LIL REV'S FOUNTAIN OF UKE BLOG

Notes On The Making of My New Claw & Hammer CD

The Idea: In the early winter months of 2016, after an nearly unbearable 2015, i decided i'd focus my  mind on something positive whilst my daughter and i whiled away the cold,  dark winter months that proceded Carol's passing. 
To that end, i determined that a new recording project might be  just the ticket! 
Having endured a treacherous year of illness, depression, and  near death myself (stung by a black wasp and went into Anaphylaxis shock),  i needed this project to be light, fun and easy.  
Given this, I pulled out a list of tunes i'd been compiling over the last couple of years;  mostly early country, folk and pre-bluegrass type stuff that i aimed to record  with a claw-hammer bent to them. 
About My Claw-Hammer Roots: 

My love of banjo playing was mostly inspired by backing up my longtime
music pal John Nicholson of Frogwater. John is an incredible player and
over the years i grew to love old time banjo mostly thru b…

This summer i am traveling with my daughter Mariela Rose and my

girlfriend Jenna Lynn on a summer tour of the west coast.



We are stopping in: WA, OR, CA to teach and perform ukulele.



The route west will take us thru Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming,

Montana and finally Washington. This western experience is at the heart

of what i love about being on the road....big open sky, horses, cattle,

rusted cars, broken fences, tiny ma and pop cafes, black coffee, bonding

time with family and friends, and lots of jamming and practicing time

as we traverse from town to town.



While in Wall, South Dakota the following video was shot:



Morning Coffee, Just Picking some tunes, rehearsing for my tour.

There's a whole slew of tunes i never perform on stage, just things i like

to play when i am at home on the porch. That's what i was doing

playing Sugar Babe, when Jenna turned on the video and caught me

rocking out.



I first heard this played by Mance Lipscomb of Texas, via an old Arhoolie

recor…

Hello Dear Friends,

This weekend marked a turning point for me as i headed out to teach and perform
at The Traverse City Ukulele Festival in Michigan.

https://mightyukefesttraversecity.com

2015 was the lowest point in my life...as my family and I suffered with the loss of
 our dear Carol to lung cancer.

We fought valiantly for 10 months and tried everything.
In the end, carol decided home hospice was the best option, so....

I cancelled the vast majority of my work (and it was a stellar year for bookings) and
it was only thru the good grace of my fans, family and local community that we kept
afloat all those months. God Bless all of you....Thank you! Thank you for all your
help. We will always be grateful to you.

While my 2016 show will recount some of these painful moments....mostly my daughter
and I will celebrate life as we always have. For we must go on, pick up the pieces of a
shattered life and begin to make it whole once again.

I am especially proud of my daughter Mariela, she h…