[00:00:00] Welcome to Strung Out, the podcast that looks at life through the lens of an artist. Your host is the artist, writer, and musician, Martin Lawrence McCormack. Now here's Marty. All right. Welcome to Strung Out. Normally we're outside and it's a gorgeous day, but it's a windy day and, uh, our first attempt resulted in the thing blowing over.
[00:00:25] So we're, we're gonna opt to be inside and I have with me Jonas Fredl. And what are you going to play for us? I'm going to play a tune called, uh, Samson was a lover. All right, let's hear it. Samson was a lover Though he killed a thousand men Sweet as any honey Born from a lion's head Hard as any jawbone When it came to a woman's bed Samson was a lover This is what he said What?
[00:01:07] What would I, I do for love What would I, I do for love Would I do what I have to, like everybody does What would I, I do for love Samson was a fox catcher and a fire star too He struck his match at the Philistines He laid them in their tomb The fire in his heart, it is on mind, consume, and now I can feel that heat, darling, when I'm next to you.
[00:01:55] Al Love had linen and leather in her
[00:02:05] smell, just like the. In the afternoon, as she dressed herself, she sang this little tune. What did I, I do for love? What did I, I do for love? Did I do what I have to, like everybody does? What did I, I do for love? Sam said, Sam was a lover that made his mind forget until he heard the sound. Silver asked his secrets and he lied like a schoolboy to the last.
[00:02:51] Sam had a lover, took a razor to his head.
[00:03:07] I was famous blind. Though he took his body prisoner, was Delilah ruled his mind. And you might call him a martyr. You might say suicide. I'm a Samson. Was a lover. And like a lover cried. But what I. What I do for love, what I do for love, what I stand between the pillars getting both a shove. But what I, I do for love, what I do for love, what I do for love, what I do for love, what I heard this story a thousand times, and still I look at you.
[00:04:00] Wrap the question around my wrist, baby, what would I do? You ask me for my secret, I tell you, darling, true. Samson was a lover, and I'd be the same for you. Samson was a lover, and I'd be the same for you. Samson was a lover.
[00:04:29] Great. Awesome. Awesome. Thanks. Huh. Yeah. That's the lyrics. Stand between the fillers and give them both a shove. Gonna bring it to Housetown. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I love it. Um, You have that great mountain. in your, your delivery, which I love, uh, to hear cause it's authentic. And, uh, tell us a little bit about your upbringing.
[00:04:53] You're, you're not from Chicago originally. I'm not from Chicago originally. No. Um, I was born in central North Carolina and then, uh, moved right, right before I got into high school, I moved to a Western North Carolina, Black Mountain. So. Uh, that's a little outside of Asheville. It's usually the place that people recognize the most from that area.
[00:05:16] Very popular place now. It is now. Music town now. Yeah, it was a little quieter when I was, uh, when I was growing up. And it's still, it's still kind of shut down around 9 o'clock at night. But that is not the case anymore. No. Yeah. No. Uh, it, it's, uh, it's, it's fun to see it spring to life. Like so many of those music towns, uh, everybody and their sister kind of moved there and yeah, it's a good time to get out of town sometimes.
[00:05:43] Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of people, it's, there's a lot of music, uh, there's a lot of traditional music kind of in the history of, of the place and a lot of people, uh, a lot of musicians are drawn there for that. But, uh, I think working musicians who are there mostly have to, to get outta town, you know?
[00:05:57] Right. Get on the bus. And did that bring you over to Tennessee then? Or you seem to, I think in reading your bio, you spent a little time out there in Tennessee? Uh, Kentucky. Kentucky, okay. Yeah, so I went to school at Berea College in Kentucky, which is a little south of Lexington. Yeah. Um, that's where I kind of started playing a little bit of bluegrass.
[00:06:15] There's a bluegrass program at the school. So, I learned to play some upright bass and kind of got into the, into the traditional music scene. Really. there at a while during my time in, uh, at Brick College. Yeah. Um, uh, yeah, so I guess I've kind of had a steady progression north, north and doing the little S, doing the little L.
[00:06:37] Yeah. Um, yeah, that, that's, uh, a friend of ours, uh, with the band is out of, uh, was, uh, the head of the American music, uh, folk. Music at, uh, University of Kentucky down in Lexington, uh, around Penn, so I'm sort of familiar with that area. But, um, was, uh, there, here comes the dog. Hey, that's Capers. Hey, Capers. Uh, Was it in your family then, this kind of, uh, the whole bluegrass mountain music?
[00:07:10] I wouldn't say the mountain music. I mean, I grew up listening to, um, there was a lot of like, uh, Doc Watson. Um, and, uh, you know, one of the albums I heard a lot around the house would have been like, um, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands, the Circle Record, and then, uh, maybe some of the, the, the Trio stuff, uh, and then the Rod's Dad Deli part of it, that kind of thing.
[00:07:33] Things around but then a lot of my parents music would have been what you it was like that, California song I'd like the Jackson Brown sure, Bonnie Raitt James Taylor, James Taylor Maybe a little bit of Crosby Stills national That and you know America, maybe, and uh, I don't know, yeah, not as much of them.
[00:07:56] I know the tunes, but yeah, that wouldn't hurt so much in there. You know, Marshall Tucker, did they ever go that direction? A little, a little less of the blues rock scene. I think, uh, of that, of that kind of leaning, I think maybe Allman Brothers was the one. So I had the Fillmore East record was one of the things I liked to listen to the most.
[00:08:14] Did you know, uh, as a young, young, uh, person that you were going to, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh. follow or go into music? Was there any anybody else in your family that was musical? Yeah, yeah, very. Yeah, yeah. My, my parents are both very musical. Um, um, my dad was the person playing the guitar around the house and singing the songs.
[00:08:37] Um, and even, uh, in a church. After his first retirement, I, uh, owned the Black Knight music shop, the local music shop for a little while. Uh, my brothers both play, my mom sang around the house. I don't know if I would, I don't know if I had any, I don't think, I didn't have any intention of going into music, but I definitely enjoyed it and was, and was proud of it.
[00:09:02] Writing songs from a pretty early age for the fun of it. Uh, but yeah, I don't think it was until, um, I really got sucked into some of the trad music, uh, the old time music world while I was in Kentucky and then traveling a little bit abroad. Sure. And I really kind of thought I might try and do something with it.
[00:09:25] Was there, you know, before we started filming, you, you, we, Both talked about being in Ireland and, uh, was your travels to Ireland music inspired or did the music just kind of happen, uh, while you were there? No, yeah, it was, it was specifically for, um, I, I, I, I caught a, a lucky break and I got a fellowship right out of school.
[00:09:48] So I had a little funding and to go do, you know, follow my interest and I was really interested in specifically at that time, uh, How, uh, communities might be formed around traditional music in some different places. Uh, and, uh, I had been to Ireland twice already and already had a foot in it and kind of knew.
[00:10:09] And it's, you know, famous for its music community. So, I wanted to spend some time in that. And there's such a, uh, a close relationship between, uh, bluegrass mountain music and, uh, Irish music. Thank God. Just, uh, Irish music is kind of like the, the granddaddy of, of that kind of music. If you study the, you know, Appalachian and, uh, the Scott Irish and, uh, it's amazing how much crossover and how much, uh, Irish, uh, musicians generally, you know, do.
[00:10:39] Love to have bluegrass coming into their existence. Yeah, yeah. It's a big thing. Yeah, my first trip over there was with the college bluegrass band. Cool. You know, it felt, you felt like a rock star. Yeah. Because the bluegrass in the pubs was really, was really well received. Yeah. Yeah. Some of the best bluegrass I've heard actually has been in Europe with European bands.
[00:11:01] Yeah, it's great. It's all over the world. It's really, I mean, I don't play bluegrass. Right. But, uh, except for that experience in the college band, I kind of shifted over to old time, which is a little, you know, slightly different. But, uh, um, but yeah, the export of bluegrass around the world is really incredible to see.
[00:11:21] What a good foundation to have, uh, not only, you know, the music, Uh, what your parents were listening to and what you were, uh, teaching yourself just by picking up, uh, the, the various influences and such. But, uh, what, I'm, I'm just kind of, uh, I'm not surprised, but I'm also happy, I guess, that you have migrated to Chicago.
[00:11:43] Because Chicago, historically, is kind of a, a place where a lot of, uh, roots musicians have come from. Found their home, you know? Yeah. And, um, what brought you here? Um, I knew, um, I was out of the, I was outta the country for a little while post college, and it needed a, you know, a place to land and was gonna try and do something, uh, that involved, uh, traditional music in some ways.
[00:12:08] And, um, I knew of the existence of the Old Town School of Folk music through, uh, actually through following Abigail Washburn. Uh, it's Concert Calendar, so I, you know, I was a fan of hers from, from the beginning. Uh, I liked the climb or banjo playing and, uh, I had seen that as a venue that she was playing, uh, on her, on her concert list and I clicked on it and took a peek around.
[00:12:31] I had a friend who was living in the, in Chicago at that time. Um, and so I came to see a good ol summer job and, uh, sleep, sleep under his dining room table for, for a summer while I kind of figured things out. And I've been, I've been around here ever since, yeah. Now, was your, your wife, is she a Chicago gal, or?
[00:12:49] No, no, I met, I met, uh, Laura in, uh, in, in college in Kentucky, and she's, she's from not far from, from Berea. And, well, Guadalupe Tona. Oh, wow. Yeah, so, um, Yeah. Musical or no? Yeah, she sings really well. She plays, uh, she plays fiddle and guitar around the house with the kids. But, uh, you're not going to get her out of that.
[00:13:10] On the stage. You're not going to get her out of that. All right. Well, very cool. And, uh, so great to have you here in Chicago. Thank you. And, uh, let's, let's have a, uh, another song. Sure. Yeah. What do you want to play? Here, I'll play one, um, off a record I put out a few years ago called The Last Place to Go.
[00:13:29] And this is that title, that title track. So we got Jonas Fredl here. We got the train going by. We'll let her pass and let him jump in. And after this, we'll take a little break. All right. The Last Place to Go.
[00:13:55] Outside the tent. The signs were wrong, mad inside the tent. The clowns were all sad. The seats were half empty when the ringmaster took his last bow. There was candy and popcorn stuck on the shoes. There was just one reporter stuck with the news and with the voice of my mother. He asked me what I would do now.
[00:14:33] Oh, how am I supposed to run away now? They've taken the last place to go. Some folks have homes in the country. Mine was the show on the road.
[00:14:55] Gravel would fly off the back of my bike. Pedal in circles, most every night. Through the spotlights of TVs. The trailer park windows were blue.
[00:15:13] Ah, but dreams are like whiskey. In a cheap paper cup, you gotta drink them all down. Before they burn up and they drop through the bottom. Landing all over your shoes. Oh, how am I supposed to run away now? They've taken the last place to go. Some folks have gone.
[00:15:53] The trumpet.
[00:16:15] Now the Trape artist just lies in his neck by the fire breathing light cigarettes and makes with the stunt man, with the trick pony wheel and, uh.
[00:16:34] And the Florida fights have a new sound. It is the crying of trumpets shaking in the ground. The elephant free and me. Well, I'm shit out of luck. Oh, how am I supposed to run away now? They've taken me in the last place to go. Some folks have homes in the country. Mine was the show on the road and how am I supposed to run away now?
[00:17:18] Taking the last place to go. Selling folks have homes in the city.
[00:17:37] All right, we got Jonas Springer with us on Strung Out. We'll be back after this. Hey, want to show your support of Martin's artist endeavors? Buy Me a Coffee is an online site that makes supporting Marty easy. In just a few taps, you can make a payment of any amount, and no account is needed. You can also decide to become an ongoing supporter.
[00:18:01] Go to martinmccormack. com and click on the word support. Let's help Martin keep it all caffeinated.
[00:18:16] We are back. Uh, I, I have to give you props because, uh, we had three takes with that last song because we had a guy at the door, the dog went ballistic. And that's, that's the beauty of these things. Uh, it's what you see is what you're getting. And, um, I usually save this for the second podcast, but you really craft some fantastic songs.
[00:18:42] I mean, there's a, there's a great, there's a great story and, uh, just some really, uh, pithy, uh, you know, the whiskey in the paper cup and, um, it just, uh, and what's, what's the story behind that song? That's the last place to go. Um, and, uh, Uh, friend of the family's, uh, reach out. They had a couple of extra tickets to the, uh, The last time the Barnum and Bailey and Ringling brothers came through Chicago.
[00:19:11] Okay. And, uh, took us out. So my daughter was pretty young at that point. And, uh, we went to the, you know, it was her first circus. Uh, and, uh, we went back. I don't remember how many, it wasn't long later, maybe a couple of months or so, that the newspaper, you know, had a, an article in it announcing like that was actually their last, you know, they were shutting down.
[00:19:32] Yeah. Um, and, uh, Yeah, so I kind of, I kind of sat there and thought about it. I had some pretty early memories myself of the circus coming through at, uh, Walnut Cove, which is the town in central North Carolina where I grew up. And I remember, uh, you know, I remember going, I remember, uh, a fellow student, uh, at the, at the grade school that I was at coming actually, handing out flyers to protest the, you know, Um, the treatment of the elephants specifically.
[00:20:03] And so if, you know, for that to kind of come around that much later in my life with my, you know, my own daughter at the circus and then, and all of that was really just kind of a full circle morning for me. Can you talk about a thing with the circus that's so rich in Americana? I mean, it just, uh, And those gigging entertainers, those people living a life on the road.
[00:20:28] Um, one of the coolest thing is I ever got to do was, uh, play a nursing home in, uh, Indiana where, um, uh, the circus used to winter. You know. Right. And, um, the name of the town is escaping me right now, but Emmett Kelly's son was at the, the retirement home, and Emmett Kelly was at, you know, sad, looking, calm.
[00:20:54] Oh yeah. And, and so his son followed in his dad's split footstep. Oh, wow. And so his whole room was festooned with pictures of, you know, not only his dad but himself. And I just always, uh. marveled at that, the idea of the circus, uh, just those people, uh, and maybe that's what us musicians are trying to emulate, you know, that idea of like getting out of the circus train and going to the next destination.
[00:21:23] And it's, To do that in such an ensemble, so, um, but just a rich, rich, rich song. I love it. I love what you put together with it. So we were talking a little bit earlier about the Old Town School of Folk Music and, uh, the Old Town School is such a, an important institution, um, for the country. So many different other schools have emulated what they've done and that, um, Are you involved still with Old Town?
[00:21:58] Are you, um, the staff, are you working with them, or? Yeah, I teach there quite a bit. Perfect. Mm hmm. You know, um, uh, and, uh, all ages, and, uh, and a lot of different, uh, a lot of different instruments. So it's a, it's a nice way to keep, you know, variety in, in, in what I'm doing from day to day. And you have, uh, you have your claw hammer here.
[00:22:18] And, uh, did you, uh, did you start on a claw hammer or did you start on a flat top? Yeah, no, he has a probably, I mean, the first instrument technically probably would have been piano, but, uh, you know, I, I begged to quit that for years, you know, and finally my parents let me quit, but then I, I did ask for a guitar.
[00:22:37] Uh, my dad got me a, uh, got me a yard sale, Harmony, uh, and, uh, and I'm So, yeah, the guitar was, uh, that was the first, Banjo is actually the last instrument that I made it to. Um, and, uh, I, I, I, as soon as I was playing Climber, Seriously, I, I, I regretted the time I had, uh, not had it. Cause I, I do think, um, like that's, that's the, that's the instrument for me.
[00:23:08] Oh, cool. So you, it, it, Literally was your calling to pick that thing up? Yeah, just, I just love it. I never get tired of, yeah. I never get tired of playing clima banjo. Yeah. It's, it's a great instrument. Uh, I spent, uh, a very brief time in college trying to play it. Yeah. And, uh, I, I was down in West Virginia and, uh, I just remembered this guy , you know, uh.
[00:23:33] Saying, well, that's a very interesting way you're playing. Which is very kind of him. Uh, you know, he came back in this holler and uh, he, he took upon himself to put together a cassette of different, you know, banjo music. But needless to say, I, I ended up playing bass guitar and guitar second, but um, Old Town School is a perfect place to have the banjo, and uh, to be teaching, and uh, tell us a little bit about that, um, what a great gig to have.
[00:24:07] For music. Yeah, I mean if you I mean you you're pretty you tour pretty regularly, right? Yeah Yeah, so, you know that that kind of lifestyle is pretty tough. What do you say? Yeah So yeah, I think the idea from the founding of the school was Uh, I mean it's pretty small as a Frank Hamilton and Winstrocky, uh, got it started and it was for Frank, the, you know, the first teacher, a way to, I think, kind of balance out, uh, performing professionally and, and having some sort of steady local income that you weren't traveling to, to do.
[00:24:42] And I think that's, uh, Kind of maybe, I don't know, the history of the school is, is interesting. It's very organically, you know, grown out. I don't think that was like, planned to be the thing that it is today. Not at all. Uh, and so, in, in those terms, like, as a thing for somebody to do, or maybe they don't see the touring life as as part of their, uh, as part of their path.
[00:25:08] You know, you can have a, you can have a day job that's still musical, that's still connected to the community of people that you like to be around and like to work with artistically. Um, and then you can go out gigging on the, on the weekends or in the evenings at the local spots. Chicago's great for playing around.
[00:25:26] Chicago has a lot going on and, uh, One of the things that, uh, is nice to see is a resurgence in live venues, uh, uh, small venues too. Uh, the, the golden era, of course, uh, the gold standard would have been like the Earl of Old Town and some of those places, uh, you know, and, uh, uh, John Prine and Chris Christopherson and, uh, Ed Holstein, all those guys.
[00:25:59] And, uh, They were all there, but they were also, uh, at that time, kind of, some of those guys were loosely affiliated with the Old Town. And there was a lot of crossover. And, uh, the Old Town is, uh, probably that's one of the best things that Chicago has going for it, is the Old Town School of Folk Music. Uh, my niece is currently studying, uh, um, violin there.
[00:26:24] So, uh, you know, some fiddle. So, um, Before we take another break, let's, uh, do you have a little claw hammer you can give us? Yeah, I can play a little tune on this. Sure. We'll see, uh, Let's, uh, try something, something new here. So we'll see how that goes. I don't know if that's a smart choice, but Whatever you got.
[00:26:48] Alright. Uh, this is, uh, this tune is called the, uh, Ghost of Guastavino.
[00:27:33] A soft and steady pattern in his hands. Moves between the laurel leaves that cover Where his Spanish mansion used to stand.
[00:28:17] We kick our shoes against the cellar wall.
[00:28:25] It's all that survived from the place burned down. Move with me between the laurel leaves.
[00:28:40] Find a place locked down on the ground.
[00:28:48] Hold me. Hold me while the sun goes down.
[00:29:15] Well, marry me if that would make you happy,
[00:29:23] Build a house of brick made from this clay,
[00:29:31] It's the law of the universe.
[00:30:28] Me down,
[00:30:38] down.
[00:30:49] You're on, strung out, and we'll be back after this. Hello, I'm Polly Chase, here with artwork by Marty McCormick. This is titled, Dream. It's an 8 by 10, pen and ink drawing. Be lovely in an office or child's room. Anywhere you need inspiration to let go and see where your dreams can take you. To inquire about pricing and to view other pieces of Marty's artwork, go to martinmcormick.
[00:31:20] com. Thank you. Back to you, Marty. We're back. And, uh, for those of you that are watching the podcast version on YouTube, we've got a really cool looking banjo here. And, uh, I love this. Cutaway here. Oh yeah. And for lack of a better way of describing it, I've never seen that before. Little fretless sort of, uh, set up on the board.
[00:31:47] Why, why is that? Yeah, so for Clymer this is a pretty, this is not a typical shape for it. Yeah. But there's usually what we call a scoop right at the high part of the, the neck. Um, cause Clymer banjo players actually like to play. Right there. So that's the Where as opposed to bluegrass players, they're kind of getting their fingers in right where it's brighter next to the bridge.
[00:32:10] Okay, typically, claw hammer players, you know, don't have to. But there are a lot of them who are keeping their fingers right there. So it's a way to kind of keep from having to run your fingers into the fretboard. Into the fretboard. Very, very cool. Yeah. Very cool. Yeah, I guess I'm a little more used to the bluegrass version with the Yeah.
[00:32:27] The pixel on it. Yeah. You know, I mean, now it's But, uh, uh, this is very neat because, uh, it's just, uh, it's, it's, it's a beautiful looking instrument. Yeah, Chuck Lee built this banjo. So Chuck Lee makes some, he's in, he's in Ovilla, Texas. Uh, he's a single maker, a lot of the, um, or it used to be, there's, there's more open back banjos now than, than I think, uh, you know, you would have found 10 or 20 years ago, people making them.
[00:32:52] Um, Chuck's been, Chuck's been making them for a while and, uh, I've got two of his. Uh, really, really great instruments. I like them. This is a 12 inch pot. Uh, wooden rim, so no tone ring. Uh, and a renaissance head, so this really set up to be a really mellow, kind of thumby, mid range y sound, as opposed to the Bluegrass banjos, 11 inch, big metal tone arrangement.
[00:33:16] A little more, yeah. It's like the electric guitar of, uh. It's got a little more clang to it, this is more buttery. Yeah. And, uh, more thought provoking, I think. You know, that's, you know, especially with, uh, putting together a tune, I mean, uh, You know, the bluegrass, uh, uh, way of doing everything is a little more frenetic.
[00:33:36] Yeah, you know, it's rock and roll. Yeah, it is rock and roll. Yeah, yeah, you know. So, um, we have, uh, uh, we kind of have a little shameless hucksterism here in promoting your website. Oh, yeah. How do people get a hold of you? Uh, yeah, jonisfriddle. com. Is, uh, so if you, I, I'm, I'm the only Jonas Fridle I know of, so if you put my name into the, into the computer, then, uh, it, it, it comes back with Where does the, where does the name Fridle come from?
[00:34:05] That's kind of a, a unique name. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think the, the, uh, the, the thought is maybe, uh, it lost, uh, lost an E in an umlaut somewhere, so maybe it was a Fridle, like a Dutch German. Maybe, yeah. I, I think, uh, there's a, there's that from that side of the family, and then Mom's side of the family, the Evertons are a British, a British bunch, so.
[00:34:29] Yeah. Yeah. Mixed up like most people. But it's great. I mean, like you said, you're blessed with the name that you go online and it's going to, all roads lead to you. Yeah, it was funny because, um, I had, I showed up to a show a few months ago. Uh, one of the only other Frittles I've met out in the wild. Uh, he, and he came, he drove all the way up from Indiana to see the show.
[00:34:56] I was playing Hanani in Arlington Heights and he drove all the way up from Indiana to, because he had found my name. Cause he does apparently genealogy for, for Frittles and he had found me and he had reached out to me to let me know. There's actually, apparently, I haven't checked this out yet. But, uh, a group of a good number of Fridl's staff.
[00:35:12] A Fridl family reunion. A family of Fridl's, yeah, that I'd never known about. Well, that would make sense, I guess. You know, depending on how far back it was when Fridl came into being. Yeah. Well, what a blessing in that sense. Uh, you know, having a name like that and Jonas, uh, Jonas Fridl. It's, it's, it's got a real, um, You know, uh, Americana feel to it, I think, you know, uh, Martin McCormick, not so much.
[00:35:39] I mean, you know, it's very Irish and, uh, well, you end up with, uh, I, I ran into a couple other Martin McCormick's. One that is an William Pike player. Oh, those are my favorites. Yeah. And he's, he's fantastic. And then there's another Martin McCormick who was in Ireland as well, who, uh, paints Uh, using Pete. Oh.
[00:36:01] Turf. Wow. You know, as, as, uh, kind of the medium. Wow. Yeah. Both great artists. And, uh, another guy's a race car driver in Australia. So, I mean, it's an interesting, like, you know, so that's why I, I like when I do my own music and stuff. Martin Lawrence McCormick, because it's, uh, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. just to differentiate.
[00:36:19] But, um, Let's, uh, let's wrap up this podcast and can I hold you over for another one? Do you have time? Sure. Yeah. Great. Because, uh, we delve a little more into the singer songwriter aspect of things. But, um. You know, when is Chicago going to be your home? Do you feel like this is, uh, are you going to just keep migrating north and west?
[00:36:41] Are we gonna find, like, that's funny too here in Regina, Saskatchewan or something like that? Uh, the next time we, I don't, that's funny what you should add. I mean, no, I don't, I don't think I'll migrate further north and west, but I have, I have started, uh, in the, in, in recent years working with a, um, an event space that is north and west up in Wisconsin.
[00:37:02] It's called White Oak Savannah. It's in Dodgeville. It's right across from Governor Dodge State Park. And, uh, I've been, uh, working on helping get some, uh, arts programming up in that it's a beautiful open space and, uh, uh, I've been helping to put together a music festival there for a few years, so I don't think I'm, I think I'm as far North maybe as I'm going to live, but, uh, but, uh, but I, I do keep finding, you know, it does, I do keep finding interesting things.
[00:37:30] Uh, the further north I go, for some reason. Well, that part of, uh, that part of the Midwest up there, you're getting into, uh, that's where my partner Brian Fitzgerald now lives. Oh. Up near Lansing, Iowa. Yeah. So, two hours. Sure. You keep going on 18 and, uh, you end up in, uh, Prairie du Chien and then just a little north.
[00:37:48] That's the Driftless. Right. Which is the best part of the Midwest. Right. It reminds me a lot of Central North Carolina. Yeah, it's got the hills and the greenery, the trees, the different kind of trees, but they're there. Yeah, yeah, it's a, it's a, and what got you, how did you, how did you end up doing that? Oh, it's through teaching.
[00:38:09] So one of the longtime students of mine, uh, has had that space and, um, uh, invited me to come up to see it sometime and had some, uh, Um, really beautiful aspirations for what the property could be and, uh, you know, I'm, I was very happy to try. I'll try and chip in to see if some of those things could be, and is there a website that people can Yeah, yeah, that Let, let's plug them to Yeah, absolutely.
[00:38:34] It's White Oak. White Oak. Savannah. No, h So white oak savannah.com. No H and uh, yeah, if folks are, are listening, looking for a good time. The festival's in August, it's really great. There's gonna be an old time music weekend with a lot of instructors and jamming happening in July, and then. For the Deadheads, there's a Grateful Dead workshop weekend led by a couple of teachers at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
[00:39:01] They're going to come up and do that. That's towards the end of July. So, a lot of fun things going up there. Well, I've got a player, uh, that's great on mandolin and flattop guitar, and he's a luthier, and he's, uh, he's out, uh, a little further west out of Dodgeville. Okay. closer to Gaze Mills. All right. Uh, so I'm going to hook you up with him, uh, Kevin Dose.
[00:39:24] Just a great, great, uh, performer. Um, let's do one more for this podcast and, uh, and whatever your choice. So we're listening to Jonas Fridle and, uh, we're going to have another podcast, uh, That's what I like to do with the, uh, our musicians, our Chicago treasures, because, uh, these guys are, everybody's chock full of so much creativity and what a, what a blessing we have to have, uh, such great talent hanging around the Windy City.
[00:39:53] You know, uh, this used to be the home of the old WLS fire dance. Yeah. And, uh, you know, I kind of feel like we're bringing it slowly back. I think that's really true. I don't know what's, uh, I haven't, I haven't gotten through it yet because I have a line of books to get through. Oh. But I've got the country and midwesternists.
[00:40:11] The one that was written. Right, yeah, just released. So, um, I know lots of tidbits, but I'm not going to speak to it until I've really got the facts down. It's an interesting, uh, it's an interesting legacy. And, you know, the funny thing about it is, it's not that long ago. I mean, you had the Sundowners, you had Joel Daly, who was an old, uh, uh, Reporter, lawyer, and would go in and dress up like a cowboy and do this country western, uh, with the sundowners.
[00:40:42] And they're all tied into this beautiful thing that ended up, um, just migrating down to Nashville. And Nashville, uh, Nashville, you know, took it. But I think, you know, the Midwest, in some ways Chicago, I think, is starting through its musicians, rediscovering the fact that it's It's really got this Midwestern Americana powerhouse that's existed all along.
[00:41:07] But we're, we're Chicagoans. You know, we, we kind of like, uh, we dismiss ourselves, but enough said, we'll, we'll delve into that some other time. Let's listen to one more for this podcast from Jonas Springer. All right. We'll try, uh, Cuba out of JFK.
[00:41:35] We were called War babies. We loved us. Some good news, real. We check the NASDAQ market when we want to know how we feel.
[00:41:48] I used to wear my Air Jordans like they were my Sunday shoes. Your daddy looked like Tom Brokaw, baby. My momma sent Sunday news, she sang. Life's been different since we dropped the bomb. And we treat each other like it's Vietnam. Now, who cares what side you're on? When you gotta give it away. You gotta get it.
[00:42:15] I'm headed down to Cuba, baby. Flying outta JK.
[00:42:25] All the Star Wars babies, but they want, they can use the force big love, too lazy to finalize their own divorce.
[00:42:38] I.
[00:42:44] I got an iceberg of regret, baby Titanic to Noah's Ark And I'm singin Life's been different since we dropped the bomb And we treat each other like it's Vietnam Now, who cares what side you're on? We gotta get away, we gotta get I'm headin down to Cuba, baby Flyin on a jet plane Alright. Okay.
[00:43:31] So if you want my money, honey, here, you can have it all. Call it a souvenir, baby, a piece of a Berlin Wall. And I ain't a sympathizer, but I reckon I can reconcile. Maybe we can too, baby, maybe we should wait a while. Cause life's been dead to me. We drop the bomb and treat each other like Vietnam. Now
[00:44:09] get away. You gotta get it headed down to Cuba, flying jail. Alright. Okay. Headed down. Cuba.
[00:44:25] Headed down to Cuba.
[00:44:30] I'm a Jeep and I hit it down in Cuba, baby. Slow fade. Well, I have had a great time and I hope you guys have had a great time listening to the artistry here of Jonas Bridle. Guess what? We're going to be coming back with him on another podcast. And so, until next time, we'll, uh, we'll talk to you guys. And, uh, let me say that again.
[00:45:06] Until next time, thanks for listening and watching. And, uh, you're on Strung Out. Bye bye. See you later. Thank you for listening. For more information about this show or a transcript, visit martinmccormack. com. While there Sign up for our newsletter. See you next time on Strung Out.
[00:45:32] So Surround Spain we feel makes no sense at all. The Swan song was a part of the deal was no good call Giving out choice, giving us that.
