With Teeth

Produced by Tommy Joyner

Broadside Electric is:

Joe D'Andrea

Amy Ksir

Tom Rhoads

Jim Speer

Helene Zisook

1. Royal Oak

2. With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm

3. Three Pounds Ten

4. The Gardener

The Herring

5. Seafood Invasion (tunes)

6. Masters of War (Bob Dylan)

7. Minka... (more)

With Teeth

Produced by Tommy Joyner

Broadside Electric is:

Joe D'Andrea

Amy Ksir

Tom Rhoads

Jim Speer

Helene Zisook

1. Royal Oak

2. With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm

3. Three Pounds Ten

4. The Gardener

The Herring

5. Seafood Invasion (tunes)

6. Masters of War (Bob Dylan)

7. Minka

looped piece

8. Bruton Town

9. Horses' Teeth (tunes)

10. Jellon Grame

11. April Morning

All selections researched, deconstructed, adapted, reinvented, orchestrated, juxtaposed, arranged, interpreted and otherwise performed without remorse or hesitation by Broadside Electric.

With Teeth was recorded at Milkboy Recording, Philadelphia, PA, January through June, 1999

Engineered by Kieran Mulvaney, Noel van der Goes, and Tommy Joyner

Engineering assistance: Darrel Asbury

Additional production: Kieran Mulvaney

Mixed at The Studio, Philadelphia, PA

Mastered by David Musial at SkyRoom Studios, Jersey City, NJ

Manufactured by Healey Disc, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Guest appearances by:

Melissa Demian

Rachel Hall

Paul Mimlitsch

Cover design and layout: Helene Zisook

with lots of help from her friends at Miller Designworks

Many and various thanks to: Mike Ciul, Paul Grzelak, Lovely Nancy D'Andrea, Gene Shay, Larry Gold, Cory Hubbert, Dianne Tankle, Dr. Bob Cohen, Ray Ashley, Gail Rundlett, Jerry Weene, Dave Palmater, Paul Mimlitsch, Brian Seymour, Ann Bies, Mike Agranoff, John Mahoney, Robin Richards, Bruce Rogers, Herman Melville, Abby Kay, Simple Gifts, and Einstein's Little Homunculus

Thanks for teaching us songs and tunes: Rachel Hall, Tich Cownie, Jerry Zisook, Eleanor Lewis, Henrik Norbeck, bil mckenty, Walter Smith, Marian McKenzie, Birgit Burke, Mary Richards, and The Snowy Range International Folkdancers

Royal Oak

(words: trad. English; music: Tom Rhoads)

with Barham Down (trad. English)

JD: drums, backing vocals, finger cymbal; AK: whistle; TR: vocals, citterns, electric guitar; JS: bass; HZ: violin

A pleasant day's sail spoiled only by a little fire and drowning. The protagonists of this song clearly have more guts than brains (being willing to fight when outnumbered ten to one) but, unlikely as it seems, they emerge victorious. We found the words in the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, in a version collected in Surrey in 1912. Tom wrote a new melody very loosely based on the original, which was deemed too ungainly.

Barham Down is an English Country Dance whose tune appears in Playford, as well as on a wonderful recording by Bare Necessities.

With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm

(R. H. Weston and Bert Lee)

with Ternovka Sher (Dave Tarras)

JD: drums; AK: oboe, additional vocal; TR: vocal, acoustic guitar; JS: Chapman stick®, bass clarinet; HZ: violin

Weston and Lee were a popular songwriting team, active in the early 20th century. They composed music initially for the English music hall repertoire, and eventually for films and certain show-biz luminaries of the time. This song was most likely written for Stanley Holloway, who recorded it in 1934. Jim first heard it on the "'Ere's 'Olloway" album, and thought it would make an excellent Klezmer vehicle.

Helene learned the Ternovka Sher from an Andy Statman album. It is by the marvelous American Klezmer clarinetist and band leader Dave Tarras.

Decapitation is not endorsed by Broadside Electric.

Three Pounds Ten

(trad. Canadian)

with Virginia (words: Isaac Watts; music: Oliver Brownson)

and The Gravel Walk (trad. Irish)

JD: drums, backing vocals; AK: vocals, whistle, backing vocals; TR: dulcimer, backing vocals; JS: bass, stick, backing vocals; HZ: violin, backing vocals

A song for whale hunters and graduate students the world over about a project that never seems to end and for which one is paid very little.

Amy first heard this song from The Woods Tea Company. It was collected by A.L. Lloyd from sources in Newfoundland, and appears in Dan Milner and Paul Kaplan's song book, A Bonny Bunch of Roses, as well as on recordings by A.L. Lloyd, Kallet Epstein and Cicone, and the Battlefield Band (who put the pub in Edinburgh). It's often called "Wings of a Gull" or "The Weary Whaling Ground." We added an Irish tune, a shape note hymn and .04% (by volume) of Moby Dick.

The Gardener

(trad. Scottish)

JD: drums, backing vocal; AK: oboe; TR: vocals, electric and acoustic guitars; JS: bass, bass clarinet, alto saxophone; HZ: violins; MD: vocal

Child #219. The entire story can be summed up as: "A gardener propositions a young lady; she tells him to get lost." The dialog parallels that of riddle-songs like "Scarborough Fair," but the imagery makes it one of the most poetic of folk lyrics. There are a number of modern recordings of this song, mostly based on Ewan MacColl's version. The one that sparked Tom's interest in it was Roger Wilson's great rendition on a record by the House Band. Some additional lyrics were found in Child.

The Herring

(trad. English)

JD: vocal; AK: vocal; TR: vocal; JS: vocal; HZ: vocal

Seafood Invasion

Langstrom's Pony (trad. Irish)

Donald MacLean of Lewis (trad. Scottish)

Eel in the Sink (trad. Irish)

Walter Sammon's Grandmother (trad. Irish)

Sheehan's Reel (trad. Irish)

JD: drums, vibraslap; AK: whistle; TR: electric guitar, EBow; JS: bass; HZ: violin

This is derived from the tune set with which we opened most of our 1998-99 live shows. Helene and Amy put together most of our tune sets, including this one, back in the proverbial smoke-filled room.

Langstrom's Pony is a traditional Irish tune Amy learned at a seisun; the variation is Joe's. Donald MacLean of Lewis is a Scottish tune (credited to PM Donald MacLeod, QOH) that Helene learned from a Brenda Stubbert album.

Amy and Helene found Eel in the Sink and Walter Sammon's Grandmother in Henrik Norbeck's tune collection on the web. Both are traditional. Sheehan's Reel is a well-known Irish and contra dance tune, but Helene learned it from a Natalie MacMaster recording.

Masters of War

(Bob Dylan)

with Julia Delaney (trad. Irish)

JD: drums; AK: vocal, whistle; TR: vocal, dulcimer; JS: stick; HZ: violin

©1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music

Minka

(trad. Bulgarian)

JD: drums, percussion; AK: flute; TR: dulcimer; JS: bass; HZ: electric violin, mandolin

This is a Bulgarian women's dance, traditionally played in 7/8 - an odd time signature by Western standards, but Joe couldn't leave well enough alone, oh no. It's now in 7/4, which means 2 measures of old tune are here squeezed into one measure of the new. Joe obfuscated it further with occasional counterpoint in five and three. Of course the downbeats get completely fouled up, to the great consternation of international dancers everywhere. Have fun.

looped piece

(Paul Mimlitsch/Jim Speer)

PM: Warr® touchstyle guitar & electronics; JS: MIDI'ed stick & electronics

J'ai vû le loop!

Bruton Town

(trad. English)

with Final Advance on Reykjavik (Jim Speer)

JD: drums, kettledrum; AK: oboe, whistle, vocal; TR: acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, cittern, vocal; JS: stick; HZ: violin

This ballad has been in our live repertoire since 1996. It's got a little of everything: love, conspiracy, hunting, murder, a ghost story, sibling rivalry and class struggle. We first heard it from a recording by the Pentangle, and we use much the same version of the words and tune. According to Sharp, the story goes back to the Middle Ages and appears to be of European (likely Italian) origin. There's a longer version of it in Bocaccio's Decameron, which inspired a poem by Keats.

Horses' Teeth

Horses' Branle (trad. French)

Nebesko (trad. Croatian)

Polka Piquee de Gerardmer (trad. French)

Polka With Teeth (Rachel Hall)

JD: drums, triangle; AK: soprano recorder, soprano crumhorn, PVC fife, oboe; TR: dulcimer, electric guitar, cittern; JS: bass, alto recorder, alto saxophone, tenor crumhorn; HZ: violin, mandolin; RH: concertina

Horses' Branle (pronounced "brawl", but it's actually a dance) is one of the first tunes we performed when we started out about nine years ago, and we're only just getting to recording it now!

Nebesko is a tune to a fast but repetitive Croatian dance.

The Polka Piquee was found on a recording of French epinette players, and Polka With Teeth is a favorite from the repertoire of fellow Pennsylvania folk group Simple Gifts.

Jellon Grame

(words: adapted by Jim Speer and Melissa Demian from trad. Scottish and Scandanavian; music: trad. Bulgarian)

JD: drums; AK: flute, vocal; TR: citterns, vocal; JS: bass; HZ: violas; MD: vocal

A seldom heard ballad, but with a terrific story.

The surviving versions of "Jellon Grame" (Child #90) are unclear and confused. It is closely related to another ballad, "Fause Foodrage" (Child #89), and their contents have been mingled and cross-poluted over the centuries. Most of the words used here were extracted from Child. Certain verses have been heavily re-written or newly authored by Jim and Melissa. Plus, in an attempt to present a more compelling and straightforward story, we've re-introduced a handful of additional goodies, taken from cousin-ballads from Denmark and Färöe.

The music we apply here is based on a Bulgarian dance called "Dospatsko Horo."

April Morning

(trad. English)

JD: drums, backing vocal, tambourine; AK: backing vocal; TR: electric 6- & 12-string guitars, high-strung guitar, vocal; JS: bass, backing vocal: HZ: electric violin, backing vocal

Tom first heard this song on a June Tabor record and quickly noticed two things about it: one, that it was great fun to sing, and two, that the lyrics are just this side of being pure, cheesy pop fluff. It seemed only logical to come up with an arrangement that emphasized both the fun factor and the fluff factor. The vocal arrangement offers a tip of the hat to the group Finest Kind, who also sing a great version of this song.

Bibliography:

The ABC web page: http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc/

B. H. Bronson, The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads

David Buchan, Ballads of the North of Scotland

F. J. Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads

Richard Geisler, The Bulgarian Collection

John Playford, Playford's Dancing Master

The Sacred Harp (S.H.P.C./Denson collection, 1991 edition)

Cecil J. Sharp, ed., One Hundred English Folksongs

Ralph Vaughan Williams and A.L. Lloyd, eds., The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs

"Stick" is a registered trademark of Stick Enterprises, Inc.

More information and even greater detail are available at our really huge web site: www.broadside.org

We are happy to answer any questions, provide any assistance or reference that we can, or consider any requests concerning almost any related topic via e-mail: info@broadside.org or bookings@broadside.org

Or write via post:

c/o Clever Sheep, PO Box 331, Ardmore, PA 19003 USA

Made in Canada

©(p) 1999 Clever Sheep Records

PO Box 331 - Ardmore, PA 19003 - www.broadside.org

More Bad News ...

Babylon (trad.) 5:46

We've decided to open this album with what has become only the second most gory ballad in our repertoire. Our hero goes about his daily murderous business, but on this particular occasion finds that he has not done his research.

This ballad is Child No. 14. We took both... (more)

More Bad News ...

Babylon (trad.) 5:46

We've decided to open this album with what has become only the second most gory ballad in our repertoire. Our hero goes about his daily murderous business, but on this particular occasion finds that he has not done his research.

This ballad is Child No. 14. We took both the tune and the words from Bronson's The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads, variant #4, "The Bonnie Banks of the Virgie, O." This version was originally collected in 1929. It appears in Greenleaf and Mansfield's Ballads and Sea Songs of Newfoundland.

Lord Bateman (trad.) 5:39

with Belasicko Oro (trad.)

An Englishman lands in jail during an ill-advised trip to Turkey, but finds an unlikely accomplice. There is a happy ending, but we think it's a good song anyway.

For our version of Child ballad No. 53, we consulted Bronson and combined the tunes of two versions: Variant #53, "The Turkish Lady" from John Harrington Cox's Traditional Ballads Mainly from West Virginia, and Variant #62, "Lord Bateman" from West Chinwick, England, collected by Cecil Sharp. Belasicko Oro is a dance from former-Yugoslav Macedonia.

Bucimis (trad.) 3:58

A Bulgarian dance in 15/8. We perform it faster than we've ever heard it, so we've likely rendered it undanceable. But you're absolutely welcome to try! Apparently you don't even need 15 feet.

We first heard a version of this tune from Severnjasko on a recorded collection of dances. We ended up using a slightly different version, from Shope, as transcribed by Richard Geisler in his Bulgarian Collection.

Silkie (Tom Rhoads) 5:13

A silkie is a creature of Celtic mythology who takes the form of a seal and a human interchangeably, a plot device which works well in this bit of soap-style melodrama.

This is our version of Child No. 113, "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry." We were unsatisfied with the various tunes traditionally associated with this ballad. Tom wrote us a completely new tune for this version, and re-wrote the bulk of the words as well. The events of the story are unchanged.

The Spinning Wheel and the Bronze Axe (reels) 3:44

The First House in Connaught (trad., Ireland), Oot be Est da Vong (trad., Shetland), Sleep Soon Ida Moarnin' (trad., Shetland), and The Bank of Ireland (trad., Ireland)

We gathered this mix of reels from a number of collected sources. The overall title was achieved by means of a favorite method: flipping randomly through old college texts. In this case, we victimized the Marx-Engels Reader.

Pastures of Plenty (Woody Guthrie) 4:55

"To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands. It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied. Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice, it will but lead some to greed and others to hunger." - Kahil Gibran

As I Roved Out (trad.) 4:23

A fun Irish song that every remotely Irish-flavored band eventually gets around to. As if parents didn't have enough reasons to disapprove of kids having casual sex, this song relates another old and good one.

We were inspired by Boiled In Lead's version, but ours quickly evolved into a new animal.

Gas Nign & Makedonsko Devojce (trad. & trad.) 4:37

Two tunes glued together! The first is an untitled Jewish melody. "Gas Nign" is a common heading for many tunes, being Yiddish for "street tune." This one was indeed taken from a live performance in the streets of Tiraspol, Ukraine. It was transcribed in 1937 by Moshe Beregovski, who collected thousands of pieces of Jewish folk music while employed at the Ukranian Academy of Sciences. We found it in Mark Slobin's Old Jewish Folk Music.

The second is a song from Macedonia. We didn't bother with the words, since we're totally unfamiliar with the language. The title means "Macedonian Girl," and the lyrics remind us of the Beach Boys. We took this tune from the Geisler transcriptions.

Sheath and Knife (words trad./melody anon.) 9:02

with Dospatsko Horo (trad.)

Can you people stand one more Child ballad? A friend suggested that this ballad outscores "Babylon" on the Disgust-O-Meter (I'm paraphrasing), so of course we had to work up our own version. While the body count is relatively low, there are extenuating circumstances which push this one over the top. A son and daughter find themselves in a jam, and they choose the ugly way out. Later, the King and his son struggle over some of the finer points of pre-Freudian symbolism.

We took our version of the lyric from Child No. 16. The melody is from an anonymous 16th century French madrigal, which we'd had on the back burner for a while, pending a bright idea. The tune at the end is a dance from Dospat, Bulgaria.

J'ai Vû le Loup (trad.) 3:01

with J'ai Vû le Loup, le Rénard, et la Bellette (trad.)

A French song mixed in with another French tune. We combined them for the most noble possible musical reason: because they have the same name. The song title means "I saw the wolf." The tune title goes two better with "I saw the wolf, the fox, and the weasel." What I saw these animals doing was having a rowdy dance party that I just thought I'd crash.

We learned the song from The Baltimore Consort and the tune from Malicorne.

All songs and tunes on this recording were arranged by Broadside Electric.

Broadside Electric is:

Tom Rhoads: Lead vocals (1,2,4,6,7,9,10); acoustic guitar (1,4,5,6,10); 12-string guitar (9); electric guitar (2,4,7,8); Appalachian dulcimer (2,3,9); whistles (5,3,9)

Jim Speer: Chapman Stick® (1 thru 9); recorders (1,10); saxophone (3,5,6,7); rauschpfeife (7,9); crumhorn (5,10); backing vocal (2)

Helene Zisook: Electric violin (1 thru 9); acoustic violin (10); mandolin (2,5)

With:

Additional backing vocals by Melissa Demian (1,2,9)

Talk-box by Mike Ciul (7)

All songs arranged by Broadside Electric

"Pastures of Plenty" ©1960 and 1963 Ludlow Music

"Silkie" ©1994 Tom Rhoads

Produced by Tom Rhoads, Jim Speer, Helene Zisook, and Adam Glickman

Recorded and mixed at Chill Factor Studios, Ardmore, PA

Engineered by Adam Glickman

Cover design by Jim Speer

Folder design and drawings by Helene Zisook with indispensable help from Meg Newburger and the people at Miller Designworks

Untitled painting of red agitated person by Ben Lewis

Digital post-production by Ray Monahan at Digital Domain, Philadelphia, PA

Melissa and some additional tracks recorded at Milkboy Recording, Philadelphia, PA

Engineered by Tommy Joyner with Terek Peterson and Rich Zapf

Manufactured by Disc Makers, Pennsauken, NJ

Thanks to Adam Glickman, Tommy Joyner, Mike Ciul, Meg Newburger, JD Paul, Dan Riles, Rachel Hall, Ben Lewis, Sam Williams, Melissa Demian, and our families.

The Chapman Stick® is a registered trademark of Stick Enterprises, Inc.

©(P) 1996 Clever Sheep Records * P.O. Box 331 * Ardmore, PA 19003

More Bad News ... (1997)

Special Edition with enhanced aural effects

Bonus Track Listing and Remaster Credits

Bonus Tracks or "Cover City"

Once we decided to remaster "More Bad News" it seemed to be the perfect opportunity to throw in some covers:

The World Turned Upside-Down (L. Rosselson) 3:55

Leon Rosselson's anthem for the dispossessed. Tom brought this song to us because he feels that it goes to the heart of what socialism and social consciousness should be about.

Sugar Trade (J. Taylor, T. Mayer, J. Buffet, arr. T. Rhoads) 2:25

We never thought we'd cover a James Taylor song, but hey, if Fairport Convention can do one... Plus, Jim and Helene fell in love with Tom's arrangement and prevented it from being suppressed.

Magellan (J. McCann and P.K. Rugg) 4:54

with Snow on the Hills (Aina Eagan)

The Ballad of Magellan is an age-old tale of a voyage into the unknown: a man travels to find his way to the East Indies and, in so doing, traverses the mysteries and intricacies of his own soul. We cannot stress enough the effect this deeply moving story had on the three of us. After hearing it for the first time, we entered a state of hyper-awareness where for a short time we grasped the answers to the pressing questions we all ask ourselves about our place in the universe. We woke up three days later in a canoe drifting around in the mighty Schuylkill River with no recollection of our prior activities. *

Snow on the Hills is a wonderful jig we heard on a Boiled in Lead album.

All songs and tunes on this recording were arranged by Broadside Electric.

Bonus tracks produced by Tom Rhoads, Jim Speer, Helene Zisook, and Tommy Joyner

Recorded and mixed at Milkboy Recording, Philadelphia, PA

Engineered by Tommy Joyner and Rich Zapf

Folder and CD design by Helene Zisook

Remastered and manufactured at Masterwork, Philadelphia, PA

Thanks to: Tommy Joyner, Mary Riles, Gene Shay and Rich Zapf.

© 1997 Clever Sheep Records

* The truth is we heard it on "Kids Corner," one of the best radio shows on the planet, and entered a state of Animaniawareness after which we woke up a year later having watched too much TV. The song itself probably bears little or no resemblance to anything that actually ever happened to anybody.

With Melissa's impending departure from the band in fall 1994, we knew that most of these songs would never be heard again, at least not like this. So we went into the studio with audience, donuts, and juice, and recorded all our songs live in an attempt to preserve the sound and spirit of our concerts. Maybe listening... (more)

With Melissa's impending departure from the band in fall 1994, we knew that most of these songs would never be heard again, at least not like this. So we went into the studio with audience, donuts, and juice, and recorded all our songs live in an attempt to preserve the sound and spirit of our concerts. Maybe listening to this CD will remind you, as it does us, of good times spent with good friends.

Broadside Electric is:

Melissa Demian: Lead vocals, Appalachian dulcimer

Tom Rhoads: Lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, recorder, harmonica, whistle

Jim Speer: Bass guitar, clarinet, backing vocals

Helene Zisook: Violin, viola, mandolin, backing vocals

Produced by Broadside Electric and Adam Glickman

Recorded and Mixed 1994 at Chill Factor Studios, Ardmore, PA

Engineered by Adam Glickman

Special guests and Mooing: Lewis Becker, Emily Gavin, Ben Lewis, Brni Mojzes, Alan Rose

Special guests, did not "moo": Mike Ciul, Dan Riles

Cover design by J. Speer

Artwork produced by H. Zisook

Digital Post-Production by Ray Monahan at Digital Domain, Philadelphia, PA

Manufactured by Healey Disk, Ottawa, Ontario

Thanks To:

Adam Glickman who did the work of 10 men

Rachel Hall for Frejlexs, Han-an-Tow, The Cliffs of Mohir, and other great ideas

Alan Rose for constant equipment loans and years of support and advice

Gail Rundlett for When I Was a Fair Maid and Three Drunken Maidens

Eoghan Ballard for the Irish version of Ar Fa La La Lo

Robert and Marianne Pulver for the tapes from which we took Altfrangg

Brownlow Speer, Frank Herrmann, S.J., and Arthur Madigan, S.J. for Latin translations

Lewis Becker for the juice

The Rhoads and Speer families for their continued support

Paul Grzelak for making it impossible for us not to press CDs of this recording

William the Conqueror for many Norman influences

Tommy Joyner for everything else.

As we re-release this recording on CD, we remember fondly the time we spent with Ray Monahan working on this and two other recordings. We miss him.

The songs are:

1. When I Was a Fair Maid 6:35

Including: Altfrangg (C. Walliser).

Our "Don't ask, don't tell" song. Altfrangg is a Fasnacht Pfyffermarsch from Basel, Switzerland.

2. Tam Lin 5:20

We took this song from Bronson's The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads, then cut away as many of the verses as we dared.

3. Hal-an-Tow 2:19

(trad. arr. R. Hall, verse 3 arr. T. Rhoads)

A Cornish May song.

4. Robin Hood and the Tanner 5:40

Including: Abandoned Glue Factory (J. Speer).

Also from Bronson, also cut. Like most Robin Hood songs, this one tells of Robin's frolics with his friends in the woods.

5. Three Drunken Maidens 4:44

A traditional song of traditional debauchery, with a tip of the hat to its use as a morris tune.

6. The Town of Ballybay 6:55

Including: Snug in a Blanket, The Cliffs of Mohir, The Connaughtman's Rambles.

A song of loose living that we first heard from the band Boiled in Lead.

7. 15 Bricks at the Bottom of the Pond 5:59

Reels: Old Grey Cat / Oyster Wives' Rant / Miner's Night Out (J. McEuen) / Cold Frosty Morning

Set creatively named by audience competition.

8. Ar Fa La La Lo 3:17

(trad. arr. T. Rhoads)

A racy love song in Irish Gaelic.

9. Rufford Park Poachers 5:54

We found this song on a Martin Carthy record. It chronicles a true event that took place in 1850 in northeastern England.

10. The New St. George 1:42

(R. Thompson, arr. T. Rhoads)

The Albion Band introduced us to this song, one of our favorites.

11. Rocky Road to Dublin 3:23

A slip jig has nine beats per measure instead of the usual six. We found this one infectious and hard to stop playing.

12. L'Incoronazione di Poppea 3:37

act II scene xiii

(C. Monteverdi, arr. J. Speer)

A short excerpt from Claudio Monteverdi's 1642 opera, about 1.68% of it. In this scene, Love succeeds in protecting the sleeping Poppea from Seneca's assassination attempt, then sings.

13. New York Girls 6:34

Including: Frejlexs, Acano Mlada Nevesto.

2½ years of evolution brought an eastern European twist to this mainstay from our first album. Frejlexs is from Ukraine, Acano from Macedonia.

Unless otherwise, all selections are traditional, arranged by Melissa Demian, Tom Rhoads, Jim Speer, and Helene Zisook.

The New St. George © Warlock Music Ltd.

Miner's Night Out © Colorado Music

Made in Canada

©(P) 1995, 1997 Clever Sheep Records * P.O. Box 331 * Ardmore, PA 19003

Black-edged Visiting Card (1993)

Recorded in the fall of '92 and released January '93, this was the first Broadside Electric album. Includes the original folk-metal version of "Mosé Salió de Misrayim," the rich vocals of "Henry Martin" and "The Six Questions," and the runaway reels of... (more)

Black-edged Visiting Card (1993)

Recorded in the fall of '92 and released January '93, this was the first Broadside Electric album. Includes the original folk-metal version of "Mosé Salió de Misrayim," the rich vocals of "Henry Martin" and "The Six Questions," and the runaway reels of "40 lbs. of Yarn."

1. New York Girls/Yoshke/Sailor's Hornpipe   5:57

A coming-of-age drama in which a young British sailor hears Klezmer music for the first time while being robbed in New York. A mainstay of our live set since the band's formation.

2. Drive the Cold Winter Away/Wild Mountain Thyme   6:25

One of the many thinly disguised folk songs about outdoor sex. Melissa had attributed the herbal setting to poetic license until she wound up in a field of it in Medusa, New York. "Cold Winter" is in Playford, but we found it on the excellent Horslips record of the same name.

3. Skewball   3:47

This Irish version of the legendary racehorse's story has him talking and raising his glass to the opposition. (Mr. Ed was never like this!) We learned this from a Steeleye Span album.

4. 40 lbs. of Yarn (reels): Sligo Maid/Growling Old Man and Cackling Old Woman/Red-Haired Boy/Kitchen Girl/Drowsy Maggie   5:33

These are some of Helene's favorite reels (comprising, you will note, a family of six). Some will recall "Red-Haired Boy" and "Kitchen Girl" from our arrangement of "Little Beggar Man."

5. Mosé Salió de Misrayim   4:18

A Sephardic Jewish song from Morocco. The lyric is in Ladino (a medieval Spanish written with the Hebrew alphabet) and Hebrew. This is our arrangement of the version by Voice of the Turtle, a wonderful Boston group who specialize in the music of the Jews exiled from Spain in 1492.

6. Henry Martin   5:54

Another coming-of-age tale; here, the youngest child is bullied into committing crimes for his brothers. But for the fact that most everybody dies horribly, this could be an after-school special. One of Tom's favorite ballads, learned in the womb from a Joan Baez record.

7. False Sir John/La Rotta   5:26

Our version of Child #4, in which a murderous seducer receives his lethal comeuppance. The tune and text are from Bronson, with a bit of editing. "La Rotta" is a 14th century Italian tune.

8. The Six Questions   7:04

A song about two people who have no business getting romantically involved with each other. As with "Sir John," this is from Child (#2), via Bronson.

All songs and tunes traditional, arranged by Broadside Electric.

Dramatis Personae

Melissa Demian: lead and backing vocals, Appalachian dulcimer

Tom Rhoads: lead and backing vocals, guitars, piano, soprano recorder, harmonica

Jim Speer: bass, clarinet, saxophone, alto recorder, synthesizer, backing vocals

Helene Zisook: violin, viola, mandolin, backing vocals

Recorded and mixed to DAT at Second Street Audio Production and Recording, Philadelphia, PA, Oct.-Dec. 1992. Engineered by Larry Freedman; produced by B.E. and Larry Freedman.

Digital assembly and editing by Ray Monahan at Digital Domain, Philadelphia, PA.

Disks and cassettes manufactured by American Helix, Lancaster, PA.

Special thanks to (in alphabetical order):

Larry Freedman for getting it all on tape.

Rachel Hall for her part in founding Broadside 2½ years ago, and for "Kitchen Girl," "Growling Old Man," lots of art and other good ideas.

Frances Rhoads for motivation and support, without which this record would never have existed.

Alan Rose for the loan of the 12-string guitar and Fender amp, for recommending Larry to us, and for freely loaning us his 4-track and lots of other gear, especially PA for our live shows; also for putting up with our rehearsing beneath his bedroom for two years!

David Schwartz for booking us over and over at the Red Raven, one of the most enjoyable places we've played.

Brownlow and Doris Speer for financial help with this project.

Thanks also to (in no particular order):

B. H. Bronson's Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads; Joanne at the Mermaid (and Lou from the Open Circle); Sarah Smith for T-shirt art; Alan Rose; Lori Lippitz of the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band for "Yoshke;" Rhoda Gena and Gail Rundlett (Helene's and Melissa's teachers, respectively); Sam Williams for photography; Alan Rose; Mike Agranoff and the Folk Project; Dan Riles for sound, more photos and roadieing; Jeanne Braun; Philip Rhoads for business cards; Alan Rose; Freud and Marx; Regina Gordon; Voice of the Turtle; Andrea Cheng; and Alan Rose.

A final thank you to all who have turned out to see us play, from December 8th, 1990 to the present.

© 1992 Clever Sheep Records

This album might not be quite what you'd expect from a Broadside Electric live album. Some of these pieces are new. Others we have played for years, but have never committed to disc. We decided not to record some of the songs from our last album, With Teeth, because while they're important in our repertoire, we didn't... (more)

This album might not be quite what you'd expect from a Broadside Electric live album. Some of these pieces are new. Others we have played for years, but have never committed to disc. We decided not to record some of the songs from our last album, With Teeth, because while they're important in our repertoire, we didn't want to revisit them so soon - it seemed redundant. Partly because of that decision, this is the least "trad" of all our albums in terms of material. Still, if you attended a Broadside concert in 2001, you probably heard a lot of the pieces recorded here, and we've loved playing them. Press play, and read on...

The Band:

Joe D'Andrea drums, percussion, vocals

Amy Ksir oboe, flute, tin whistle, vocals

Tom Rhoads lead vocals, guitars, mountain dulcimer

Jim Speer NS/Stick guitar-bass, vocals

Helene Zisook electric violin, vocals

Behind the Scenes:

Planning and logistics by Jim Speer

Recording by Scott Peterson and Dave Reichard (L.S. Peterson Creative Services)

Location sound by Terry Mutchler and Jim Jackson (Mountain Top Productions)

Mixed by Tommy Joyner and Broadside Electric at MilkBoy Recording, Ardmore, PA

Mixing assistance by Daniel Hurwitz and Katie Pabarue

Mastered by David Musial with Joe D'Andrea at SkyRoom Studios, Jersey City, NJ

Audio assembly by Tom Rhoads

Cover design by Amy Ksir

Graphic production by Helene Zisook

Back cover photo by Ann Bies

Other band photos by Kurt Hockenbury

Produced by Broadside Electric

All arrangements by Broadside Electric, except as noted

NS/Stick is a registered trademark of Stick Enterprises, Inc.

01 Ampère's Law 3:19

Words and Music ©2001 Walter Fox Smith

Our very first song about electromagnetism. Perhaps it's yours, too! When not writing songs, Walter Smith teaches physics at Haverford College, where some of us were once students. You can see more of his work at www.PhysicsSongs.org.

02 Mosé salió de Misrayim 5:13

Traditional

A Sephardic Jewish song from Morocco, which we recorded way back in 1992 on our first album. We brought it back to our repertoire in the spring of 2001 for a Passover concert. The words are in Ladino - a medieval Spanish written with the Hebrew alphabet - with a bit of Hebrew. The story is of Moses' youth, when he left Egypt (Misrayim), married, and climbed Mount Horeb for some career guidance.

03 A Rat in Her Pocket (tunes) 5:12

Traditional

"Tobin's Favorite" (jig), "The Trip to Durrow" and "Cottage in the Grove" (reels)

A little collection of Irish music that we've played on and off since 1997. We're not sure of the name of the last tune, it might be called "Lad O'Beirne's." The title of the set was provided by Mike Ciul in an audience competition. (The runner-up title was "Defenestrate the Turnips.")

04 With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm 6:03

Words and Music: R.H. Weston and Bert Lee

With "Ternovka Sher" by Dave Tarras

This escaped music-hall convict has gotten to be so much fun on stage that we couldn't possibly leave it out of a live album. All together now... AIEEEEEEEEEEE!!! OK, how many decapitations was that?

05 Homeless Wassail 3:31

Words and Music ©1998 by Ian Robb, SOCAN

Arrangement by Tom Rhoads

Over the years we have had several a capella pieces in our sets. This is the most recent, and appropriate to the season of the concert. The author, Ian Robb, is an Englishman long resident in Canada, a great singer and a member of the group Finest Kind.

06 Whirly Whorl 6:18

Traditional

With "William and Nancy" and "Postman's Knock"

A jaunty, naughty little song we first heard from a recording by Anne Briggs. The arrangement welds in a couple of morris tunes - a kind of tribute to the '70's Albion Band.

07 When Britain Really Ruled the Waves 3:52

From "Iolanthe" (words: W.S. Gilbert; music: Arthur S. Sullivan)

A somber, thoughtful examination of the role of the House of Lords in world history. Well, maybe not! Joe and Jim get increasingly prog-ish, while Tom overdoes the vibrato.

08 Romanian Fantasy #1 3:52

Josef Solinski

Helene picked this up from Solinski's recording, but it developed a less traditional feel once the rhythm section got hold of it. Our pet name for this one is "Yummy Klezmer."

09 Mr faare mit dr SBB 4:51

Words and Music by Walter Wild

With "Ein Neue Alte" (traditional)

Everybody loves a train, and it seems the Swiss are no exception. Jim and Helene heard this song on an in-flight audio program on Swissair, and tracked it down so that it could be converted into a beer garden stomp. (The SBB is the Schweizerische Bundesbahnen - the Swiss national railway.)

10 Sheath and Knife 6:32

Words: Traditional (Child Ballad #16)

Music: Anonymous (French madrigal, "Mignonne, allons voir si la rose")

The obligatory Child ballad... We first recorded this gripping song in 1996 when we were a trio, but the live version took on a new life when the band expanded to a quintet.

11 New York Girls (extended Klez mix) 9:34

Traditional

With "Broyges Tanz" (traditional), "Galitzianer Tansel" (Shloimke Beckerman), and "Beckerman Honga" (adapted by Joshua Horowitz).

Well, it just wouldn't be a Broadside concert if we didn't play this. Every now and then we add another tune to challenge ourselves.

12 Por la tu puerta 5:57

Traditional

Another Sephardic song, this time from Turkey. This tender (if slightly muddled) love song has been performed since 1991 by all four lineups of Broadside Electric, but this is its first appearance on disc. The verses are in Ladino, the chorus in Turkish.

Thanks...

to those who helped make it happen:

Ray Ashley and Mike Agranoff for emceeing

Larry Dietrick for roadieing beyond the call of duty

Paul Grzelak for help, chocolate, and coinage

Amy Masterman at Allens Lane Arts Center

Scott, Terry, David, and Jackson for making us sound good

(and Terry for figuring out how to turn on the lights)

Gene Shay for light-years of Philly folk radio

Our families, friends and fans for all their support

Lynn Alderfer, Ann Bies, Emmett and Yuta Chapman, Mike Ciul,

Nancy and Alexander D'Andrea, John Jordan, Ben Lewis, George Rhoads,

Chris Robinson, Doris Speer, Barbara Wichard, Jerry Zisook

and to our musical sources:

Joshua Horowitz and Alicia Svigals for "Beckerman Honga"

Ursi Kern for the Swiss words to "SBB"

Mattie O'Boyle for "Tobin's Favorite"

Ian Robb for "Homeless Wassail"

Walter Smith for "Ampère's Law"

Voice of the Turtle for "Mosé" and "Puerta"

Also Available from Broadside Electric:

With Teeth (1999)

More Bad News (1996)

Amplificata (1994)

Black-edged Visiting Card (1992)

Lyrics (and much more) can be found at www.broadside.org.

Recorded live, December 16, 2001, at the Allens Lane Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA.

Made in USA

©(p) 2002 Clever Sheep Records

PO Box 331 - Ardmore, PA 19003

www.broadside.org

A parrot named Scrape squawks in hiding.