John
Welcome, Flamekeeper fans, to the first edition of Typewriter Tom – your online source for Flamekeeper facts and fiction, trivia, interviews with the guys in the band plus occasional wise sayings from Benjamin Franklin – all of it presented in a writing style that surely would have drained the last drop of red ink from my high school English teacher’s Bic pen.
Since this column is brand new, here’s some background info for you connoisseurs of fine literature: First, the actual typewriter in question is a manual machine built in the 1960s by the Royal Typewriter Company of Hartford, CT, and which can be found today in the back room of Gilbert’s Hobby Shop in my hometown of Gettysburg, PA.
Secondly, I’d like to invite readers to submit questions for the band which we will answer in the Reader’s Forum each month. In the likely event that we receive no questions in a given month, we’ll make something up and then answer it to the best of our collective abilities.
Feature Story
We’ve been working in Nashville on the new band album and I asked Mike how he got connected with engineer Steve Chandler and producer Jeff White. “I’ve worked with Jeff and Steve since 2001. Vicki Simmons told me about Hilltop Studio and Steve Chandler. She said Steve had enthusiasm for the old stuff, you know, traditional ‘grass, and was into cutting things ‘live’ rather than using a click track and doing all of the parts separately.”
“I’ve known Jeff White since I was 16, when I played at the IBMA Fan Fest with him. As far as producing, I had originally asked Jeff Guernsey to produce “Flame Keeper” (Mike’s first album for Rounder, released 2002) but something came up and he couldn’t do it, so at the rehearsal session at Jeff White’s house, I asked Jeff (White) to produce the record.” Mike has worked with Jeff and Steve on all of his studio albums – Flame Keeper (2002), Let ‘Er Go, Boys (2006), Leavin’ Town (2008) and the new, as yet untitled CD to be released in March, next year.
Mike and I talked about working at Hilltop Studios on the “Leavin’ Town” CD, and the following story emerged about Steve Chandler and Mike’s fiddle: “We’d been in Nashville working on ‘Leavin’ Town’ and we went to Branson, Missouri to play for three or four days. Not until the morning of the first show did we realize that my fiddle was still in Nashville – not in the studio but in the hotel where we’d been staying. I called back there and Steve picked up my fiddle and took care of it until we got back to town. I had to borrow a fiddle in Branson for the shows there. When I got back to Hilltop to get my fiddle, Ken Irwin (producer, Rounder Records) was there working on the Dry Branch Fire Squad’s record, “Echoes of the Mountains” and he asked me if I would play fiddle on some of the songs.” And there you have it. Mike’s fiddle turns up missing and in the end he not only gets his fiddle back but adds yet another album to his already lengthy discography.
(Above Photo: Mike at the mixing console with Steve Chandler and Jeff White, October, 2010.)
Reader’s Forum
Jim from Floyd, Virginia writes: What music have the guys been listening to recently?
Mike – the Bill Monroe 1950s CD box set and the Eddie Stubbs (radio) Show.
Jesse – the album X&Y by Coldplay.
Marshall – Peter Rowan’s new CD, “Legacy”.
Jessie – Michael Jackson’s 1982 album, “Thriller”.
Tom – Bob Dylan’s album, “Blues"
Birthdays This Month
November 17 – Tom Adams (Tom has registered for gifts with Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine.)
Next Month
We’re headed to Europe for a 16-city tour in December, with most of the performances taking place in Germany. In the December Newsletter we’ll talk with Jesse and Marshall about past trips to Germany.
Until next time, be well and be sure to follow Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper on Facebook. Invite your friends to sign up for our newsletter and don’t miss the next edition of Typewriter Tom.
“The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Upcoming Shows
October 23rd Lenoir City, NC Broyhill Center with Dale Ann Bradley
November 12th Springfield, IL Crowne Plaza Hotel Festival
November 13th Rockwood, MI Carlson High School
December 3rd-18th Tour of Germany and Switzerland
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