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Music of the People, by the People, and for the People

10/28/2013

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I was chatting with a folk musician friend of mine about the difficulty of finding a tagline to describe our genera of music. I said “people don’t always conjure up the image I want no matter what term I use.” She said she had
recently begun saying she sings “old and new songs about all of us” Which struck me as a very nice way of putting it.

Here at Otter Creek, we work hard in two main directions, mining the traditional music of our country, (and hence a great number of other countries from whence many of this nation’s inhabitants hail) and the creation of new songs. You could call us folk musicians, but when we bust out with something Celtic, old-timey, bluegrassy, klezmerish, or singer-songwritery (or just confusingly genre-bending such as the “chamber influenced acoustic tweeny punkpop” song we just wrote, or the “apocalyptic heavy metal death folk” setting we came up with for a favorite Robert Frost poem) we don’t want anyone to feel betrayed or confused. We’ve tried calling ourselves “Rocky Mountain roots music,” and that’s about as close a description as we’ve been able to find.

I kept my friend’s description of her music in mind and one evening found myself saying that we play “music of the people, by the people, and for the people…” and I realized that was about as true as it gets. We’re dedicated to keeping alive many of the great songs that rose up from the common folk of our nation, and we’re dedicated to writing terrific new songs about our surroundings and the journey we share through life with all of you.

So I’ve found a new way to describe what we’re doing. I hereby declare that Otter Creek is first and foremost dedicated to the proposition that music of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. We’ll do our part to keep people humming and tapping their toes to “Shady Grove” and “Sally Goodin'.” We’ll keep on playing old songs that draw a tear or leave us with a sigh, like “Fare Thee Well, or Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times” We’ll rollick with an old Scottish tune turned into “Jefferson and Liberty” (Thomas Jefferson’s presidential campaign song) or cavort with “Farewell to Ireland” (while inserting a little American funk) and we’ll keep on writing songs about the people we meet on our own journey.

That, for me, is what folk music is about. It resonates deep in our souls, and hopefully, if we’re doing our job right. It will move you as well.
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Otter Creek and Friends leading a sing-along of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" Photo Courtesy of Jim Robertson
About the Author:
Peter  Danzig
performs with his wife Mary in their 
Folk/Old-time/Celtic/Blues/ Klezmer/Classical/Americana/ Acoustic-rock duo Otter Creek. 

We are looking for a new tagline to describe their music so post your suggestions here!
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Shiver Into Spark Track List

7/29/2012

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We’re excited! The recording is finished. We’re still tweaking a couple of the mixes, working on liner notes and final art and photography selections but Otter Creek’s second album, Shiver into Spark, is now complete enough for us to sit back and listen to it while we finish up final production. The album features some great new songs, a lot of new instrumental techniques we’ve been working on over the past couple of years, and Mary’s recording debut on the Viola.

Here’s our current choice for track order and just a little bit about the songs on the album.

1.       Shiver into Spark

This song helped Peter place as a finalist in two song competitions. As title track it helps set the tone for the whole album, it’s about the spark that lies hidden in cold ashes.

2.       Farewell to Ireland

This is a traditional tune from Scotland. We were first introduced to it by Kate MacLeod when Peter was accompanying her for a short set. We fell in love with it and decided to do our own arrangement. True to form, we couldn’t stay quite in one genre as a little bit of very American funk crept into our version.

3.       Hard Times

Peter first learned this tune from his father, a folksinger, who in turn had learned it from the singing of Rosalie Sorrels. Peter’s father used to perform a Utah specific version of the tune which referenced the Mormon pioneer’s sufferings while crossing the plains but we decided for this project to use Stephen Foster’s original lyrics as they speak eloquently to the economic hardship so many in our world currently face.

4.       Nine Hundred Miles

We first learned this tune from the singing of Odetta. It speaks of the pain of someone far from home, and perhaps far from the person they want to be. It also features the unique instrumental pairing of Viola and Long Neck Banjo. I guess you could call it our “low lonesome sound.”

5.       Ashokan Farewell

One of our favorite fiddle tunes ever worked into both a mellow fiddle solo and sparkling mandolin instrumental.

6.       Meadow Green

This is our arrangement of a little known folk song about one of the greatest tragedies in Utah history.

7.       Devil’s Boots

An original tune about overcoming anxiety (yes… Peter was QUITE shy once upon a time). This song took first place in the Suzanne Millsaps Performing Songwriter Showcase in 2011.

8.       Getting Past the Barking

Another original song about finding love in the most unlikely places.

9.       Fisher’s Hornpipe

Peter’s version of this traditional tune on solo mandolin.

10.   Hi Diddle Di

Some of the people we admire most are living one day at a time. This song is for them.

11.   Take the Climb

We wrote this song in memory of Tyler Clementi, who tragically took his own life after an instance of cyber bullying.

12.   Morning Has Broken

OK… Here we can brag, our own beautiful daughters “The Three Muses” sang this one. We’re pretty sure you’ll love it. We released a preview of this track on Youtube, come have a listen!

13.   Old Joe Clark

Mary plays this traditional tune on solo fiddle as only she can.

14.   Sister San Rafael

The first time we heard Utah Slim sing this song about one of our favorite places in the world we knew we wanted to do a cover of it. Slim’s song went on to win the 2011 NewSongs Showcase at the Walnut Valley festival in Winfield, Kansas where he invited us to perform it with him.

15.   The Times They Are A Changin

Our version of a Dylan tune we really, really love.

The album should be printed and ready to ship by the end of August. We’re taking orders now and offering free shipping for anyone who orders in the next month! We’ll be having a couple of events to celebrate the album’s release and are hoping to have a CD release concert down in the beauty of the San Rafael swell in late September. We’ll post details as they develop. In the meantime you can listen to the two tracks we’ve posted on Youtube or drop in to hear us in concert!


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