On the West Coast... with John Cohen! Feb. 26th-March 12th...

[The Dust Busters with John Cohen, Fall 2010.]

We are very very pleased to be doing a tour of the West Coast with our friend from New Lost City, John Cohen.  John Cohen is a founder of the legendary old-time string band The New Lost City Ramblers, one of our very favorite bands and big inspirations.  John Cohen is a musician, photographer and film maker who has released more than 16 documentary films.  His latest is entitled "Roscoe Holcomb: From Daisy, Kentucky."  The film follows Roscoe Holcomb, the singer, banjo and guitar player, construction worker and coal miner whom John encountered in 1959 while doing field work in Eastern Kentucky.  John befriended Roscoe and through John, Roscoe Holcomb was able to tour and play shows around the United States and in Europe, becoming known as one of the truly unique and essential voices of American folk music. It’s a beautiful film and a wonderful tribute to Roscoe Holcomb.

“Roscoe Holcomb: From Daisy, Kentucky” recently premiered at the Margaret Meade Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History together with a retrospective of John’s work and also just won the award for Best Documentary Short at the Woodstock Film Festival.

Also, a very nice piece about John Cohen and the new film just aired on NPR’s Weekend Edition: CHECK IT OUT!

Here’s a synopsis of “Roscoe Holcomb: From Daisy, Kentucky" that I wrote for the program guide of the Woodstock Film Festival:

“John Cohen explores the life, philosophy and music of Eastern Kentucky banjo player, coal miner and construction worker Roscoe Holcomb. Holcomb has been injured on the job and forced into early retirement. He discusses his life and music and plays a number of traditional songs from his region. Using intimate footage of Holcomb at home as well as footage of his family, community and region, Cohen presents a remarkable and visually beautiful portrait of Roscoe Holcomb, a man who despite economic hardship and changing times has maintained a powerful and authentic personal music and philosophy.”

All shows feature The Dust Busters with John Cohen unless otherwise noted.  Frank Fairfield will join the band for the show at The Freight and Salvage in Berkeley!


[Roscoe Holcomb with John Cohen, 1964]


Below are the dates for our upcoming tour.  See ya out in the world!

Sat. Feb 26th, 2pm
Instore appearance at Down Home Music Store
10341 San Pablo Ave
El Cerrito, CA - 94530
(510) 525-2129

Sat. Feb 26th, 5pm
Workshops at The Freight & Salvage
2020 Addison Street

Berkeley, CA 94704

Info:
Old Time 5-String Banjo Workshop w/ John Cohen - Saturday, February 26, 5:00-6:00 pm ($25**)
Old-Time Country Fiddle Workshop w/ Craig Judelman - Saturday, February 26, 5:00-6:00 pm ($25**)
Old-Time Guitar Workshop w/ Eli Smith & Walker Shepard - Saturday, February 26, 5:00-6:00 pm ($25**)
Old Time String Band Sounds & Styles w/ John Cohen, Craig Judelman, Eli Smith, & Walker Shepard - Saturday, February 26, 6:15-7:15 pm ($25**)

**There is a discounted fee of $40 if you sign up simultaneously for one of the 5:00 workshops and the 6:15 Old Time String Band Sounds & Styles.

Mon. Feb 28th, 7:30pm
Show at The Freight and Salvage
2020 Addison Street

Berkeley, CA 94704

- The show starts at 7:30pm with a showing of John's new Roscoe Holcomb film, then at 8pm the great Bay Area bluegrass band Kleptograss and then The Dust Busters with John Cohen.  We will also be joined on this show by our friend Frank Fairfield!

Tuesday March 1st, 9pm
Missing Link Records
819 J St
Arcata, CA 95521

- We're playing at this great record store and showing John's new movie. This show is sold out at the moment, but check with Missing Link for ticket availability- (707) 826-0590.

Wed. March 2nd, 6:30pm
Bijou Theater
492 East 13th
Eugene, OR 97401

Wed. March 2nd, 9pm 
The Granary Pizza Company
259 E 5th Ave

Eugene, OR 97401 

Thurs. March 3rd, 8pm
Mission Theater 

1624 NW Glisan
Portland, Oregon 97209

- We're super excited for this show with the full Foghorn Stringband, reuniting for this show. Show will start with John's new movie about Roscoe Holcomb, then the Dust Busters with John Cohen, then Foghorn...

Fri. March 4th, 6:30pm
Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th St
Seattle, Washington 98105

-We're screening John Cohen's new movie Roscoe Holcomb, From Daisy Kentucky, as well as Remembering an Old Song and Sarah and Maybelle Carter at 630 and 930 pm. The films will be followed by a short talk back with John. At 8pm, there will be a performance by The Dust Busters with John Cohen before the second screening.

Sat. March 5th, 6:30pm
YWCA
1026 North Forest Street
Bellingham, WA 98225

- Two sets, The Dust Busters with John Cohen

Sat. March 5th, 9pm
Pickford Film Center
Bellingham, Washington 98225

-We will screen John's new movie featuring Roscoe Holcomb at his home in eastern Kentucky playing and talking about his life. We will also screen John's films "The End of an Old Song," and "Sarah and Maybelle Carter."

Mon. March 7th, 7pm
San Juan Community Theater
100 2nd Street, Friday Harbor, Washington
(360) 378-3210

Sat. March 12th, 8 PM
Rogue Folk Club
St. James Hall - 3214 W. 10th Avenue
Vancouver, British Co CANADA 

- sans John Cohen, plus new Roscoe movie

Albums For Sale...

The Dust Busters music is for sale and you can download it on the internet!

Click the images below to be taken to the sales page...


The Dust Busters with John Cohen on Folkways!

Old Man Below

The Dust Busters with John Cohen SFW40206

On Old Man Below, The Dust Busters point the way for a new generation of old-time music devotees. Standing squarely in the lineage of the New Lost City Ramblers, their reverence for tradition runs deep while their interpretations bring fresh meaning and a sense that their music is as contemporary as any other. Dust Busters mentor and Ramblers elder John Cohen joins Eli Smith, Walker Shepard, and Craig Judelman in this solidly grounded, future-looking album of classic melodies that makes the legacy of yesterday the sound of today. 60 minutes, 36-page booklet with photos and extensive notes.

The Dust Busters with John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers.






The Dust Busters first album!

Roots n Ruckus!

[The Dust Busters at the Jalopy Theater.  Sketch by Robin Hoffman.]

Hey everybody,

   Come check out Roots n Ruckus this Wednesday, the awesome weekly folk music show at the Jalopy Theater in Redhook, Brooklyn- we'll be playing at 11pm! No cover!

The Jalopy Theater
315 Columbia Street
NY 11231
(718) 395-3214
www.Jalopy.biz

Opening for Patti Smith at the Bowery Ballroom- Dec. 29th & 30th!

The Dust Busters will be opening for poet-singer Patti Smith for 2 shows- Wednesday Dec. 29th and Thursday Dec. 30th at The Bowery Ballroom.  Gonna be fun!  We're big Patti Smith fans and its a big honor to be able to open for her 2 nights of her legendary Bowery Ballroom end of the year shows!



The Bowery Ballroom is located at:

6 Delancey Street corner of Bowery
New York, NY 10002-2804
(212) 533-2111

Prohibition is a Failure - Dec. 12th CD Release Show!

 Hello everybody-

  Our brand new EP, "Prohibition is a Failure" is coming out on Sunday Dec. 12th, and we're proud as can be!  We'll be doing a CD release show that night at Southpaw here in Brooklyn.  Its gonna be a great show with a number of our favorite musicians joining us on the bill.  We recorded the album over the summer with John Cohen, a founder of The New Lost City Ramblers, one of our all time favorite bands and it was a huge honor as well as a pleasure to make a record with him.  This EP will be followed by a full length LP with more recordings from those sessions a few months down the road.  The album will be available for purchase on the internet soon enough... but come down to the show and get one hot of the press!

The Dust Busters and John Cohen Present: "Prohibition is a Failure" CD Release Party!

8pm - Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues
8:45pm - Kristin Andreassen (of Uncle Earl and Sometymes Why) and Friends
9:30pm - The Dust Busters with John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers
10:30pm - Square Dance!

Sunday Dec. 12th
@
Southpaw
125 5th Ave btwn Sterling and St. Johns
Brooklyn, NY  
(718) 230-0236

Buy tickets in advance at: TicketWeb

John Cohen Photographs

The Dust Busters, photographed by John Cohen, Fall 2010.

The Dust Busters were photographed this Fall by our good friend and very favorite photographer, John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers.  We've been doing a whole lot of work with John Cohen of late including recording an album with him over the Summer which came out real nice- and we're releasing an EP from those sessions real soon!  The CD release show is set for Sunday Dec. 12th at South Paw here in Brooklyn.  Gonna be fun!  Look out for more info on that coming soon...

We were very honored to be photographed by John who among his many subjects has taken such stunning photos of so many of our favorite musicians over many years.

For more of these photos as well as lots more Dust Busters photos, visit our PHOTOS PAGE.

The Dust Busters, photographed by John Cohen, Fall 2010.

DBers w/ John Cohen, photo by John Cohen and Kehren Barbour, Fall 2010.

DBers w/ John Cohen, photo by John Cohen and Kehren Barbour, Fall 2010.

This Weekend!

Saturday Nov. 20th at The Jalopy Theater!

We'll be playing with John Cohen to celebrate the release of the new book about John's band The New Lost City Ramblers.

Gone to the Country: The New Lost City Ramblers and the Folk Music Revival by Ray Allen
Saturday, November 20
Show starts at 8:30pm

"Gone to the Country: The New Lost City Ramblers and the Folk Music Revival," is a new book by Ray Allen that chronicles the life and music of the New Lost City Ramblers, a trio of city-bred musicians who helped pioneer the resurgence of southern roots music during the folk revival of the late 1950s and 1960s. Formed in 1958 by Mike Seeger, John Cohen, and Tom Paley, the Ramblers introduced the regional styles of southern ballads, blues, string bands, and bluegrass to northerners yearning for a sound and an experience not found in mainstream music. Tonight, Ray Allen will show rare and fantastic photos of the band, while telling the story of the band and it's impact on music everywhere.


Friday Night at 25CPW Gallery

November 19, 6-9pm We'll be playing at 8pm with John Cohen as part of this wonderful art opening...

films-photographs-kinetic sculpture-woodcarvings
stringband music

EXHIBITION OPENING AND LIVE PERFORMANCES
on exhibit until November 28th

JOHN COHEN of The New Lost City Ramblers performing with The Dust Busters

BOB POTTS of the Highwoods Stringband
JOHN SPECKER of the Correctone Stringband

with additional photographs and video by Bess Greenberg

25CPW Gallery
25 Central Park West
New York, New York
10023
ph. 212.203.0250

More info below:

Square Dance!

Hello everybody,

We're playing a square dance on Friday, gonna be fun!  It's gonna be held at the House of Yes in Williamsburg.  We'll be playing a short set before playing for the dance at 11pm. Dave Harvey will be the caller, from nycbarndance.com.  Opening the show will be our friends, Cuddle Magic.

Friday, October 22nd

Show starts at 9pm

House of Yes
342 Maujer St
Brooklyn NY 11237

A Visit with Joe Thompson

[Photos by E. Smith]



On a beautiful day in early June The Dust Busters paid a visit to the home of Joe and Polly Thompson.  Joe Thompson is 91 and lives outside of Mebane, NC.  He has been playing fiddle since he was 5 years old, way back in 1923 and is perhaps the very last traditionally schooled African-American fiddler in the world. Joe is a World War II veteran and is long retired from his job at a furniture factory.  He continues to play music at home and at gigs including taking his music to Carnegie Hall in New York City, the National Folk Festival and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the International Music Festival in Brisbane, Australia.  In 2007 Joe Thompson was honored with the National Heritage Fellowship award from National Endowment for the Arts.  The Carolina Chocolate Drops have spent a lot of time with Joe and have learned a lot from him.  They continue to present many of his tunes in their performances.  We met Joe at the 2nd Black Banjo Gathering, held in Boone, NC in March of this year.


We sat around the Thompson's picnic table in the field behind their house and played a number of tunes as Joe recalled his musical family and his upbringing.  Joe and Polly were tremendously nice and hospitable and we were really touched and honored to spend time with them.  Here are some excerpts from the long afternoon that we spent at the Thompson's home.

Big thanks go to Joe and Polly's friend Larry Vellani for bringing us to their home that day, and a shout out goes to our friend Steve Kruger who joined us with his banjo and guitar.

Here's the songs we played that you'll hear on this recording:

I Shall Not be Moved
John Henry
Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind
Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad
Lights in Valley
Georgia Buck
Molly Put the Kettle On
Ladies on the Steamboat
Molly Put the Kettle On
I've Got Oil in my Vessel
Careless Love

More photos below:

Roscoe Holcomb at the Woodstock Film Festival

We were very pleased to play with John Cohen on Saturday following the screening of his new film, "Roscoe Holcomb: From Daisy Kentucky" at the 2010 Woodstock Film Festival. We were even more pleased that the film took the award for best short documentary at the festival!

Look out for John & The Dust Busters playing in support of the film again on Nov. 13th at the 34th Annual Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival at the American Museum of Natural History.


[Roscoe Holcomb with John Cohen, 1964]

Reviewed in Sing Out!

The Dust Busters self titled first album has just been reviewed in the Summer 2010 issue of Sing Out! magazine.  The very positive review says that we "embrace happy recklessness."  The reviewer goes on to say that, "I wish they could have put this record out on 78rpm; I'd love to play it on my grandmother's Victrola.  Authentically good stuff!"

We would like to start issuing 78rpm singles.  Sounds expensive.  Who knows, we'll work on it... 

Dock Boggs Festival

The Dust Busters are on our way to Norton, Virginia today, once home of legendary banjo player Dock Boggs and current home of the Dock Boggs Festival.  We will be playing there on Saturday Sept. 11th at 3pm.  At 5pm our friends The Tillers will also play.  Gonna be a great festival, check it out!

European Tour!

Alright!  We're headed out to Yerp with dates across Bulgaria from August 26th-31st and then on to Ireland where we will be from Sept 2nd - Sept 5th.  See ya on the road...

Bulgaria: 
August 26th - The Burgas Folk Festival.

August 28th - Apollonia Festival of the Arts in Sozopol.

August 31st - Concert in Sofia at the summer stage in Borissova Gradina, 6pm.

Ireland:
Sept 2nd - The Crane Bar, Galway.

September 3rd - Geraghty's, Westport.

September 5th - The Cobblestone Pub, Dublin.

On Tour...

Hello everybody - The Dust Busters are taking to the road again!  Below is our late May - early June tour dates.  We're coming to your town, check it out!  Tell your friends!

[Dust Busters on the road, photo by C. Judelman]

Thursday May 27th - Cleveland, OH

8:30pm
Beachland Ballroom
15711 Waterloo Road
Cleveland, OH 44110
(216) 383-1124

Friday May 28th - Athens, OH

10:00 PM Appearing with Woody Pines
Casa Nueva
6 West State Street
Athens OH 45701

Saturday 29 Louisville
10pm 

The Rudyard Kipling
422 West Oak Street
Louisville, KY 40203-3002
(502) 636-1311

Sunday the 30th - Cincinatti, OH

10PM Appearing with The Tillers

The Northside Tavern
4163 Hamilton Avenue
Cincinatti Ohio  45223-2480

Tuesday June 1^st - Chapel Hill, NC

7:30-9:30pm
Woodcrest Farm
5604 Dairyland Road
Hillsborough, NC 27278

Wednesday June 2^nd - Asheville, NC
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Laurey's
87 Biltmore ave
Asheville NC 28801

Thursday June 3^rd- Chapel Hill, NC

2 sets 8pm and 9:30pm with band in between
Outdoor show in: Ethan's Yard
904 West Main St.
Carrboro, NC 27510

Friday and Saturday June 4th & 5th we'll be camping and hanging out at the Mt Airy Fiddler's Convention. Gonna be fun!

The Dust Busters at the Beachland Ballroom

The Dust Busters are happy to be appearing at The Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland Ohio on Thursday May 27th, 8:30pm.  Check it out!  Gonna be a great show.  Thanks to our friends at Roots of American Music for sponsoring this show.

The Dust Busters on Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour

During our March 2010 tour we played on the "Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour," an awesome Radio/TV show taped weekly at the Kentucky Theater in Lexington. Below are our performances from that program. To view our complete uninterrupted appearance on Woodsongs, CLICK HERE.
"Greenback Dollar"


"All Night Long"


"Roving Gambler"


"Leather Britches"


"I've Got a Bulldog"

Photos from The Black Banjo Gathering

Hey, Eli here from The Dust Busters.  Back in March we played at the Black Banjo Gathering 2010 at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.  It was a wonderful, amazing event that brought together a really impressive group of musicians and scholars with the aim of bringing to light and promoting the African-American origins of Old-Time Music.  Here are some of my photos from the event.  To see all of my photos from the Black Banjo Gathering, CLICK HERE.  
 

Square Dance!

ITS FINALLY HERE! - Square Dance at the South Street Seaport, Thursday April 29th, free and open to the public.  Show starts at 6pm, dance begins at 7:30pm. The Dust Busters will play a short set at 6:45pm and then we will play for the dance! 

Dust Busters at the Black Banjo Gathering

 We were privileged to play at the 2nd "Black Banjo Gathering" at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC in March.  More photos and videos from that coming soon.  While there the fine photographer Bill Steber was taking old fashioned tin-type photographs of the musicians and we were lucky enough to have him take this fine one of us.

The Dust Busters with John Cohen in Washington Square Park

Here's us at the 2009 Washington Square Reunion.  This annual event brings together all the people that have played folk music in Washington Square Park over the years, going back all the way to the 1940's.  This year we had the good fortune to sit in the grass and play music with John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers.  We were rehearsing for our appearance later that week on WNYC radio.