brannon67 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We all know that the J45 has that so called Americana sound. I would love to know what you guys think the Americana sound is? What groups, artist, guitar playing, etc. What is the Americana sound to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 You can find plenty of examples of what I think of as Americana music out on the Music Fog website. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I only very recently discovered her, but to me the music of Gillian Welch has a strong Americana feel, coupled with Bluegrass, folk and some blues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretplay Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I would say American is where country meets rock. It needs to have an American flavour, Beatles can't be Americana. Good examples Ryan Adams,Dixie Chicks,Rodney Crowell (Gillian Welch is country/bluegrass to me) but the best band by far IMHO is The Subdudes just great New Orleans band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 i would take anything that hints of ,or has its hand dipped into american roots music , be it melodies or instrumentation. gillian welsh to me is almost what i think of when i hear 'americana' . old mixed with new. i'm not arguing here , i have noticed that there is a difference in peoples interpretation but i think of son volt , ryan adams on occasion, jim white , old crow medecine show country but no western :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 The Band are most often associated with that epithet, but Robbie Robertson's favourite acoustics are supposed to be Martins (lots of concert photos from the late '60s of him holding a big D, two signature models pulled out of Nazareth). The Gibson acoustic I've seen him photographed with most is an ancient Style O, which also appears in The Last Waltz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I don't know if Robert Johnson would qualify as the quintesenial American sound, but if you consider how many other musicians/guitar players he's influenced, then he gets my vote - hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gio Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Among today's artists: The Milk Carton Kids, Justin Townes Earle and Jeffrey Foucault are really great songwriters and performers. M. Ward is also a very talented artist, although not everybody would file his records under 'americana'. His music is probably a reinterpretation of americana. And The Little Willies too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livemusic Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Among today's artists: The Milk Carton Kids, Justin Townes Earle and Jeffrey Foucault are really great songwriters and performers. M. Ward is also a very talented artist, although not everybody would file his records under 'americana'. His music is probably a reinterpretation of americana. And The Little Willies too! Americana doesn't even know what it is. I read a feature article about this very thing in a songwriting mag recently. To me, it is countryish or even rockish, but not over-produced, and has acoustic instruments in the mix. Much of what I see labeled as Americana these days is not. It's an odd genre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gio Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 The Milk Carton Kids, J Foucault and JT Earle: their music corresponds 100% with your descritpion Livemusic. M Ward and The Little Willies would be overproduced. A side note: mahogany guitars (J-45, J-50, D-18 etc...) seem to be a constant among the instruments these artists use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePretender Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Didn't Americana stem from Alt-Country: Uncle Tupelo and it's many progeny? Just more country than alternative? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 In terms of a quintessential guitar associated with American grassroot music, the prize would probably go to Stella, Kay, Harmony, Regal or other brands sold through the mail order catalogs. These were the makers that put guitars in the hands of people. Even going into the 1960s, only the well-heeled started off with Gibsons or Martins. The majority embarked on their musical journey and played their first notes on Silvertones, Airlines, and Kays. These are the guitars that launched a thousand garage bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Americana is "blue", Bluegrass or Blues. That there is Americana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneS Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Didn't Americana stem from Alt-Country: Uncle Tupelo and it's many progeny? Just more country than alternative? I remember reading it was a term coined by radio people, in the early 90s, when trying to classify the sort of music/songs that arise from the next gen of people who grew up listening to Elvis, Cash, Orbison, etc. and then you have everything from Neil Young (Canadians not disqualified!), Sprinsteen, Dylan, Dave Matthews to Nanci Griffith, Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin ... whomever follows who draws from that rather wide-ish river of an"American" sound of folk, country, soul, blues, rock n' roll, and all the combinations thereof. I've understood it as a catch-all description of a category, loosely based on where the type of music came from, but because the origin of the music is itself quite diverse, it does not really describe the music itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I played what most reviews described as "Anglo-Americana" for years. I found that in that genre, you can't put a foot wrong with an SJ200, a J45 or a Hummingbird. I owned all three for a long while. But, as often happens, I moved on, and into more folky waters, which is where my two new records are moored. I found myself in need of Rosewood, so my AJ came to the party, and superb it is too. Steve Earle uses one, so I'm sure if I decide to return to Americana I'll be more than well set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 According to Webster's------ 1. materials concerning or characteristic of America, its civilization, or its culture: broadly: things typical of America. 2. American culture. 3. a genre of American music having roots in early folk and country music. Sounds like everybody is correct.......Gillian Welch and Rawlings are perfect examples....Dylan, Cash, Billy Haley and the Comets, PP&M, Chuck Berry, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Big Mama Thornton, Elizabeth Cotten, Blind Willie McTell, Mississippi John Hurt, and on and on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I bet that if you asked 50 people, you'd get 50 different answers to this one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 "Americana" is a term descended from the ideas of the folk revival -- that somehow all North American roots music belongs to a single class. This is basically the "shining city on the hill" vision imported by the Puritans in 1630 -- we all are alike -- so long as we use the Puritan definition of alike. All the the members of the Americana class as defined in this way do not consider themselves to be Americana musicians at all. Just an elitist uneducated urban culture diminishing a lot a serious strong rural cultures by trivializing and misunderstanding their values and their art. You are better off finding and listening to the real stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I played what most reviews described as "Anglo-Americana" for years. I found that in that genre, you can't put a foot wrong with an SJ200, a J45 or a Hummingbird. I owned all three for a long while. But, as often happens, I moved on, and into more folky waters, which is where my two new records are moored. I found myself in need of Rosewood, so my AJ came to the party, and superb it is too. Steve Earle uses one, so I'm sure if I decide to return to Americana I'll be more than well set up. I'm sure you will, Jinder. Justin Townes Earle also seems to be using an AJ a lot, I've noticed - I wonder whether it's his dad's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I bet that if you asked 50 people, you'd get 50 different answers to this one! EXACTLY ! Well, maybe 51... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Here's Uncle Tupelo, the group I (and it sounds like ThePretender too) put at the top of the "neo-Americana" tree, playing some of the original Americana (the "real stuff" tpbiii was referring to). Looks like Jay Farrar is playing a J-45 or somesuch. http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMz4cWBtZAM&feature=player_detailpage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I know it is blindingly obvious to some here, but the newer and younger forum members may not have watched the movie that did a great deal to bring back roots music: 'O Brother Where Art Thou'. Just thought I would mention it..... And I intend to get a DVD of the movie when I can. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I know it is blindingly obvious to some here, but the newer and younger forum members may not have watched the movie that did a great deal to bring back roots music: 'O Brother Where Art Thou'. Just thought I would mention it..... And I intend to get a DVD of the movie when I can. BluesKing777. Ah yes, and Chris Thomas King played some sort of Gibson L1 clone in the film. T-Bone Burnett produced the soundtrack - again another name which is scarcely mentioned without 'Americana' alongside it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Well...if your looking for the American sound... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g7htU2h0_0&feature=related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
provny Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Here's Uncle Tupelo, the group I (and it sounds like ThePretender too) put at the top of the "neo-Americana" tree, playing some of the original Americana (the "real stuff" tpbiii was referring to). Looks like Jay Farrar is playing a J-45 or somesuch. http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMz4cWBtZAM&feature=player_detailpage I agree with both of you: when I think Americana, the first band that comes to mind is Uncle Tupelo (and Son Volt). Other bands that I like a lot that might be considered Americana are Giant Sand (as well as Howe Gelb's solo work, and Calexico) and Will Oldham/Bonnie Prince Billy/Palace. Favorite albums include Son Volt's "Trace," the Uncle Tupelo Anthology, and Palace's "Days In The Wake" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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