Music
Press
Seconda prova discografica per questo trio del Kansas composto da Mike Black al
mandolino, da lui stesso autocostruito, Dayle Dryer Black al fiddle e Mike Yoder alla
chitarra. La band solitamente si esibisce alle locali barn dance ed ai farmer’s market,
situazioni di festa dove lo scopo principale è la parte godereccia legata alla cucina e la
danza, in coppia o di gruppo, a seguire. Le melodie quindi proposte sono tutte basate
su arie di origine irlandese che dall’isola oltre Manica sono giunte nel nuovo mondo
durante il periodo dell’immigrazione dall’Europa alla terra americana. I tre si sono
impadroniti così a fondo di questa tradizione che quasi tutti i 18 brani strumentali
proposti, di cui 9 in formato medley, sono di composizione della coppia Black. Alla
traccia 14 compare anche un pianoforte dato che Dayle è pianista di estrazione classica
prima di dedicarsi al violino. Le tracce scorrono tra reels, jigs, tunes, power tunes,
dance sets e walzer. Il violino fa da guida al suono del trio in accoppiata al mandolino
che lavora anch’esso all’interno della melodia talvolta con qualche seconda voce,
lasciando alla sola chitarra tutta la parte ritmica. Tra le note in stile tradizionale di
tanto in tanto c’è qualche guizzo di inventiva fantasiosa fuori dagli schemi che apre in
soluzioni armoniche differenti dall’incedere dell’album. Album gradevole, senza troppi
scossoni, musica strumentale adatta, appunto, alla danza. Consigliato a chi desidera
immergersi per un oretta circa nell’Irish sound.
- Italian website The Long Journey
Hey Mike and Dayle,
Thanks so much for sending me your three bean salad..it's totally eclectically cool.
Excellent job on the tune writing (like the waltzes and Old Dog especially)...
and thanks for the recipe to boot.
- Rodney Miller
published in next issue. - Dirty Linen
Discography
Three Bean Salad - Three Bean Salad;
Three Bean Salad - Saint Ruth's Gossip over a Cup of Tea (comp. single);
Three Bean Salad - Acoustic Potluck
Photos
Bio
Three Bean Salad was formed originally as a dance band with Mike Black on Mandolin, Dayle on
Piano and the late Gary Hughes on Fiddle. The most recent line up of Three Bean Salad with Mike
Yoder on Guitar was cooked up for the 2004 MandoFest held at the historic Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas. Since then Three Bean Salad has opened up for several top name players such as Mike Marshall, John Reischman, Don Stiernberg & Butch Baldassari. Three Bean Salad has also played for Dance Weekends and instrument workshops.
We began formulating a plan to write a few tunes for Three Bean Salad during the 2005 Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS . We had constantly been scouting out new tunes to learn but felt we needed to have a few that were our own. We had fun with our first tunes, so we set a goal to come up with one tune a month. Some months were surprisingly productive and others dry, but we exceeded our goal with 20 tunes in about a year. Plus, we were having a fabulous time creating and trying out tunes on our jamming buddies. Mike & Dayle recently won the 2007 Walnut Valley new song showcase in the Instrumental category for their tune Cowley County Breakdown.
We chose the name Acoustic Potluck for our newest CD because of the eclectic mix of styles our
tunes have. The tunes are just like the food at a potluck; you never really know what’s going to show up. This collection includes reels, jigs, groove tunes, power tunes, dance sets, and waltzes. We’ll jam on anything: New England, old-timey, Irish, Klezmer, whatever comes up, and our tunes grew out of this musical smorgasbord. Many of these tunes have been successfully contra-dance road-tested: Flint Hills Ride, Digger’s Reel, Window Pain, Biscuits & Gravy, Old Dog, Paddy On the Kaw, Second Shift, Problem Solved, Boiled Okra, and Field Assignment, while others are just for jamming or zoning out. Guitar players tend to enjoy and fear our tunes because they are challenging as well as fun. As one of our friends put it “these tunes make the guitar part of the music, rhythmically as opposed to being just
back up.”
Links
