We, as musicians, are
preoccupied with West Virginia songs, from the ancient ballads of
the Hammons Family in the central highlands, to mining laments and
songs of resistance in the coal fields. We enjoy love ballads and
country songs as well, especially the poignant imagery of Kate Wolf
and Laurie Lewis.
We present our music both as entertainment and social history, with
engaging ease and hard-hitting passion. As two people absorbed in
the study of oral tradition, we spend time with old-time singers
and tellers living in the Appalachian region. Singing to audiences
of all ages, we perform in a variety of situations; from classrooms
to prisons, from coffeehouses to picket lines.
Our style is an amalgamation of musical and oral sources representative
of places like Cherokee, North Carolina, the Appalachian coal fields,
and industrial cities of New England.
We are available to teach and lead workshops and field schools in
the context of elderhostels, schools, colleges or community trainings.
Our expertise is in oral history, public folklore and audio production.
We teach interviewing techniques geared toward gathering oral testimonials.
We also teach about folklore and the power of the oral tradition,
combining our own live musical performance with examples from our
audio productions to unveil the lives of Americans not generally
included in mainstream debates. Our areas of specialization include
family stories of Appalachian people and ethnic minorities. Our
music consists of high mountain harmonies with melodic flat picking
style guitar backup.
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