CDs/Music
1. The Way Out is Through
2. Henry Wilson Thayer
3. Dance of Dewachen
4. Gate of Ease and Joy
5. Being Where You Are
6. Tunisian National
7. Monument to Lancaster
8. Reality
9. Baglia's Bounce
10. Annapurna Devi
11. Being Who You Are
12. Electernity
13. Isthmus of Ellen Schmidt
14. The Bardo of Rumsfelcheney
For More Info, liner notes, instruments used, tunings, etc, CLICK HERE:
13 instrumentals featuring : Dobro, Chaturangui, Weissenborn, Oud and a tiny bit of Duduk.....70 minutes of aural enjoyment
Recorded July-Sept. 2013 Concord Mass.
1. American Lily2. Hats Off to Tev Stevig
3. Concord Porch Swinging
4. Hijaz Samsara
5. Alcott Turns
6. Blues for Edward Powell
7. Rehabilitation of Joy
8. Farewell, Last Heath Hen (1932)
9. Reflections on Lake Dhanakosha
10. Graverobber's Delight (For Lady J.M. Smythe)
11. Brahma Viharas
12. Willful Suspension of Disbelief
13. Let Go of the Day, Every Day Let Go
CLICK HERE for More info, liner notes, tunings and instruments used etc.
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Sound Clips available at CD baby or iTunes.....
24 songs, on TWO cd's..........all instrumental..........includes: Dobro, Weissenborn, Mohan Veena, Oud, Cumbus, Cura Saz, Harmonium,
Harmonica, and more..............
Acceptance I
1. Wellington Awakening (5:27)
2. White Lily (5:02)
3. Topsy Nervy (5:23)
4. Mevlevi Meditation (3:40)
5. The Doubleneck (4:59)
6. Death To All Pianos (4:38)
7. Bleeding, He Chased The Enemy 9 Miles (3:41)
8. Patience, Persistence, Acceptance I (4:45)
9. Kianchi Afternoon (3:24)
10. Healing (4:26)
11. Surviving The Unbearable (4:13)
12 Taj Mahal (4:56)
Acceptance II
1. Wellington Awakening II (5:27)
2. Nigel's Baby Blues (4:15)
3. Sengekontacket Sunset (4:58)
4. The Waiting (5:46)
5. Sunrise At Varanasi Ghats (6:23)
6. Flamingo Monument (3:54)
7. The Enemy Ran Ten Miles (3:55)
8. Patience, Persistence, Acceptance II (4:56)
9. Greyhound's Lunchbreak (2:11)
10. Surrender (5:09)
11. Give Time Time (3:59)
12. Sufi Sunrise (4:33)
CLICK HERE for liner notes, tunings, guitars, and more info..............
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click on any song below for sound clips
1. Glenn Jones Isthmus
2. Oooooh Kay Dooooooouugh Kay
3. Peace
4. Night Bikers in Cambridge
5. Flat Tire in the Fourth Dimension
6. Vinyl Shoppers on New Year's Eve
7. The Klezmers of Hungary
8. Stockbridge Bowl on Christmas Eve
9. Listen to this Avacado
10. Lucky 13
11. Cheney's Plastic Flower Garden (duet with Glenn Jones)
12. Useless if droppped
13. The First Hippy of Beijing
14. Sweet Pea raga
15. Commandment 6 vs. President 43
16. Bedtime Song for Karmapa
CLICK HERE for more liner notes, tunings, guitars used etc.
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"The Bumper Pool Diaries"is the third album released in one year by Boston based Dobro virtuoso lloyd Thayer. This album highlights Thayer's songwriting, with songs that are poetic snap shots of an America that has been long forgotten, and yet somehow still resonates with the modern world. The album covers a wide range of styles, from the simple folk ballad of "Earl" to the gospel blues shout of "Loneliness", using an equally wide variety of instruments including Dobro, musical saw, pedal steel, theremin and many more. The album was referred to by one Dutch reviewer as "the Sgt. Pepper of the folk world" which also highlights Thayer's producing and engineering skills.
The "Bumper Pool Diaries" features 13 songs performed by Thayer, with accompaniment by several well known artists including Rob Laurens, Michael Dinallo, Josh Kantor, Susan Levine, Danielle Miraglia and Tom Bianchi. Ted Drozdowski wrote about Thayer's quest to complete three cd's in one year in the Boston Phoenix on Feb. 7, 2007......
1. I Remember Dirt (4:59)
2. Wonderland (5:00)
3. Earl (5:37)
4. It Slipped Through (5:34)
5. Pebbles (6:38)
6. Staring at the Screen (5:28)
7. Downtown on the Prairie (5:43)
8. Loneliness (4:55)
9. South in the Fall (4:56)
10. Paper Plates (4:06)
11. Ashes to Ashes (4:11)
12. Fire Eaters (5:55)
13. Dirt #122 (slightly revisited-2:22)
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Birds is the first collection of solo instrumental compositions by Dobro virtuoso lloyd Thayer. The album features 17 acoustic soundscapes all played on lapstyle guitar, meaning, the guitar is played flat in the lap and fretted with a metal bar. Thayer's playing is rooted in the tradition of John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and other Takoma artists, but also contains deep echoes of an older, outsider group of players from the 1920s like Sylvester Weaver and Frank Hutchinson.
From the regal beauty of songs like "Great Blue Heron" or "War Never Ends" to the haunting, mysterious richness of "February Grebe" and "24 Hours," lloyd's playing covers a wide range of emotions and moods. "Riding the Rails" and "Lost Oystercatcher" feature some beautiful work on the Weissenborn guitar, which is just one of a variety of guitars used on the CD, including a 1929 National Squareneck Tricone, a Dobro made of fiberglass, and a 12 string acoustic guitar specially modified to be played lap style.
Perhaps the high point of the album is the eighth song, "Hijaz Mojo." At just over 8 minutes long, this piece is an improvisation on National Steel Guitar in the ancient Middle Eastern Maquam or scale called "Hijaz," which is popular throughout the Arab world. lloyd's study of Middle Eastern and classical Indian musics shines through on this piece, which crosses the line between cultures with graceful fluidity. The CD also features some agressive right-hand picking work on the 12 string on songs like "Mississippi Ripposaurus" and "Charles River Rag." Finally, Birds comes to a close with the powerful and expressive "UnitedStatesofAmnesia,"
a one-take, one-time improvisation that perfectly sums up Thayer's mastery of his chosen instrument.
Honed during endless hours on subway platforms in his native Boston, Thayer's playing reaches new heights on this CD, and pushes the boundaries of what can be done on a Dobro. In fact, many of the songs on this CD grew out of improvisations played while waiting for the next group of subway commuters to arrive. A beautiful work from start to finish, Birds is played from the heart and soul by a master artist, with intensity and emotion, and is for lovers of acoustic music everywhere.
The man who literally wrote the book on Dobro playing, Stacy Phillips raves: "Lots of original approaches, excellent playing, great tone, cool sounds I've never heard from a slide before. . . All the guitars sound great."
1. Piping Plovers 0:26
2. Riding the Rails with Chris Darling 3:00
3. The Run up Butter Mountain 4:11
4. Great Blue Heron 3:33
5. Hammerhead 0:53
6. Pole Vaulting Mingus 5:45
7. War Never Ends 3:59
8. Hijaz Mojo 8:13
9. 73 Bus vs. 71 Bus 2:36
10. Charles River Rag 1:28
11. Salty and Smooth 1:13
12. Lost Oystercatcher 6:24
13. Mississippi Ripposaurus 1:45
14. Glass Flowers in Mothballs 0:43
15. February Grebe 3:31
16. 24 Hours 1:53
17. UnitedStatesofAmnesia 2:40
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FROM iTunes
CLICK HERE FOR guitars used, tunings, more liner notes etc......
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1. b for boston
2. talk is cheap
3. walking blues
4. same train
5. the message
6. same mistake different day
7. killing floor/masters of war
8. everybody has to suffer
9. bloodless world
10. statesboro blues
11. crazy nut job
12. you got to move
13. flat foot
Blues for Boston is lloyd Thayer's much anticipated third album, released in response to constant requests by his fans for an "all blues" cd. And so these 13 songs are just that, all blues, played in Thayer's incredibly unique style, which combines elements of old time Delta masters with modern ideas and stories of today. Thayer plays all of his songs lapstyle on squareneck resonator guitars, including a 1929 National tricone. Also included on this cd are several songs played on lap style 12 string guitar, with the strings raised by a piece of bone that Thayer cut himself. The 12 string adds a haunting, almost sitar like quality to songs like Fred McDowell's "You Got to Move" and Thayer's own "Everybody has to Suffer". Last, but not least, and always a crowd favorite at festivals and shows is the song "Flat Foot" which is played on a home made one stringed diddley bow.
Thayer's medley of Skip James' "Killing Floor" and Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" has already been receiving airplay on radio stations across the U.S., while his one chord free improvisational arrangement of the GrandMaster Flash song "The Message" draws rave reviews wherever he plays. In addition to eight powerful original songs, another standout track is lloyd's version of the Son House classic "Walking Blues", which features Thayer's improvisational skills, as he explores classical Indian melodies which share so much common ground with Delta style blues of old.
lloyd has recently opened shows for Johnny Winter, John Hammond, Harry Manx, Paul Rishell and Annie Raines and many others. After his opening sets, audiences are usually left shaking their heads and asking "Who ARE you?!" or "Where have you been HIDING?!?" or "How do you DO that??".
Endless hours of playing on street corners and subway platforms have honed his songs and skills the old fashioned way, one song, one note, one heartbeat at a time. With the release of BLUES FOR BOSTON, lloyd Thayer is sure to emerge from the underground, one song, one note, one heartbeat, one friend, at a time............
Click here for REVIEWS of Blues for Boston
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most of these songs were written in the second half of 2003, and early 2004......they were recorded by Glen French at Treehouse studios in Arlington mass....... in may and june of 2004. most of the songs are solo dobro and vocals, with a wee bit of harp, and a whole lot of heart. songs 4,6 and 10 had a little help from bob dylan club™ members Lisa Bastoni and Josh Kantor, and i'm very grateful for that. the cover art was done by my friend Jen Hemenway, and i really love it......
CLICK HERE for LYRICS To this Record
1. so tired of waiting for your love
2. wonderland
3. addict
4. concrete island
5. chubby junkie
6. flat world
7. war starter blues
8. freedom
9. home of the brave
10. whole heart
11. fixing things
12. desolation row
13. see you tomorrow blues
14. rag stalk's 115th dream
hi folks.....
it seems like you don't hear about that many people waking up with a jinx under their bed anymore......
or people hanging crepe around eachothers doors..... i haven't even seen a dead snake on the street since
i was a small boy...it seems like they were everywhere then....i miss all of that. and more.
i hope that you enjoy the songs on this cd. they were mostly written in 2003, and played lapstyle on the
dobro or resonator guitar. i feel like the most fortunate person alive that i get to play the dobro. i love it more
than i can say..........i also love jennifer smith, matt n., michael m., forrest and rebecca, and midas and
everyone at cobra custom tattoo in plymouth mass., sandy b., kathy d., and everyone at belmont reality,
peter b., mike L, joephil, the seven deadly daves, garden st., buckethead, lois moondog hardin,
all dobro players, josh and mary and lisa b., my dobro students, john fahey, mike keneally, frank zappa,
son house, grandmaster flash, fred mcdowell, run dmc, johnny shines, eddie one string jones,
lama surya das, eddie hazel, george clinton, james brown, paul rishell and annie raines, matt smith at
club passim, paul and mary mena, the boston blues society, gail, allen, tom, pam,bob dylan club,
muddy waters, dom, steve, and on and on and on..... there are so many more of you.......
thanks for your friendship......
thanks to you for listening, it means a lot to me. thanks to stacy phillips for teaching me dobro.
dedicated to jj, raj d, frank m. and peter e.
special thanks to jj, lisa bastoni, josh kantor, glenn french, and the bob dylan club.
lisa bastoni sang on #6 and #10. http://www.lisabastoni.com/home.php
josh kantor played bass on #4. and #10.
recorded may of 2004 by glenn french at treehouse studios http://grfics.com/
produced by lloyd and glenn french, mastered by jon sage.
all songs written by lloyd thayer except #12 desolation row by bob dylan,
dobro esoterica: songs 1, 6, 12, and 13 were played on a 1998 gibson dobro.
songs 2, 5, 11, -beltone resonator guitar set up hawaiin style.
songs 3 and 4-ted smith fiberglass melobro resonator guitar.
songs 7 and 9 1929 national tricone #1316.
song 8 bronson lapsteel. song 10-superior hawaiian guitar.
i met jen hemenway while playing dobro on the street in cambridge ma, in may of 2003. i really like her paintings
and she was kind enough to do the artwork on this cd.....the front, the back and the inside. you can see more of
her work at her website http://web.media.mit.edu/~zoe/jen/High_Resolution/FrameSet.htm
or drop her an email at: rootsup@hotmail.com
i have other cd's available at cd.baby.com, or at shows, or on the street or at my website.
http://www.lloydthayer.com
thanks again.......be good to eachother, and go and tell your friends that
you love them.
ll
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recorded live in harvard square sunday june 8th and sunday june 15th 2003 by joe prideaux.
for a while now, i have felt like my dobro playing has been moving at a faster pace than my ability to record it......and so i have wanted to do a live cd which is a straight ahead document of what i do when i play on the street. and that's what this cd is. i'm very happy with the way it came out. it's what i do.
if you have seen me playing on the street, or if you like blues, this is the cd for you.......
there are too many people to thank, but i will make some sort of a list here, starting with the man who recorded it, joe prideaux, who was nice enough to give up two of his sundays and come in to the square and make the magic happen. thanks joe. i'm very grateful. thanks to jon sage who mixed and mastered and even tweaked the final results. thanks to everyone who ever listened, no matter what. thanks to michael mayer, forrest and rebecca cavacco, brian mac, midas and everyone at cobra custom tattoo in plymouth mass., david johnston, blue, unclescam, ari and all street performers everywhere. thanks to belmont reality, sandy, kathy d., jean, marilyn, matt, raj, mahesh, stacey, nancy, john and margaret, joephil, and my friends at garden st., dom, the dina and eddie, paul and mary mena, ethan brown, danny exum, sean starion and everyone at WERS,.....leanne scott at the kendall and matt smith at passim......everyone who lives in the square, and all people who do not have their freedom. thanks to everyone who comes to the shows, aimee cf, amy corbett, jeanine zurkus, tsuyoshi yano, mike spellman, and everyone else who has ever come to a show......thanks to my bluegrass friends, tom, pam, gail and allen, and to the boston blues society. thanks to jon svetky and don white. all av people and all students......thanks to my dobro students, and my dobro teacher, stacy phillips, for all of his help and support. i would not be here without any of you.......so this is your record as much as it is mine. thanks to lama surya das and lama john, david zinn and mike ryan, and all old dharma dogs. thanks to the new england aquarium. dedicated to the memory of those who died this year, perri the hobo, frank mclendon, norman swanson, and john miller. with much love and respect for john fahey, son house, fred mcdowell, howlin wolf, robert johnson, hendrix, dylan, run dmc, eddie one string jones, public enemy, mike keneally, frank zappa, the germs, johnny shines, black flag, the beatles, beck, louis moondog hardin, the allman brothers, buckethead, alice in chains, rev. robert wilkins, david lindley, robert randolph, pink floyd, algia mae hinton and all the chickenheads everywhere, and so on and on and on and on...........
all songs recorded live, no overdubs.....i used two guitars, a 1929 national tricone squareneck #1316 and a 1998 gibson dobro.
i hope you enjoy this music......
ll
1. wake up and smell the coffee blues
2. yonder comes the blues
3. what a month i had this week
4. love in vain
5. no way to get along
6. already home
7. bleeding house
8. life's like a railway station
9. it's like that
10. get some blues
11. i can't quit you
12. in your way
13. mother earth
14. blues for john miller and perri the hobo
there are a couple different versions of the cover of this, but the songs are the same.
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