--->Update!<--- I was digging around in the vaults and found 5 more Sugar Farm tracks. You can get 'em HERE
So much good music, so little time. A lot of stuff slips thru the cracks. I have a drawer full of cds that deserve better than to sit gathering dust. I intend to get to them one of these days but as the man said, The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions. This is one of them.
Sugar Farm was/is Marty Reinsel on drums (aka the drummer for GravelRoad who, btw, have just released a very wicked album called Psychedelta) and Margaret "Mugs" Light on guitar/vocals.
They operated out of Seattle between 2002-2007 touring the US and Europe on their own, though they played gigs (backing T-Model Ford) as recently as August, 2011. Margaret sings like she's worrying a raw secret wound that never heals and plays guitar like Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside's punk-rock god daughter. Marty keeps the North Mississippi groove sexy, stony, and locked in place.
I suppose the fact that they never issued a proper album is why I didn't get around to writing about them. But in good news for all y'all they did record eight songs in February of 2005 at Jimbo Mathus' Delta Recording Service in Clarksdale, MS and Sugar Farm has given me permission to offer them up as a free download right HERE.
Below is a short Q n' A that I did recently with Marty Reinsel:
Your first MySpace post is 30 May 2005. In January-February of that year you and Mugs made a trip (pilgrimage?) to the North Mississippi Hill Country and spent time with the Kimbrough and Burnside clans.
Marty:
Yes, we were in Mississippi until about March. We lived for part of 2005 in Mississippi's northern "Hill Country," getting to play regularly with local musicians including members of RL Burnside's family and Junior Kimbrough's family. The recordings from February 2005 at Jimbo Mathus' Delta Recording Studio are perhaps the best recorded examples of the band's sound garnered from a traditional studio setting. Otherwise the best recordings of SugarFarm, according to me, are bootleg tapes of live shows of the band. I recall bootlegs from 2006 as being favorites, often capturing the band's best or weirdest moments including ones from less traveled tour stops such as Evansville IN and Morehead KY as examples of the our range and atypical approach to the music.
How did you two get together in the first place? Were you friends first then started playing together or did you get together with the intention of playing this music?
MARTY:
Margaret and Ilived in a musical house in Seattle WA around the turn of the century. We played with like-minded players, usually for the enjoyment of the music & often not going beyond the living room, perhaps playing a house party for friends during our first few years playing together. Taking influence from hill country blues, fundamental four-on-the-floor rock-n-roll mixed it with primal energies, all of the music-making from that house in Seattle's Central District helped spawn GravelRoad- and gave SugarFarm their start. Yes, we were friends first - through a common friend - and we were all learning this sort of music together. We had the "bricks" of a friendship in place, this music was the "mortar."
How on earth did this trip come about? How did a couple kids from Seattle manage to show up in Mississippi, meet the Burnside and Kimbrough clans, and hook up to record music with Gary and Cedric Burnside and Jimbo Mathus?
Marty:
Really, a lot of it was determination to meet the people who made this music out of a deep-rooted connection to the music that I can almost not describe. Something intuitive was in place. I FELT this music more than other sounds. Literally, the heart beat rhythms and the general flow of energy and sounds - low & haunting, yet energetic and danceable - really resonated in me and for me. I, thankfully, heeded the call of the music. I was not a musician before the time I first started to play this (2000 or 2001). Having friends learning this music simultaneously and rally around this sort of sound made it easier. My first "real" trip to Mississippi to explore the music and people deeper in 2001 (with Margaret) led us to meeting David Kimbrough JR, among others, and got us into their church and their family (we went to a family reunion with David in July 2001 - meeting not only Kimbroughs but Burnsides and others). Special stuff.
Approximately one year from that trip Sugar Farm started touring, doing shows with the likes of Hillstomp and Cicada Omega. Was that year a whirlwind for you or did it all seem like natural progressions?
Marty:
Natural progression. It's funny now to think of that time, but we were Over-ready to be playing by the time of 2005 and '06. This might be hard for some to believe, but we were not very connected to the bigger world of music, namely thru the web. Sugar Farm didn't get a website - and a crappy one at that, but it's all we could afford - until mid 2005. We coulda been playing more shows earlier, but we were not knowledgeable and/or connected to really get gigs. Local venues didn't seem to take us seriously. It was tough and weird, but ok. We just kept working on our craft. It was not about a specific outcome -like money - that drove us. I'll only speak for myself here, but music held and still holds such a magical place for me, that to dull it down to being driven by money would lose some, if not all, of the luster and appeal of it.
Really, I'd been lucky to have a great life in terms of learning and creating a life that was filled with meaningful endeavors. I wanted to learn this music, I wanted to play with my friends, and I wanted to travel. If I made some money, great. But it really was and is about the music and the relationships around it. Thanks for asking.
I snagged a few early Sugar Farm MySpace posts for historical perspective:
May 30th, 2005
Sugar Farm is a music duo performing our own style of electrified, boogie-blues based music. Our live show currently packs a pretty big wallop. We've been making music for a few years, but this year has seen us taking great strides to expand our musical horizons.
We spent a large chunk of time in January and all of February in Mississippi. We got a number of great life experiences and musical connections during that time. We played with the Burnside family, the Kimbrough family, T-Model Ford, and a bunch of other talented and dynamic people while we were there. We are currently working to create a tour with the Burnsides (not RL, unfortunately, but with Cedric and Garry, in conjunction with their 2-piece). They are up for it, and so are we.
We'll keep you updated as we go.
Sugar Farm is M Light on vocals & guitar and M Reinsel on drums.
Current mood:awake
Hey Any and All out there- Muggs and I are by no means wizards at this computer stuff. Hell, Marg. gets on about once a month, and I seem to screw up the website when I try to update a show date. Well, I'm learning more and definitely giving more time to the computer thing (at what cost?), so hopefully we'll get some music and phots on this site, but you can still check out music on our own website; www.sugarfarmmusic.com. The "push" is on for more shows; and not just Seattle, but all over the place. Hell, if we can travel to Mississippi to play, there's no reason the I-5 corridor (and then some) can't accomodate us. Keep on rockin'.
Dec. 2, 2005 Check out our Mississippi recordings - with the Burnsides and Jimbo Mathus. We recorded some songs when we were down in Mississippi. We've finally posted them up here (thanks to Stefan from Gravel Road) - they are rough mixed and not mastered, but they have something special on them that we figured people would want to check out.
"Lord Have Mercy" had Garry and Cedric Burnside (RL's kin) playing on it. And "Boogie Chill" has Jimbo Mathus adding a second guitar to the track. Both of these tracks were impromptu and unpracticed. We got to play with the Burnsides a bunch, but when we recorded this track with them, we'd only screwed around with it once together at brother DuWayne's juke. And the track with Jimbo ... hell, we hadn't met him before that day. All of those guys were great in offering their time and energy. We love 'em.
Everyday I learn something. I learned (again) that playing $8 cover shows where your time slot is small sucks for those that came to listen to the music. I don't see us doin' that again, unless there is a hell of a good reason.
To those that came to the show last night at El Corazon ... sorry for the short set ... we coulda played all night long, but they wouldn't let us ... we'll make it up with a "party" show w/ no cover, especially for those friends/fans that came last night. You will be personally invited.
Last Night's show at the Comet
We had so much fucking fun at last night's show. We'd like to thank everyone that was there, our friends, those that heard us for the first time, the other bands, and the fine folks of the Comet. It was a great nite.
Feb. 14th. 2006 Last year, SUGAR FARM went and lived in Northern Mississippi. We had some amazing experiences during our trip. One that stood out occurred on Valentine's Day (even though we did not realize it was Valentine's Day until later on). We had been able to spend a fair amount of time with the Burnsides (namely Cedric and Garry) in Holly Springs, but we hadn't gotten out to the house to see RL. We were a bit reluctant, given his recent physical struggles.
On February 14, a weird thing occurred. I was talking with Cedric, and I was giving his dad, Calvin Jackson, props for his drumming. Cedric said to me: "I wish he could hear that ... Why don't we go out and see him?" Soon, we were on the road. I didn't realize we were going out to RL's to meet up with Calvin. When we got there, I was a bit uneasy. I knew I'd get to hang with Calvin, yet I also wanted to see RL, but I did not want it to seem uncomfortable to the family. I hesitantly asked Cedric, and in a very nice way he let me know that RL would want to meet us. We went back to the room where he rested. He was obviously weakened and looking less robust than the RL I was used to seeing. Life was leaving him. Yet his eyes were brilliant: bright blue, with that glimmer that we all know, and as vibrant as it ever was. He smiled as we held his hand and let him know how much we've enjoyed his music over the years. I felt very humble in his presence. It was quite an experience. We quietly left his bed and joined the rest of the crew in the living room. I knew that it would be a once in a lifetime experience. I knew it was the last time I'd see him. M. Light, my bandmate who joined me on the trip, said it best: "I don't normally care about Valentine's day, but this one meant something." I agreed. It was my favorite yet. Thanks for the memories RL (RIP) and the entire Burnside family. -M. Reinsel
Boy-girl two-piece bands that fold swampy blues into dirty punk are definitely nothing new, especially since a certain Detroit band with a fondness for red and white saturated the scene. Despite that reality (or perhaps because of it), I'm impressed with the sounds being passionately banged out by local duo Sugar Farm (www.sugarfarmmusic.com). Though originally from the Seattle area, guitarist/vocalist Margaret Light and drummer Martin Reinsel spent a few months last year living in Mississippi, exploring the roots of their chosen genre at ground zero. Rensel describes their time in the South with great fondness and respect, citing "truly life-altering experiences recording and giggin' with the likes of Cedric and Garry Burnside [close kin of the late R. L. Burnside] and T-Model Ford." They also got involved with the local Mission Baptist church attended by Junior Kimbrough's family—a cultural and spiritual immersion that now informs their work with palpable authenticity.
However, they're hardly content with emulating their predecessors, and enthusiastically pull a powerful sense of punk-minded aggression and paint-peeling sexual heat into the mix. If your idea of a dream band is one that fuses the lusty charisma of the Bellrays with the articulate aggression of Fugazi, then I strongly advise you to catch their next show this Thursday at Hana's (downtown at 1914 Eighth Avenue). Need more incentive? This will be the alternative venue's last show—Hana's is being bulldozed to make way for yet another onslaught of condos.
Mix&Dorp, aka Jan Mittendorp- Chief of Black and Tan Records, has a new collection of outstanding new/neu blues interpolations / extrapolations / mixes out now that you just gotta hear.
His previous collection Blues+Beatwas magnetic. He's refined his processes on Black and Tan Edits to make an outstanding reimagining of the blues. This set remixes or perhaps rather re-beats artists like Boo Boo Davis, Big Mama Thornton, Muddy Waters, Bi Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Clara Young, Big Bill Broonzy, and others and enchants them into sexy stony fat club grooves perfect for grooving the booty as well as the mind.
Your pals The Ten Foot Polecats have released the first single from their forthcoming as yet unnamed album. The album oughta be out in early to mid-summer, in plenty of time for The Deep Blues Festival:Cleveland which is slated for September 22nd (and maybe the 21st, too). Btw, Jim Polecat tells me there will be some free tracks coming soon as we get closer to release date. Stay tuned.
The single, titled Moonshine And Mud, is an homage to the legendary Muddy Roots Festival. Dig Loud:
Turchi is Reed Turchi, boss of North Carolina's Devil Down Records who brought you the new Kenny Brown double-disc set, the Bill Ferris recordings of Mississippi Fred McDowell, a new release by long-time Junior Kimbrough sideman Little Joe Ayers, and a couple other very worthy works.
On his first solo album Turchi, who is based in Chapel Hill and plays guitar and sings,Chris Reali (a musicology student at UNC-Chapel Hill) on bass, and Cameron Weeks (Blackskies) on drums, and the group is joined by the great Luther Dickinson on three tracks. The Lutherized songs, in particular Dr. Recommended (Satisfaction Guaranteed) has a wealth of swagger. Luther brings it, and it's hangin'.
Turchi brings a Dylanesque-tone to Road Ends In Water akin to Bob's more recent work (I'd bet money a very discerning Dylan would dig this album) filtered thru Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside alumnus Kenny Brown. Reed Turchi could almost be, as Brown was to Burnside, Kenny's adopted son. That's not to say Turchi is aping. That's not it. But Kenny is a predominant and fine flavor. Turchi is a tight band and I'd be very interested to see/hear them live. Reed and his friends have made a fine first album that reps them well. I look forward to hearing the next album after they've had a chance to get some serious roadwork under their collective trotters. This is original and very solid North Mississippi hill country (and delta blues reworks) that should satisfy any fan. You can get it HERE.
They look like a bunch of nice ex-AV nerds but they rock it down and out like it's goin' out of style. Bless this post-Black Keys punk/rock-infected-blues era! The kids are singin' like they went to sleep listening to Danny Auerbach records thru an old transistor radio hidden under their pillow. And that's ok. There is enough lost in that translation that Charlie Patton's War glows blue and bright in the hot hard baked Indiana night. Strapped with a very nice video and two fine free recordings available from Bandcamp, these boys are headed in the right direction, and to be honest what Charlie Patton's War is doing is closer to Auerbach's olde pre-BK's outfit The Barnburners than not, variety-wise. A lil' jazzy swanger like Hats Off To Duke butts up against a mysterious creeper like Black Bell then we're off on a Jim Jones Revue-y ripper in Call Me Baby. But comparisons aside, this is their thing and they sound just like Charlie Patton's War. Charlie Patton's War is populated by a bunch of Recording Arts students from Indiana U. Been together about a year and a half but sound like they've been together longer and like they've gigged a whole lot more than they have. Both recordings offered are live and sell what sounds like a terrificly thrilling show. They are currently in the running for a showcase at SXSW and I wish 'em the best. Do yrself a favor and go snag both albums by Charlie Patton's War for free right HERE. You'll be damn glad you did.
Possessed By Paul James has a super cool new big 10" vinyl-only release out now on the French label Normandeep Blues . Six tracks recorded live on August 25th, 2011 at the legendary Antones in Austin, Texas. If you know PPJ aka Konrad Wert's work you're gonna be thrilled by this. There is really nothing like a live PPJ show. If you are unfamiliar with the man this is a fine place to start, You'll also want to pick up PPJ's critically acclaimed album Feed The Family (Hillgrass Bluebilly Records).
Buy Possessed By Paul James - Live At Antones HERE
Thanks to Charlie Humphrey of Old Gray Mule for calling my attention to this piece. Posted here without permission from Charles Russo.
It has come to pass as a particular sort of historical irony - both poignant and peculiar - that one of the last great southern bluesmen died on the same day that Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf States. R.L. Burnside passed away at the age of 78 in a Memphis hospitable bed, just one of many chapters that came to a close on the morning of September 1st.
More so than even the geographic relevance, blues music was born of the same dire circumstances that had been broadcast 24/7 amidst Katrina's aftermath: poverty, despair, displacement, and of course - racism. It is curiously symbolic then, that R.L. died just as the blues would wash over the Deep South.
For anyone who knew his albums or had seen him play, R.L. Burnside was the real deal. This has been said before, often and in many ways, but I don't see any other angle around it: a root definition for a roots bluesman.
Burnside got us back to the source. His hard-driving Northern Mississippi sound steered us clear of the Planet Hollywood-style "Blues Houses", and put us back onto muddy roads leading to sweaty southern jukejoints where the only thing that's polished is the chrome on the bartender's .44. His music was gritty, stark, and savagely soulful; a stirring resonance from the nerve center of a deep-seated American music tradition.
Today, when this blend of gut-wrenching soul-soothing blues is the most needed, we lost one of the last men qualified to deliver it. Indeed, Burnside's death not only signifies the closing to the 11th hour revival of the Mississippi Hill Country bluesmen, but in many ways to the Golden Age of blues music itself. Say what you like about which 20th century masters are still among us, R.L. was the last of the roots to remain relevant.
Over the course of his career Burnside not only shared a stage with the legendary Lightin' Hopkins and John Lee Hooker, but also with the Beastie Boys and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. His catalogue ranges from a sensational session of solo acoustic blues recorded in his living room circa '68, to the beat-heavy remix "Shuck Dub" which had scored the uneasy ending to an episode of the Sopranos three decades later.
Burnside then, was the view from the crossroads; blues music's past and path ahead, as well as the payoff from its dirty midnight dealings with the devil. * * * * I first got to see R.L. perform live at the Blues and Roots Festival in Byron Bay, Australia, just as he was reaching the height of his newly found popularity. Although he was over 70 at the time, Burnside was quick in proving that he was not some relic propped up on stage to represent a musical heyday gone by.
Sharing a bill with an impressive list of blues offspring and interpreters, including Ramblin' Jack Elliot, David Lindley, Ben Harper, and the John Spencer Blues Explosion, R.L. and company took to the stage like they were out for blood. Hearing them tear through "Shake 'Em on Down", it was clear that Burnside was coming at us straight from the source.
Backed by the hard-hitting drumming of his grandson Cedric and the searing slide guitar of his "adopted son" Kenny Brown, the trio lay into the Northern Missississippi blend: a repetitive and hypnotic sound that subtly deviates into chaotic flourishes and beat-you-back guitar solos. On top of it all was R.L.'s dynamic voice; so fluid on those earlier recordings and now just wholly fierce in his later years.
Complementing the sound was Burnside's unique stage presence, derived from decades of performing and employed as the jab in the 1-2 of his live show. Sitting in a flannel shirt, overalls, and truckers hat, R.L. sipped on a "Bloody Motherfucker" (tomato juice and whiskey) while tossing old grandad humor at the audience between each song ("For now on I ain't drinking unless I'm alone"…long hit of his drink…"or with somebody"). After a few more swigs, R.L. set in on the ferocious riff of "Goin' Down South."
Oddly enough, Burnside's spectacular set was followed by the weak link in the event's lineup, a trumped-up bar band playing formulaic Rock-Me-Baby-Rock-Me ponytail blues. The crowd now seemed perplexed, and rightfully so - Kenny G had just taken the stage after John Coltrane. * * * *
Burnside came of age as a guitarist in the 1940's playing drunken weekend house parties until the early morning hours with his much-accomplished neighbor - the famous 'Mississippi' Fred McDowell.
While in his 20's, R.L. was one of many Mississippi natives that migrated north in hopes of economic opportunity in Chicago, where at the same time blues music was making the transition from an acoustic country sound to the rollin' and tumblin' electric stomp of the city streets. There, Burnside frequented local blues joints where he had a front row seat to watch his cousin-in-law Muddy Waters put his mark on the future of American music.
And yet as the blues was evolving and legends were being made, Chicago dealt Burnside a heavy dose of death as his father and two brothers were murdered within the short period of only 8 months (two uncles met a similar fate shortly thereafter).
Returning back to his home state of Mississippi, Burnside encountered more killing, though this time on the other end of the gun. R.L. was convicted of murder after shooting a man dead during a gambling dispute, and subsequently spent 6 months in Parchman Prison. Listening to the inflection of R.L.'s voice as he sings the lyrics "If it weren't for bad luck/I'd have no luck at all," you get the sense that he means it as more than just a catchy phrase.
Burnside's you-can't-make-this-kind-of-shit-up biography came to be part of his appeal when his sound finally caught on beyond the Mississippi State lines about ten years back. This was not just for the novelty factor but for its refreshing realism in an industry were musicians show off their multi-million dollar homes on television and then return to the studio to sing about angst and adversity.
In contrast, Burnside lived in a ramshackle house that was swarming with grandkids and beset by old cars and farm equipment rusting on the front lawn, all the while boasting a relentless sense of humor.
In commenting on the circumstances of his murder charge for the documentary You See Me Laughin', Burnside reflected on the matter with the timing and delivery of a stand-up comic: "When the judge asked me, 'R.L., did you shoot him in self-defense?' I said 'No sir, I shot him in the leg as he jumped da fence.'" * * * *
Burnside's story of reaching a younger audience in the mid-90's hinges on the precarious saga of the Fat Possum record label; a fleabitten mongrel of an underdog tale that ultimately reads as an exquisite comedy of errors.
Enamored by the energy and authenticity of the local bluesmen whom he watched perform at Junior Kimbrough's juke joint in Holly Springs, Mississippi, 21 year-old Matthew Johnson took his life to the pawn shop in a haphazard attempt at making a business of getting the likes of Burnside, Kimbrough, T-Model Ford, and Paul 'Wine' Jones down on tape.
Unsurprisingly, the matchup of a hapless white hustler in his early 20's trying to manage a bunch of stubborn black tractor drivers crashing headlong into their twilight years was about as smooth as cheap whiskey on an empty stomach. High on Johnson's list of hurdles was the unusual dilemma of effectively recording the talent before old age got the best of them.
Burnside proved to be the label's most successful artist, particularly after Fat Possum lured the attention of a younger audience in 1996 with the release of A Ass Pocket Full of Whiskey, which had paired R.L. with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in a single raucous 5-hour session.
Critics and blues purists alike were quick to denounce the album, charging Spencer and Johnson of not only "corrupting" Burnside, but the blues itself. Thankfully, the raw appeal of the music outlasted the criticism and R.L gained considerable recognition on a series of worthwhile follow-ups, such as the stripped down electric voodoo of Mr. Wizard and the experimental (and equally controversial) collection of remixes - Come on In.
As Fat Possum continued to scrap its way to a well-deserved notoriety, R.L. received a Grammy nomination for his stunning live album Burnside on Burnside. Although it was a long overdue acknowledgement for an accomplished musician that didn't gain recognition until the last decade of his life, Burnside reportedly responded to the accolade by inquiring, "How much do they pay?"
* * * * The last time I saw R.L. perform was at the sold-out Great American Music Hall in San Francisco for one of the two shows that would end up comprising Burnside on Burnside. Playing to an eclectic crowd that ran the gamut from young hipsters to aging blues fanatics, R.L. built the performance up to a fever pitch, turning out potent versions of his standards and ending with the rowdy stomp of Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy."
Leaving the theater I felt as if I had just caught last call on the 20th century blues tradtion. A few months earlier I had watched in disappointment as a feeble John Lee Hooker struggled through the shortest of sets; clear evidence that the glory days of his music were now to be had solely through his recordings. Conversely, Burnside's enthralling performance in that packed theater in San Francisco was an increasingly rare glimpse into the very nerve center of the blues tradition.
Looking ahead, the debate over the quality and legitimacy of the current manifestations of the blues in the 21st century is likely to remain as sticky as the Delta air in mid-July. If one thing can be agreed upon, it is that the old guard - these "real deal" musicians who contributed first-hand to the formation of the blues genre - are all but gone; legends for us to relate to subsequent generations.
Still, there appears to be the possibility of a music renaissance emerging from the destruction of the Gulf States. While many of the factors that had formed the blues - sharecropping, the Great Migration, Jim Crow - were unique historical circumstances that are not going to recreate themselves, there are startling modern similarities lingering amidst the ruins of New Orleans and the neighboring regions; areas that have been known to sprout enduring music customs from the dense muck of American social reality.
As Mark Twain had said, "History does not repeat itself - at best it sometimes rhymes." We can only hope so.
Drinkify provides a drink recipe based on the music you are listening to. Some of the drinks are incredibly spot-on (Black Diamond Heavies and GravelRoad, I'm hangin' with y'all!). Remember to drink responsibly and never with amateurs. Cheers!
"My songs, they have just the one chord, there's none of that fancy stuff you hear now, with lots of chords in one song. If I find another chord I leave it for another song." -Junior Kimbrough
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