What
exactly is a "Todalo"? First of all, it's pronounced "TOE-dah-low."
It's closely related to "diddy-wah-diddy", and crops up occasionally
in obscure old blues songs: "I'm satisfied, satisfied, my todalo
shaker by my side" is a line from the Memphis Jug Band classic "You
May Leave, But This Will Bring You Back."
The Todalo
Shakers includes Eric Thompson on mandolin and guitar,
W.B. Reid on banjo-guitar and fiddle, Suzy Thompson on fiddle and
guitar, Frannie Leopold on guitar, and Steven Strauss on bowed bass.
All five of the Todalo Shakers sing,
making for a rich palette of vocal blends. The album was recorded
in the Thompson's living room, making for a great feeling of camaraderie;
the exuberance and fondness that the musicians feel for their material
and for each other is unmistakable.
Eric
and Suzy Thompson
have long been known for their bluesy string band music. Now they've
formed the Todalo Shakers with 3 other longtime musical compatriots
and have recorded an album of vintage jug band blues and old time
rags & stomps which sound like they are lifted right out of
1928 in Memphis, Tennessee or Dallas, Texas. The other Todalo Shakers
include Steven Strauss,
playing bowed bass for the very first time on this recording. Strauss
has played string bass with countless well-known Bay Area artists,
including punk songstress Penelope Houston (during her folky phase),
bluesman Charles Brown, and the Hot Club of San Francisco. Mendocino's
Frannie Leopold, who plays guitar, has toured and
recorded with New Mexico's Jeanie McLerie as the Delta Sisters,
and with Hank Bradley and Cathie Whitesides as the Balkan Kafe Orchestra.
Bruce "W.B." Reid,
who makes his home in Seattle, Washington, spent some of his formative
years during his early twenties hanging out in San Diego with bluesman
Sam Chatmon, of the legendary string band the Mississippi Sheiks.
Bruce has toured and recorded with For Old Times Sake (a contra
dance band), with oldtime fiddler Lee Stripling, and with the Bing
Bang Boys (featuring the Canote Twins.)
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Listen to
the Todalo Shakers sound: |
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RealMedia |
MP3 |
| Mandolin
King Rag |
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| Cocaine
Habit Blues |
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| Pole
Cat Blues |
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| Black
Rat Swing |
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| Ruth's
Rag |
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