Women with Mandolins

[journeybear]

Not meaning to change the subject (OK, a little) - does anyone know if Katzenjammer has released their album in the US yet? No mention at their myspace page, nothing at amazon, and not much left to August ...

[bhGreen]

Well, Ive posted this a few other places, but this is a good place for it? I hope!




youtube quality so bear with me Im in the back, woman with the mandolin and a fake beard. These are my two favorite song my band does, and this was our best performance. Sorry if you've seen 'em!

[Rob Gerety]

And remember that the cafe is not solely a men's forum. It personally bugs me when semi or overt sexist comments are included in posts.

Barb

Bugs me too.

[journeybear]

Hey - I think I recognize the mandolinist in Gnarly Whales. Could it be ... ? Nah, no way ...

[stonefingers]

Heres a shot of the Clarks with Penny playin' mando...

They've got good stuff. Check em out here...

[delsbrother]

Im in the back, woman with the mandolin and a fake beard. These are my two favorite song my band does, and this was our best performance. Sorry if you've seen 'em!

You guys should rig up something like ZZ Top with a spinning guitar, mando, and washboard.

[GRW3]

It's only a recent phenomena that music is done for you to such an extent. While there have been professional musicians forever (3rd oldest?) for most people music was a personal effort. Historically women were a key factor to community music.

One of the beauties of this thread is that it reinforces the community norm of women in music. Musical traditions are thus better served.

[Greenmando]

I might just go on and pick up her album. Gets some pretty good reviews at amazon, and there are some for less than $1 ...

I was looking for it and could not find it, post a link if you see it again.

[journeybear]

I just went to amazon and searched for the album under Music by its title, "The Divine Comedy." It's 15 years old now, and as a result there are a few for under a dollar - unless they've all been snapped up!

[Darryl Wolfe]

"Milla sang and played guitar in her band Plastic Has Memory. PHM's sound was nothing like what we heard on The Divine Comedy - the mandolin/fiddle inspired folkiness is nowhere to be found. What we heard is in the same vein as Portishead - guitar-driven & dark with lengthy jams."

It certainly appears she plays

[journeybear]

That, sir, is no mandolin!

[JEStanek]

I say we give it a pass as it demonstrates that she plays and instruments aren't just photo shoot props for Mila.

Video of some guitar work from 1994


Jamie

[billkilpatrick]

... what unites us all are calloused finger-tips. never heard her before - thought the mandolin in the photo - THE photo ... - was just a fetching prop - thanks for posting.

[journeybear]

Time to remind people about Katzenjammer, the US release of whose CD is yet eagerly awaited by many.

From Bonaroo, Main Stage. Kind of a bad mix, but great energy. Best part - when the drummer goes nuts and cracks up the bass player.



From Milwaukee's Summerfest, July 4th. Much better mix.



Left to right: Mercury Lounge, New York; SXSW, Austin; Bonnaroo, TN

[Django Fret]

While you are waiting for that Katzenjammer CD to be released, you might check out the Good Lovelies who released their first one in January of this year. The Good Lovelies are a Canadian trio where two (Caroline Brooks and Sue Passmore) of the three women play mandolin.

Check them out on YouTube performing "Lie Down" for some really nice harmonies.

[Django Fret]

How about Cheyenne Kimball- Vocals/Mandolin for Gloriana.

And she plays a righty upside down lefty....

I just saw them playing on Good Morning America and the host asked her what kind of instrument she was playing. Here is a previously non-posted photo of Cheyenne.

[journeybear]

She did say "mandolin" so hopefully some people learned something ... The host replied with "Very nice. Well, if you use a mandolin you have to be successful, it's as simple as that." Now we know. You know something's wrong when the host compliments the guys' hair ... Even though the guitarist made a point of saying they mixed "traditional country roots" with modern sounds, they sounded pretty much like standard current Nashville fare. Still, Ms Kimball wasn't timid with her strumming style; that was nice to see. She was playing an F model, which does look odd upside down. I shouldn't complain too much - it's the only mandolin I've seen on the tube all week. OK, now that sounds like complaining ...

[JeffD]

I just saw them playing on Good Morning America and the host asked her what kind of instrument she was playing. Here is a previously non-posted photo of Cheyenne.

Doesn't that vividly demonstrate how much of a nich we are. We are aware of each other though this forum and our musical activities, and occationally are lulled into a feeling that the mandolin is coming back from obscurity -

and this reminder, that a very popular nation wide television show host can reasonably assume that nobody watching will know what a mandolin is.

[journeybear]

Trying to guess how a talk show host's mind is operating is an exercise in futility. He was standing in the middle, with the two guys on screen right, two gals on screen left, turning back and forth between them. He'd just turned to the left and apparently his eyes landed on the mandolin. Very likely he'd never seen one before, and asked out of natural curiosity. I'm just guessing. At least he asked something about the music rather than their hair. And I'm also as flabbergasted as Cheyenne was about his comment. Probably just fairly mindless patter, all of it. I don't even know who the host was - not a member of the A Team, for sure, that being Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts - and he was probably trying his level best. Ultimately, seeing a mandolin on a national network show being played reasonably well is a good thing - even if most people were watching Miley Cyrus rip it up over on The Today Show ...

[Matt DeBlass]

And back to Milla Jovovich, I found the video for her single "The Gentleman Who Fell," from Divine Comedy . The sound is very Tori Amos-ish, and although there's no mandolin shown in the video (it's more of an art film pastiche) you can hear it pretty prominently at a few points in the background instrumentation.
From what I was able to determine, she didn't play mando on the album, sticking to vocals and guitar. There's hope yet, though Overall, not bad stuff, and you see a bit of her sense of humor in the video.

[Django Fret]

and this reminder, that a very popular nation wide television show host can reasonably assume that nobody watching will know what a mandolin is.

Many people who might have seen that clip will now think that most mandolin players they see from now on are playing their F-model mandolin upside down! Or that someone removed all its points and scroll...

[journeybear]

It is a conundrum, eh? The general public will either believe that this is how mandolins are supposed to look and be played, and then have to relearn the information when they see it played right-ly, or not notice anything one way or another. Ignorance may not really be bliss, after all ...

I must say, this looked a good bit more odd than Jimi Hendrix' guitar. I wonder if the scroll would get in her way if she took a lead high up the neck?

[Django Fret]

Here is picture of Kacey Musgraves along with a video of her rendition of "The Five Pound Bass". Hearing that one makes me want to go out and buy a Pickup, a Jon boat, and a Jitterbug...

[mrmando]

OMG, she's playing, like, an Epiphone ... the dreaded Pac Rim instrument ... how does she sleep at night?

[Django Fret]

OMG, she's playing, like, an Epiphone ... the dreaded Pac Rim instrument ... how does she sleep at night?

Ahem...I think that any woman playing a mandolin should not be discriminated against regardless of the origin of the mandolin or the woman playing it. Can't we all be friends?