Total cost of tickets so far = $259.80. Not bad, you might say, for two tickets until I received a letter from the Iowa Department of Transportation last month. They decided to add on a “Serious Violation” charge in addition to the speeding, which would result in a suspension of my driving privileges in that state for three months, as well as an additional $200 fine.

I took a “You and the Law” course in high school and still feel that this was the most valuable and practical piece of education I’ve had in all my years of schooling. It gave me a basic framework of the law and the belief that all Americans need to know what their rights are and how to defend them. It has also saved me hundreds of dollars in tickets and helped remind me of my civic duties to fight for justice and equality. And all this from a free public education!

So, I’ve decided to send a letter of appeal to Iowa defending my right to drive there, and also to protest this cruel and unusual punishment. The text of it, for those who care about such things, is below:

Office of Driver Services
PO Box 9204
Des Moines, IA 50306-9204

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to appeal the action by the Iowa Department of Transportation to suspend my driving privileges in the State of Iowa. I believe this punishment is not warranted or justified and I will state my grounds for appeal below.
On 8/30/08 at approximately 1:30AM I was driving a rented minivan westbound on Iowa State Highway 3 on my way from Chicago, IL to Le Mars, IA. The reason for my travel was to perform a concert at the 33rd Annual National Old-Time Country & Bluegrass Festival. There were four other passengers in the vehicle, three of them members of my bluegrass band, Tangleweed, and one who was the wife of one of the band members. We were playing the concert free of charge and also to receive an award as “Traditional Musicians of the Year” by the National Traditional Country Music Association.
About 20 miles from Le Mars I was pulled over by an officer from the Marcus Police Department for speeding. He wrote me a ticket and suggested I pay it online at the Iowa state website. The violation on the ticket stated it was for “Speeding 10-20 over, not local” and the fine was for $102.80. I paid this fine at the website www.judical.state.ia.us on 9/05/08.
In early October I received a letter from the Iowa Department of Transportation informing me that my license was being suspended and that a civil penalty of $200 must be paid before my privileges would be reinstated. The reason stated was for a “Serious Violation.” I do not believe that I committed a “Serious Violation” and at no time was I made aware, either by the officer or the website, that it would be considered as such. The road I was driving on was completely straight with clear visibility, and there were no other vehicles on the road. I did not pose a threat to any other drivers, my passengers, or myself. This is my first driving offense in the state of Iowa and I believe that this punishment is excessive and unjustified. Furthermore, it would prevent me from performing at future events in the State of Iowa. As a professional musician I believe that what I do contributes positively to the culture and economy of the state and would like to continue to do so.
For these reasons I am asking you to reverse the decision to suspend my license. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Se-il Oh

I came across a great interview with Rob Miller, music fan and one of the fearless leaders of Bloodshot Records.  If you are aspiring to work with a  label it’s a very good read.

www.chicagoartistsresource.org/music/node/17404

There has been a lot of discussion on the Banjo Hangout about Noam Pikelny’s 4 note cells and how to use them. Jazz substation comes in very handy when using his 4 note cells. Quick and dirty way to use the cells. Cells based on the tonic i.e. I, iii, and vi, will work over any diatonic chord. This is an old jazz trick. Bela and Noam use this technique extensively. The other cells can be used as passing chords. The topic of scale to chord application is old and as frustrating as ever. Here is my two cents.

One way I have developed to implement scales is to set up an exorcise that break melody down into a decision tree much like the ones used by Nash in Game Theory. Most melodies follow some basic principals that come from voice leading and how to handle leaps. Look at Bach two part writing or Tonal Harmony.  These parameters can be implemented in an ear training exercise by the following restrictions. Each of the restrictions can be isolated and worked on separately. 1 no leaps. The rest of the parameters are how to handle leaps. 2 Leap through chords. 3 No leaps more than a seventh. 80 percent of good melodies do not leap. There is more to this than these parameters but the first one I think is the most important. No Leaps out of the mode of the moment. This is an ear training exorcise not a way to solo.  

Practicing no leaps.

Put on a song that is in the key you would like to practice. Put these restrictions. Start with whole notes. Start on the tonic. With the passing of every measure choose a new note in the scale. There are three possibilities or decisions for every note.  You could repeat the note move up a note in the scale, or move down a note. Every new note has the same choice. If a note sounds tense or wrong that is ok. The point is to learn and handle tense notes.  You will discover that this breaks you out of applying scales to chords and into muscle memory melody decisions. There are no wrong notes but tense or resolved notes.  I read time and again about how to apply scales to chords and think most have it wrong. You can play any scale of any chord with authority and it will sound correct. If you apply scales and arpeggios to chords in a strict traditional application i.e. Ionian with the I chord Dorian with the II,  then you are missing the tension and point of learning the modes. Learning the modes will not teach you how to play. The modes are just the relationships between chords. The trick is learning how to resolve tense notes, and make decisions with authority.

This exorcise is actually very easy and I have done it with many studens and even beginners.

Once you feel comfortable with whole notes, move to half, then quarter then eighth then sixteenth.

If you are trying to apply scales to chords good luck. My advice is to apply your ear to the chords and forget about application of modes. Soloing is making decions. Train yourself to make decisions. That is not to say that you should not study modes. You will need them to inform your decisions. This is ear traning.

The song John Hardy has long been a staple of the bluegrass canon. Tony Russell’s Country Music Records: A Discography, 1921-1942; lists seven prewar recordings by five different performers:

• Eva Davis: April, 1924
• Ernest Stoneman: August, 1925, July, 1928
• Buell Kazee: April, 1927
• The Carter Family: May, 1928
• Clarence Ashley: April, 1930 (as ‘Old John Hardy’)
• Roy Harvey: June 1931

Here’s an MP3 of the second Stoneman Recording, recorded in Richmond, Indiana for the Gennett Label, on July 9th, 1928:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Postwar recordings by Bill Monroe helped cement the song’s place in the repertoire. Earl Scruggs helped make it an instrumental standard as well, with his excellent interpretation on the seminal Foggy Mountain Banjo album, now out of print and agonizingly expensive.

Though the usual lyrics sound include some commonplace elements, John Hardy was a real historical figure. Hardy, a West Virginia railroad worker, was found guilty of murder in the first degree in 1893, and hanged in 1894. WVCulture.org has links to original news stories. First, the trial:

WELCH, W. VA., October 12. – At 8 o’clock this morning the jury in the case of the State against John Hardy, colored, for the murder of Thomas Drews, colored, at Eckman, this county, in January last, brought in a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. The trouble arose over a game of craps and was a cold blooded crime. Motion has been made for a new trial with but small hopes of success on account of the Criminal Court Judge’s indisposition. A recess has been taken until Monday morning.

…And then the execution:

WILD E, W. VA., January 19. – John Hardy, for killing Thomas Drews, both colored, was hung at 2:09 p. m. to-day. Three thousand people witnessed his death. His neck was broken and he died in 17 1/2 minutes. He exhibited great nerve, attributed his downfall to whiskey, and said he had made peace with God. His body was cut down at 2:39, placed in a coffin, and given to the proper parties for interment. He was baptised in the river this morning.

Ten drunken and disorderly persons among the spectators were promptly arrested and jailed. Good order was preserved. Hardy killed Drews near Eckman last spring in a disagreement over a game of craps.

BOTH WERE ENAMORED

of the same woman, and the latter proving the more favored lover, incurred Hardy’s envy, who seized the pretext of falling out in the game to work vengeance on Drews, who had shown himself equally expert in dice as in love, having won money from Hardy. Hardy drew his pistol, remarking he would kill him unless he refunded the money. Drews paid back part of the money, when Hardy shot, killing him. Hardy was found guilty at the October term.

The MP3 comes from the excellent Juneberry 78s website. Please consider buying one of their old-time music samplers to support their work.