root salad Ninetree Stumblers
Named after Bristol’s best falling-down hill, and as old time as it gets. Steve Hunt takes a look.
he Ninetree Stumblers are a group from Bristol (UK) who play old- time American music and claim that they were “born a hundred years late and 4,000 miles too far east.” Their recent album – the endearingly-titled The Ninetree Stumblers Complete Record- ed Works In Chronological Order (Vol 1) – reveals a hugely likeable trio who take their music (if not always themselves) very seriously. Their collective DIY ethic encom- passes performances and recordings, run- ning dances and workshops, a monthly podcast and stringed instrument making.
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I spoke, via telephone, to Liam Kirby and Ruth Gordon, with Liam’s older daughter Fionnuala (“she plays a mean harmonica for 20 months old…”) deputising for the other- wise-occupied Daniel Weltman. How, I polite- ly enquire, did this six-legged, living embodi- ment of “the old, weird America” come to manifest itself in the capital city of trip-hop?
“My thing,” considers Liam “has always been about the way that old records are. I grew up listening to my mum’s records which were by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Cream. The first old record that I really got into was Devil Got My Woman, by Skip James. And then a friend’s dad, who was a record nerd, told me to get the Anthology Of American Folk Music. When I first got it, when I was sixteen, I liked the songs best but now my favourite part is the social music. I feel like Harry Smith was pushing that weird edge, and that comes across in a lot of the later compilations by people like John Fahey. Until Ruth joined it was always hard to get that sound.”
“I got involved a couple of years ago,” says Ruth, “and, to be honest, I didn’t even know what old-time music was, until I met them and Dan asked if I wanted to play gui- tar in their band. I was already into folk music – definitely a lot of the early blues – but I think I’d always thought of traditional banjo music as bluegrass, and I wasn’t really that into it. When I discovered old-time it was something that appealed to me a lot more – it seemed much friendlier and less show-offy!”
“I do find musical genres that work essentially on virtuosity kind of wearing,” Liam sighs. “There are some modern old- time things that, to my ears, are just played too nice…” “I really appreciate the simplici- ty of the music,” states Ruth. “It’s just so enjoyable to play simple music in a group. The people who originally made that music were just working people, living their lives and playing music when they could. That’s something that I really identify with.”
“Often you’re figuring stuff out from old records, and there’s a trick to the tuning of the instrument or something,” muses Liam. “I was learning a Cajun tune the other day and once I realised that the fiddle had been tuned down a tone from standard tuning, it was a doddle to play!”
With everyone in the group a multi- instrumentalist, I ask how they go about arranging and recording their material.
“I think we usually try to make sure
there’s a guitar in it, and then we fill in the gaps!” laughs Ruth.
“With the fiddle-led stuff, it’s usually about whose style is most appropriate for the tune,” explains Liam. “My preferred fid- dle stuff is scratchier, while Dan’s is more precise. There’s a couple of tunes that we do with harmonica on, so I thought I had to basically learn the harmonica well enough to do those songs. We’ve now forced Ruth into playing the cello for the same reason!”
With all three members holding down jobs and young kids involved, extensive touring doesn’t look like a viable option. “Part of the reason for our podcast is trying to find a different way to do it, because if
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we get in a car and go to play a show in Leeds or wherever it costs us more money than we make,” Liam confirms. “We’re try- ing to function, socially, on a local level and reach people in a way that doesn’t involve being away from home for loads of time.”
f course, their intoxicating blend of “moonshine-fuelled hoe- downs, sombre Baptist hymns, cockeyed ragtime and sweetheart waltzes” can be enjoyed anywhere, thanks to their splendid CD. “We did the whole recording ourselves,” Ruth proudly declares, “and we’ve actually just bought a reel-to-reel machine, so there’s going to be more like that in the future, just recorded direct to tape…” “Yeah!” interjects Liam, “we’re punk rock!”
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Non-Bristolians can see the Ninetree Stumblers at The Green Note, London on 22nd October. The Ninetree Stumblers’ Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order (Vol 1) is available now on Nanny State Records (you heard Ladies’ Quadrille on fRoots 59). The Ninetree Stumblers’ Radio Hour Podcast is on the internet.
www.ninetreestumblers.co.uk F
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