What's your favorite Guild for fingerpicking country blues?

[devellis]

Richie Havens was another Unicorn regular. The folk scene in Boston/Cambridge in the 60s was hard to beat, for sure. Back in the 80s, I went to a Club 47 reunion show that Tom Rush organized at Symphony Hall in Boston. Man, that was a trip. They actually ended up having a similar concert for a few consecutive years and my wife and I joined her brother and his wife for 2 or 3 of them. I wish they'd made videos of those. They'd be priceless. I remember a rather chubby-at-the-time (but still adorable) Bonnie Raitt in shiny spandex standing next to Tom Rush in jeans and a flannel shirt and saying to the audience, "OK, pop quiz. One of us is from L.A. and one of us is from New Hampshire; can you guess which is which?" Baez, Bo Diddly, Bill Keith, Patti Larkin, Eric Von Schmidt, are just a few of the people who took part in those concerts. Really amazing.

Ooh, look what I found.

Jim Rooney and Eric Von Schmidt backstage at the Club 47 25th Anniversary Concert, Symphony Hall, Boston.

 

[yettoblaster]

Wow, thanks for sharing that!

I have heard of those Tom Rush concerts, and he even came out here (to the Left Coast, as did Tom Paxton, a few years ago) which was a huge treat, and rare nowadays. Did an excellent radio interview then too.

Last time I was actually personally able to see Tom Rush live was early seventies at a Sunday afternoon Wolfe Trapp concert in Mass., though I'd sometimes catch folkies at The Joyous Lake resturant in Woodstock back then too.

Mole's Moan, Panama Limited, Rockport Sunday, etc (as well as St. Louis Tickle ala Van Ronk) were rights of passage in our crowd. I never did get Rockport Sunday down, and have forgotten how to play Panama Limited, though I have heard a recent version I didn't like on the local Americana station :x

 

[dogberry]

Yeah I put some John Pearse light 80/20's on and it woke up and sounds like a grande piano.

I did like that GAD30R, and the 20 (25?), for finger-style, but the D40 is much closer to my ham-fisted style of bashing, and finger-picks just fine too.

I've been preaching John Pearse 80/20 lights for quite a while around here......great to see someone that's made the switch and loves them. Fabulous fingerpicking strings.....very comfortable and pliable.....far and away my favorite strings....and for about $6/set.....pretty hard to beat all around.

West

I was already familiar with the John Pearse Phos Bronze, but when I went to get some I subliminally remembered discussion here about the 80/20's. Was that YOU Obi-Wan, using The Force on me?

"...These aren't the droids you're looking for..."

I suddenly switched mid-sentence and came home with 80/20's.

Ok ok, I give. I LIKE 'em!

Same thing here, been using phosphor bronzes, but tried the 80/20's, and they sound great. Another convert here.