Vernon NY


	6/29/03 Vernon Downs Raceway Vernon, NY This is a giant racetrack with stables and horses lining the way in. Moe is playing as I arrive. They are a nice band with a wild streak a mile long. Their line up is one trap drummer, one percussionist, and three guitars. I like em. Vinnie Amico and Jim Loughlin from Moe Tonight we have another first. Shawn Borri, a local wax cylinder enthusiast is backstage with his Model A Triumph Edison, circa 1902-1903 recording machine. He is one of two people in the world that actually makes his own wax cylinders, and wants to record us tonight. What an opportunity! The problems are vast. Firstly, he can only record 2 1/2 minutes on each cylinder. Secondly he has only 1 machine, so he must stop to change cylinders every 2 1/2 minutes. He is very knowledgeable about the old machines and is a wellspring of information. He monitors the recordings like a surgeon, where every turning of the wax requires immediate care. The wax shaving fly off the cylinder as the recording is made. He carefully monitors the needle etching into the wax to make sure it does not skip. In modern recording you cannot see the sound being imprinted on the medium, whether it be magnets moving iron oxide on magnetic tape or numbers in binary code, the digital domain. It's fascinating to see the wax shavings as the needle imprints the wax with vibration. Shawn has to blow the shavings off the cylinder to make sure it does doesn't skip. There is a transmutation of energy here. The vibration of air excites the sapphire, etching the wax, then turns these indentations into the sound. The ear hears and perceives this sound as music. An invisible vibration of air, which engraves the wax which is then played back and transferred into audible sound. Wiz, our house mixer will host him at the soundboard. I hope the overall volume of the band does not over power the delicate sapphire stylus of the machine. I have been after the whereabouts of the Edison treadle that Jesse Fewkes used that fateful day in March 1890. Shawn thinks he might be able to track it. All my inquiries have dead-ended, and the search begins anew. What a sight, these guys are lugging this Edison cutter around with its enormous horn and all those delicate cylinders made of wax. It is a reminder how difficult it must have been for the old songcatchers to record under all the weird conditions that are encountered in the field. This is my book come to life. He is a modern version of the old recordist explorers. Which brings me to today's songcatchers, the deadhead tapers. They usually have to purchase special "taper tickets" that allow them to reside in a special taper section so they can record the show without obstructing the view of the Front of House mixer or other fans. The "tapers" have in many ways developed their own sub-culture with their own rules and protocol. Like many fans, the tapers often travel hundreds of miles, from show to show, with their sophisticated and delicate recording machines. They use high-end microphones, which are shock mounted on telescopic stands, often under umbrellas to shield the mics from the elements. They use reel to reel tape machines as well as state of the art digital equipment. These songcatchers also have to be observant of the rules of recording in the field. They try to enjoy the show, while changing tape at set break They must monitor carefully the recording while trying to have fun all at the same time. It's a different age, but the end result is the same, an aural snapshot of a precious moment. Now they can share with others this experience and listen back to these recordings for years to come. A musical memento of a time well spent. According to PBS, it was a 1927 re-enactment of the first sound recording in 1877. Edison says on the recording: "The first words I spoke in the original phonograph. A little piece of practical poetry. Mary had a little lamb. Its fleece was white as snow. And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go." 1927 was the 50th anniversary of the first recording. To see a photo of the actual event and to hear the recording, check out: http://www.talkingmachine.org/resound.html The photo shows Edison at the microphone on a platform built on his lawn during the ceremonies on August 12, 1927, where he repeated his original words. Native Americans in NY The Natives from New York are Iroquois-- those closest to Syracuse are the Oneida. The American Folklife Center has a great many materials on the Iroquois and other Native Americans from New York. For example, 136 discs of Iroquoian songs, totaling over 20 hours, from 1941. Or a disc containing 3 Iroquoian speeches. Cylinder recordings of the Iroquois, from as early as 1918, are also part of the AFC collections. Just nearby Syracuse are the Onondaga: the AFC has wire recordings of stories, texts, dances and more, recorded in 1948. And 9 more tapes of Onondaga songs and speeches were recorded in the 50掇 and 60掇. North of Syracuse, in Rooseveltown, prayers and tribal songs from the Mohawk Longhouse were recorded in 1954. -Joanne Rasi Library of Congress / The American Folklife Center