Episode 151: Dennis Gaumond

Folk Roots Radio on May 24 2014 (Episode 151) featured lots of great music and an in studio interview with Dennis Gaumond (Gomo) about his new project Jennis.

How did you spend the long Victoria weekend? Like many other people, I spent it in the backyard trying to get everything in shape for the long growing season ahead. I’ve been focused on yard work this spring because there is a lot of work to do in the yard of the home I moved into last year. It seems the yard and gardens did not have much TLC over the past few years, so I am digging in with my green thumbs and fingers. I’d like to say I am planting a vegetable garden, but this year I have my hands full just trying to get the flower gardens and yard back on track, so maybe I’ll tackle that next year.

With that in mind, it was natural for me to find six songs for this weeks mystery theme on the topic of: gardening, gardens and yard work. For listeners playing along with our mystery themes, I decided to develop the actual theme set from the first song we played entitled, “The Garden Is Growing” by Ron Short & Roadside Theatre. I really look forward to preparing our mystery theme sets because it enables me to explore the outer reaches of my music collection. Admittedly, this week I did not strayed far off the beaten track but nonetheless it was great fun to play music by Ruth Moody, Royal Wood and Doug Paisley while going intensely local with The Funky Mamas and (a blast from the past) House Of Velvet. As always, if you’d like to recommend a topic for a mystery theme, then please get in touch.

It was also nice to bring our Guilty Pleasure feature back to the show this week. Thanks to Roy for suggesting the Glen Campbell version of Jimmy Webb‘s Witchita Lineman. Apparently, Witchita Lineman was on a mixtape that Roy prepared for himself, back in the day, for a journey he took across the US mid-west. And let’s be honest, it is a perfect song for that sort of long road-trip. Plus, like all of the guilty pleasure songs we play, it’s a song that many people still love. Thanks also to Charlene for getting in touch and telling us how much she enjoyed it; we’ll look forward to getting a GP from Charlene in the not to distant future! Remember, a Guilty Pleasure is that song you still love even though you think others may find it unfashionable. You’ll be surprised how many other people love it too!

If you have a guilty pleasure you’d like to share – that song you still love though you think other people would find it unfashionable (believe me, they won’t), get in touch. We’d love to play it for you! And, if you have a good story about why you love that song, so much the better.

Also, if you have suggestions for artists that we should be playing on the show, or know of a musician who we could invite into the studio, feel free to share that information too.

Bluesman Dennis Gaumond (Gomo) joined me in the second hour (9-10 a.m.) to chat about his intriguing new project Jennis, featuring cellist Jen Gillmor. We also played some tracks from their new album entitled, The Current. Jennis will be launching the CD in Toronto on May 30th and again in Guelph (Eden Mills) on June 6th. The Toronto show takes place at The Monarch Tavern on May 30th at 8 p.m. (Doors at 7:30 p.m.) Jennis will be joined by Vince Maccarone on drums and Gary Diggins on trumpet, and Evalyn Parry will be performing an opening set. The Guelph area show takes place at the Eden Mills Community Hall on Friday, June 6th at 8 p.m. (Doors at 7:30 p.m.). That night, Jennis will be joined by Tom Wolf on drums and percussion, and Guelph singer-songwriter Sue Smith will open the show. Cover for both events is $15 and for $25 you can gain entry to the shows and obtain a copy of the new CD, which sounds like a great deal. For more information visit jennis.ca.

Well that’s just about everything I need to mention this week. You will find the full playlist for the show below. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We’ll see you next week!

You can listen to the show again in the CFRU 93.3fm archive HERE.

Mystery theme: “The Garden Is A-Growing”

Ron Short & Roadside Theatre
The Garden Is Growing
Appalachia: Music From Home (2009, Lonesome Recordings / Condon Music Group)

The Funky Mamas
Pickin’ In The Garden
Pickin’ In The Garden (2012, Self) CDN

Ruth Moody
The Garden
The Garden (2010, Red House Records) CDN

Royal Wood
In The Garden
A Good Enough Day (2007, Six Shooter Records) CDN

Doug Paisley
Digging In The Ground
Doug Paisley (2008, No Quarter) CDN

House Of Velvet
In The Garden
Our Time (2002, Self) CDN

Bry Webb
Fletcher
Free Will (2014, idée fixe CDN

Clela Errington
In The Mercy Of Your Love
More Love & Happiness (2014, Clela Music) CDN

John Fullbright
Jericho
The Ground Up (2012, Blue Dirt Records)

Birds Of Chicago
All The City Girls
Live From Space (2014, Self) CDN

This week’s Guilty Pleasure:
Glen Campbell
Witchita Lineman (1968)
Glen Campbell: All The Best (2003, Capitol)

Sarah Jane Scouten
I Had To Be Right
The Cape (2014, Self) CDN

Ask The Woods
Sierra
Season of the Sticks (2013, Self) CDN

Interview: Bluesman Dennis Gaumond (Gomo) joined us to chat about Jennis, his new project with cellist Jen Gillmor.
www.jennis.ca

Jennis
Closer To Me
The Current (2014, Self) CDN

Jennis
The Perfect Thing
The Current (2014, Self) CDN

Jennis
We Are The Ones
The Current (2014, Self) CDN

Jennis
Not Here Anymore
The Current (2014, Self) CDN

Theme:
Mary Margaret O’Hara
Anew Day
Miss America (1988, Virgin) CDN

Background Music:
Bob MacLean
Rose Of Allendale
Six Strings North of the Border Volume 2 (2005, Borealis) CDN

Jayme Stone
Andrea Berget
Room of Wonders (2005, Self) CDN

Lawrence Blatt
Into the Abyss/Infra Red
The Colour of Sunshine (2009, LMB Music)