Welcome to Alan Podber's Page
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Welcome to Alan Podber's Page
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Brief Mostly Musical Bio
Hi! Welcome to my home page. I'm a blues/old-time-country guitar player and mandolinist, a founding member of both the Delaware Water Gap and Wretched Refuse string bands, a former host of several music programs, including "A Taste of the Blues," on WBAI-FM (Pacifica radio in NY), and a current member of the NYC Labor Chorus, with an interest in ethnomusicology (M.A. in music from Hunter College). I belong to AFM Local 351 and AFSCME District Council 37 (I am a licensed MSW, with a degree from Yeshiva University and a course concentration in community organization). I've written articles and record reviews for Sing-Out! magazine and the JEMF Quarterly. In the early 1970's, I co-founded and co-managed two coffee houses that featured folk and traditional music performances (Cafe SUBO at Brooklyn College, and Random Canyon at the Park Slope United Methodist Church in Brooklyn). During 1978, I lectured on blues at CW Post College. In 1979, I toured Europe with the Delaware Water Gap, and performed with them on the soundtrack of the Oscar-nominated 1980 documentary film "The War at Home," as well as a television commercial for public radio on WUHY-TV in Philadelphia. During the 1980's and 90's, I played string band music with Harmony, Grits and Jam, and Jewish music in the duo Tsvei Klezmorim. I sang with the NYC Labor Chorus on the soundtrack of the documentary film "The Statesboro Boys" (also nominated for an Oscar), and provided music for the play "Wholly Mother Jones," which was broadcast over the Pacifica radio network in 2000. I accompany labor singers George Mann and Julius Margolin, and regularly join my long-time partner Ralph Litwin (on whose cable TV show, "Horses Sing None of It," I've appeared several times) in the duo, “The Fabulous Furry Harmonica Brothers,” as well as other ensembles. In addition, I play mostly blues covering a variety of pre-war styles with Rick Eisenberg, Delta Dave Johnson and (Delaware Water Gap co-founder) Myriam Valle in Big Road Blues............. Main musical influences: Dad (a.k.a. Lenny Pat [professionally]); Lead Belly; Rev. Gary Davis; Gene Meade (back-up guitarist for Clark Kessinger); Blind Willie McTell; Big Bill Broonzy; Lightnin' Hopkins; Martin, Bogan and Armstrong; Woody Guthrie; Phil Ochs; Dave Van Ronk; Mississippi John Hurt; Doc Watson; Pete Stampfel and Steve Weber (for starters). Might as well add Fairport Convention and Dave Swarbrick (especially now since I've been to Cropredy--THREE times!) and, of course, Steeleye Span.
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Recordings and Selected Festival Appearances
RECORDINGS:
{1} (with the Delaware Water Gap and various artists) "Fox Hollow Lodge String Band Festival, vol. 1, 'Comin' Home'" Biograph RC 6008 (1976). [out of print].
{2} (as accompanist) Kevin Burke; "Sweeney's Dream - Fiddle Tunes from County Sligo, Ireland" Folkways FW 8876 (1977). [reissued on CD by Smithsonian/Folkways Recordings SFW CD 40485 (2001)-- in print].
{3} Delaware Water Gap; "String Band Music" Adelphi 2004 (1977). [out of print].
{4} Delaware Water Gap; "From the Rivers of Babylon to the Land of Jazz" Kicking Mule KM 205 (1979). [out of print].
{5} (as accompanist) Debbie McClatchy; "Lady Luck" Green Linnet SIF 1017 (1979). [out of print].
{6} (as accompanist) Bob Carlin; "Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo" Rounder Records 0132 (1980). [contact company re: availability].
{7} (with Harmony, Grits and Jam) Ralph Litwin; "Wild Man and Friends" Funny Wisdom Music (ca. 1987). [contact company re: availability].
{8} (as accompanist) George Mann and Julius Margolin, “Miles to Go Before We Sleep” Running Scared Productions (2000). [in print].
{9} (as accompanist) -- various artists, “Hail to the Thief” Running Scared Productions (2001). [in print].
{10} (as accompanist) Chris Chandler & Anne Feeney, “Flying Poetry Circus” Shole 002 (2001). [in print].
{11} Ralph Litwin and Alan Podber; Funny Wisdom Music (2002). [in print].
{12} (with Ralph Litwin) -- various artists, "Evidence of Life Transmitted by Air" WFMU Premium CD (2002). [contact station re: availability].
{13} Ralph Litwin and Al Podber, “The Fabulous Furry Harmonica Brothers” Funny Wisdom Music FWR0040CD (2003). [in print]. Available from ralphlitwin.com or this website (click on email button below to send request).
{14} (as accompanist) George Mann and Julius Margolin, “Just a Few Bad Apples” Running Scared Productions (2003). [in print].
{15} (as accompanist) -- various artists, "Hail to the Thief 2" Running Scared Productions (2004). [in print].
{16} (with Ralph Litwin) -- various artists, "The Artists from Our Freshman Year" Winona Folk Compilation CD. [2004]. [in print].
{17} (post-production coordinator and musical accompanist) "Wholly Mother Jones," a play with music broadcast over the Pacifica Radio network. Green Eagle Press (2005). (in print). Available from greeneagle.org or this website (click on email button below to send request).
{18} (as interviewee and accompanist) "A Union Man: The Life and Work of Julius Margolin," a 90-minute DVD documentary. Running Scared Productions (2005). (in print).
{19} (as accompanist) -- various artists, "Hail to the Thieves 3" Running Scared Productions (2006). [in print].
{20} (as accompanist) -- George Mann, "Into the Fire" Running Scared Productions (2008). In print.
COMING SOON: A CD of acoustic blues (entitled "CrossRoots") in a variety of pre-war styles from Big Road Blues……
A 1984 concert on CD featuring Irish and Jewish [Klezmer and Chassidic] tunes (entitled "From Lublin to Dublin") with Alan Kaufman.
"Always ready and willing to give a verse or two of 'Fannin' Street.'"
SELECTED FESTIVAL APPEARANCES:
With the Delaware Water Gap:
Fox Hollow Lodge String Band Festival: 1975
Philadelphia Folk Festival/Philadelphia Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival: 1977-1979
Nyons Folk Festival (Switzerland): 1979
Folkdag Moergestel (Netherlands): 1979
De Lokerse Feesten (Belgium): 1979
New Jersey Folk Festival: 1999 (reunion)
With the Fabulous Furry Harmonica Brothers:
New Jersey Folk Festival: 2003
New Jersey Folk Project Fall Festival: 2005
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Upcoming Performances, and Audio Clips
PERFORMANCES:
Sunday, August 10, with George Mann and Julius Margolin, in Patchogue, LI, NY at Shorefront Park Bandshell; late afternoon set -- The 20th anniversary of the LI "Be-in" Festival!
Thursday, September 4, with George Mann Julius Margolin, at 2:30 PM in Manhattan, NY -- A screening of the film "A Union Man," complete with Q & A and concert. Penn South Senior Center, 9th Ave. between 26 and 27th Streets. Free and open to the public.
Friday, October 17, with Julius Margolin, at 7 PM in Haledon, NJ -- Botto House, 83 Norwood St. A screening of the documentary film "A Union Man," including Q & A and a selection of labor songs. A special screening at the Botto House Labor Museum, home of one of the leaders of the 1916 Paterson Silk Workers Strike... check out link: http://www.geocities.com/labormuseum
Suggested donation $10 (for the museum).
(for further information on any of these performances, just leave me an E-mail by clicking on the button below).
AUDIO and VIDEO CLIPS:
See VIDEOS of the Fabulous Furry Brothers in concert and on Ralph's cable TV show by clicking on the top link below.
For excerpts from the Fabulous Furry Harmonica Brothers CD, click on the Ralph Litwin link below, and then on "recordings." (I'm also in some of the photos on this site). And while you're there, check out Ralph's non-Furry work, too. Great music/great carpentry and an award-winning cable TV show!
and
You can click on the George and Julius link for some music with a politically progressive POV. All the mandolin, harmonica and slide guitar work on the G & J tracks are played by yours truly (as are the mandolin on "Carnivals" [Chandler/Feeney] and Lead Bellyish 12-string on "AFL-CIO"). I'm in selected pictures there, as well.
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