[Postcard2] live music from the past

[Richard Fannan]

There will be a press release on this later but I can break the news now.
As I may have been mentioned, I've been representing Ed Pearl and Ash Grove
Music Inc for a number of years.  In the early 60s, the Ash Grove was THE
traditional folk club in Los Angeles.  Not only one of the most artist
friendly venues in the country, music lessons were also offered and my high
school friends learned guitar from Clarence White, mandolin from Roland
White and fiddle from the late great Scotty Stoneman.  It was also the place
where Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal met and formed the Rising Sons.  The owner of
the club, Ed Pearl, recorded hundreds of performances at the club and we've
been trying for years to find a suitable home for those recordings where
they will be available to the public.  Last week we finally completed a deal
with Wolfgangs Vault and, once the tapes are cleaned up and digitized, they
will become available for streaming and downloading at the site (there are
also plans for a multi-CD box set highlighting the history of the club).
Sometime soon, you'll be able to listen to live performances by Taj and Ry,
Brownie and Sonny, Bill Monroe, Vern and Ray, Country Gentlemen, John Hurt,
Lightning Hopkins, Clarence White with the Kentucky Colonels and the White
Brothers, Merle Travis, Cousin Emmy, Kaleidoscope with David Lindley, many
more.  I've listened to some of the material and its great.