robbif - Posted - 12/19/2012:  04:55:57

Thanks to Bear Acker and longtime friend banjoist Jerry Oland for providing me the cassette and allowing me to add it to my collection.



Bear Acker and Billings Gap - "Dark Highway"

robbif - Posted - 12/30/2012:  10:35:08

robbif - Posted - 01/09/2013:  05:49:06

robbif - Posted - 01/16/2013:  08:47:57

I now have a free "Google Custom Search" for my recordings. It still has growing pains but seems to be working pretty well.

There are still some things I have to do to make it complete.



Please give it a try. Search for festival names, people names, band names, etc.

Short text seems to work better, e.g. Crowe, Monroe, Berkshire.



I'd appreciate any feedback.



As noted, since the search is free, Google throws an ad into the results; but it's not bad, and an obvious different color.



http://frobbi.org/pickingsearch.html



There's also a link to it on my main Picking Page: http://frobbi.org/picking.html



Fred

rdeputy - Posted - 01/17/2013:  20:40:46

Thank you for posting all these links! Great stuff!

robbif - Posted - 01/28/2013:  06:00:01

Thanks to James Stiltner, I've just added J.E. Mainer, Ed May's Home Studio, Kelsa, VA, 1958

robbif - Posted - 01/31/2013:  05:47:28

Reminder: My latest series of recordings, the Ivor Trueman Collection, has well over 800 MP3s dating from 1954 to 1976! Please check it out. Note all of my files are downloadable. If you need help, go HERE. And don't forget to try my new Search Feature. a work in progress that is about 95% complete so far.

robbif - Posted - 02/03/2013:  16:35:52

Another great one here.



Doc Hamilton has just given me a super-classic recording of his, and I've added it to my Doc Hamilton Collection.



It's JD Crowe & the New South at the Holiday Inn, Lexington, KY in 1975.



JD - banjo, Tony Rice - guitar, Ricky Skaggs - mandolin, Jerry Douglas - dobro, Bobby Slone - bass 

robbif - Posted - 02/06/2013:  07:13:57

Folks,



After being inspired my Doc Hamilton's classic 1975 Holiday Inn recording I recently posted, Ken Landreth contributed one that slightly predates Doc's.



This one is from 1974, just after Ricky Skaggs joined. Read Ken's story and listen here: frobbi.org/audio/landreth/JDCrowe74.html



I have been so blessed to have these great guys take their time to search through their archives, digitize their recordings, and honor me as the one to share them with all of you!

Fred 

kjcole - Posted - 02/07/2013:  11:28:49

The Landreth recordings of JD and the New South at the Red Slipper Lounge are fantastic.  In the list of songs I noticed that he missed listing the instrumental version of John Hardy.  This is full length and really smokes!    it follows "Molly and Tenbrooks" I believe.

Great Stuff!

robbif - Posted - 02/08/2013:  06:10:47

kjcole, Thanks for the catch. It's been fixed.

robbif - Posted - 02/17/2013:  05:23:14

robbif - Posted - 02/18/2013:  16:04:05

robbif - Posted - 02/24/2013:  09:05:56

Hi Folks,



I have a new sub-collection added to the Ivor Trueman Collection.



Bean Blossom 1972 with about 300 individual songs... http://frobbi.org/audio/ivor/BeanBlossom1972.html



As before, these recordings were collected from other sites, some of which

no longer exist or the links no longer work.



I'm attempting to put them all together in one place that's also searchable.

Note that new items like this won't be searchable until Google "crawls" the

new web pages at some unpredictable time in the near future.



Since I mechanically copied the song and artist information from all that was

collected, there may be some errors (and maybe more introduced by me). So I'd

appreciate any feedback and will try to update the pages as time permits.



Enjoy!

Fred 

robbif - Posted - 03/01/2013:  07:15:09

Just a quick mention that the Search My Recordings feature seems to be working very well now, including all the recent additions.

Please check it out.

robbif - Posted - 03/06/2013:  07:10:50

Hi Folks,

Take a listen to the March 5 additions to my Ivor Trueman Collection. 

You'll find...

Greenbriar Boys, Nathan's Restaurant, Oceanside, NY, 1962
J.D. Crowe & The New South, Partners II, Centerville, VA, 1975
J.D. Crowe & The New South, Kosei Nenkin Sho Hall, Tokyo, Japan, 1979
Kentucky Colonels, The Cabale, Berkeley, CA, 1964

Don't forget my new search feature.  
Note the most recent additions will not be found until Google "crawls" 
the new web pages in the next few days.

Enjoy,
Fred

kenneth - Posted - 03/28/2013:  05:56:17

quote:

---

Originally posted by Polson



Nice one Fred.



There are some cracking songs in that playlist. Can't wait to hear more!



Cheers



Jonny



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



And On The Eighth Day, God Created The Flatpicker Hangout!

---

I am having trouble downloading them or am I not supposed to

robbif - Posted - 03/28/2013:  06:21:06

quote:

---

 

 

I am having trouble downloading them or am I not supposed to

 

---

I'm not sure what the problem is, since you didn't explain any details.

You should be able, and are welcome, to download any of my recordings. In fact, on my main recording page there is a link to my Download Instructions.

I hope this helps.

kenneth - Posted - 03/28/2013:  20:46:04

Thank you Fred I will give it a try. Keep up the sterling work

robbif - Posted - 07/25/2013:  05:55:01

Ivor Trueman has acquired some of Chris Wing's tape collection. Ivor says Chris used to play mandolin with Tom Travis.



Today's installment is of the Johnson Mtn Boys on the BBC..



frobbi.org/audio/ivor/JohnsonM...ndex.html

 

OldD18 - Posted - 07/27/2013:  09:19:50

Fred,

Thanks for the great work compiling all this music. Greatly appreciated. You can't be possibly be thanked enough.

regards, bud

robbif - Posted - 07/27/2013:  09:38:35

Bud, As I always say, your kind remarks are exactly what makes the effort worthwhile!

Thanks!,

Fred

robbif - Posted - 07/28/2013:  13:00:12

This morning Ivor Trueman gave me a whole lot more of the Johnson Mtn Boys.

This time it's from the Edale Festival in the UK, including one gospel set from 

their first appearance in 1987 and 4 sets from their 1994 return.

The MC explains that they normally invite a band only once; but the voting brought

the JMB back a second time.

Click here 

GalenB - Posted - 08/01/2013:  12:42:25

My work is quiet right now, so I've been working my way through your site. Don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today! There are some great gems here; thanks Fred for sharing this incredible archive.

Galen

robbif - Posted - 08/04/2013:  17:16:48

I'm very happy to be able to make available a Dillards show from the BBC.

It was recorded by the BBC in 1989 and broadcast in 1990.

Chris Wing recorded it off the radio; Ivor Trueman digitized the tapes

and provided me the MP3s.

My thanks go to all I worked with on this project: Ivor, Mitch Jayne's widow Diana,

Doug Dillard's widow Vikki, and the Dillards' producer Lynne, the latter who

graciously gave me permission to share this historic recording with you.

Band members: Mitch Jayne, Dean Webb, Rodney & Doug Dillard, Steve Cooley

Click Here to Listen

robbif - Posted - 08/10/2013:  07:10:42

Regrettably I'm shutting down my audio recordings* for now.

All my videos are still available since they're on YouTube.

I've tried to make most of that clear on my updated recordings page: frobbi.org/picking.html

* There's one available audio exception: the recent Dillards 1990 BBC recording that's on SoundCloud, 

due to a play-only requirement by the publisher. It would be nice to put all of my recordings on SoundCloud 

or some similar service, but it would take literally months to redo my scores of web pages. Plus it would 

cost approx another $140/year whereas I'm only paying $60/year for the current website.

You will see a prompt asking for a password. That's the quickest way I could lock it all out.

I just found out my upload/download quota has apparently been exceeded. I guess it's because of all the 

latest wonderful additions that have been so popular.

But I've just been charged over $1,200 by my website provider for last month!

I did not know I'd exceeded the quota or what that quota was; I do now.

I wasn't able to get through to any of the providers phone numbers, even during their business hours.

I don't know what the solution will, if anything, be. I fear I will not be able to recover the monetary loss.

I'll try to argue with the web provider on Monday. They now offer cheap packages with unlimited data transfer.

Maybe I'll find another provider. Lots of questions and options right now.

I'm so very disappointed in not being able to share everything with you, for now.

I will keep you informed.

robbif - Posted - 08/12/2013:  12:53:54

I talked with Billing today and she said there was nothing much she could do.

She also noted that the next invoice being put together has another $300 on it!

I see that's because the last invoice went through 7/10 and I didn't shut down 

until 8/9 when I saw that invoice. So now I'm up to (or "out") $1,500+ !!!

She recommended I contact Complaints by email, so I'm carefully composing that right now

and expect to send it later today.

I'd hate to do it, but I've had recommendations to use Paypal or Kickstarter, but I don't 

know the tax implications of that approach. Any other suggestions are welcome.

If I switch to their "Unlimited" account (unlimited space and monthly traffic), it'll cost 

$48/year with a 36-month commitment, less than the $60/year I'm paying now. 

More as this saga continues.

robbif - Posted - 08/13/2013:  17:40:22

Hi Folks,



Amidst all my website woes, one silver lining I'm thrilled to announce...



After working with the two artists, I have now released a 2-song sampler

of our Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association's intimate concert with Jim and Rob.



youtube.com/watch?v=MULEXgxvv-...p;index=1



It will also be announced by the HVBA in a few days.



I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!



Fred 

slowhand - Posted - 08/13/2013:  19:34:31

Fred, this is really shocking to hear. It sounds like you're getting raked over the coals by this ISP. I've gotten a lot of enjoyment from the recordings you've posted. If you PM a snailmail address to me, I'll fold something up in an envelope for you when I get home this weekend, as a small token of my appreciation.

You might want to consider keeping your website where it is, but hosting the audio and video files on other sites like dropbox.com. Dropbox will give you 2 GB storage for free and I don't see anything about bandwidth limits, but don't take my word for it, check first. You could keep your pages at the same locations, and just change the links to point to the dropbox URLs.

robbif - Posted - 08/13/2013:  20:01:33

Thanks for the offer. As I'd posted, my isp has an unlimited pkg for $48/yr. I'm looking at several recommendations as to how to receive everyone's generous help, but I'm waiting to see the isp's response. Will keep you all posted.

This mess and so many responses 

has really made me realize how much my efforts have been appreciated!

robbif - Posted - 08/14/2013:  11:31:05

Hi Everyone,

I talked to my trusted accountant of many years this morning. He strongly advised me that I 

should not accept any money via any method. There are just too may potential snags. At this 

juncture, after this painful reality check, as much as it hurts, I believe him.

I just received a response from the Complaints Dept. They offered to refund my latest bill of

$307. I again asked them to refund the previous bill of $1,236, but they would not budge. I 

accepted the offer. 

I just switched to the package with unlimited space and upload/download traffic. I thought it

was $48/year, but that was for first-timers. I'll pay $84/year. I should be back online 

tomorrow (Thur). For now it's the cheapest, simplest, easiest, and most reliable way to get 

back online soon, since I have so many web pages that might have to be changed if I used any 

other approach. Once the dust settles, I may use other additional methods recommended by my 

(better-than-me) tech buddies.

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready to volunteer with my usual videographer act at the Rhythm & Roots 

Festival in Rhode Island over Labor Day Weekend.

My continued thanks for all your encouraging comments, ideas, and offers. One good thing has

come out of this mess: I'm so gratified at how much my efforts are appreciated. I've always

said that's exactly what makes it worthwhile.

Will keep you posted.

Fred

robbif - Posted - 08/14/2013:  14:48:45

Back in Business!

frobbi.org/picking.html

Thanks everyone!

Fred

robbif - Posted - 08/17/2013:  18:49:12

Reminder: Take a Fresh Look at My Recordings

I just took a look and found I have over 2,300 MP3s!



Many are single songs, but a good number are multi-song and complete sets.



So, now that I have unlimited download, please take a fresh look and some

time to go through the selections, especially the Collections. For example,

the Landreth Collection has 115 MP3s and the Ivor Trueman Collection has 1,900!



Start at frobbi.org/picking.html



And search for your favorite artist, song or instrument at frobbi.org/pickingsearch.html

The latter feature works pretty well, but I'll be making it better.



I welcome you to download and provide directions how to do it..



So please dive in and enjoy yourself.



Fred

robbif - Posted - 09/29/2013:  14:24:01

Another gem recorded from the BBC by Chris Wing and digitized by Ivor Trueman...



frobbi.org/audio/ivor/Stanley-...ndex.html



Ivor says...



I guess this'd be significant as it's presumably either one of the last gigs where Ralph played all the banjo or one of the first with Steve Sparkman?

It's mentioned that Ralph was in a wheelchair - but there's no mention of Steve Sparkman.

robbif - Posted - 09/29/2013:  14:41:59

I'm proud to have contributed to this video production that was shown at the IBMA this week. Thanks to all my fellow media volunteers who contributed, especially good friend and  Grey Fox Media Crew Chief Steve Ide for putting it all together!

northwoodspicker - Posted - 09/29/2013:  17:25:05

Wow, Fred, what a great resource! I'm going to browse around and download some shows for those long winter evenings and my long summer days cutting grass while listening to bluegrass on my iPod.

Thanks for all you do. You're archiving some very important material. Keep it up man. Future generations will thank you.

Joseph (northwoodspicker)

robbif - Posted - 09/29/2013:  17:28:50

Joseph,

Thanks for your kind words, exactly what makes it worth the effort.

It also gives me the opportunity to plug my Search Feature. Please check it out!

Fred

northwoodspicker - Posted - 09/29/2013:  18:08:16

I just did and downloaded a whole bunch of stuff. I'm going to revisit for sure. I am learning banjo and guitar and listening to great musicians is a huge part of my journey.

Thank you for your generosity, and thank your friends for me too!

Joseph

northwoodspicker - Posted - 10/27/2013:  21:26:58

As for flat picking, the Tony Rice and Norman Blake concert is absolutely fantastic! Download it if you haven't already.

robbif - Posted - 10/31/2013:  10:43:09

I'm thrilled to share with you a recording from longtime friend Robert Pool. Robert (bass) and

another longtime friend, Tim Duran (mandolin) [both with the Arm Bros. when I met them in the early 1970s],

along with Tommy Boyd (banjo), were onstage with Larry Sparks at the Delaware PA, Festival in 1976.

According to Robert, the recording, by Jim Baldwin (now deceased), has never been heard until now.



Listen to Larry Sparks 1976 

 

robbif - Posted - 11/10/2013:  07:55:29

Another treasure has arrived, thanks to Ivor Trueman...

Videos of three complete sets from Ralph Stanley's visit to the

UK's Edale Festival in 1991, Ralph's first appearance in the UK since

the Stanley Brothers played in London 1966. There are also some photos

by Barry Lane and Chris Wing.



It's all here: frobbi.org/audio/ivor/Stanley-...ndex.html

robbif - Posted - 11/12/2013:  17:47:57

Another treat from Ivor Trueman...Alison Krauss & Union Station in the UK 1992...



frobbi.org/audio/ivor/Krauss-1...ndex.html

robbif - Posted - 11/29/2013:  11:38:15

Hi Folks,



Here's hoping you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and/or Chanukah and the tryptophan has begun to dissipate.



I'm honored and thrilled (again!) to announce a new phase in my good fortune of sharing history with you...

The Doc Hamilton Photo Collection!



frobbi.org/slides/hamilton/index.html



My thanks to Doc for his offer allowing me to share these with you.

He tells me more will be coming next week; so stay tuned!



All the best!

Fred 

robbif - Posted - 12/01/2013:  11:23:08

Today Doc added Benny Thomasson and the Goins Brothers.



frobbi.org/slides/hamilton/index.html

robbif - Posted - 12/02/2013:  13:33:03

Doc just keeps the photos coming!



Today's offering: Jim & Jesse and Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass



frobbi.org/slides/hamilton/index.html

robbif - Posted - 12/04/2013:  07:07:16

Doc has "dumped" so many more albums on me since the last announcement I can't remember which ones.

So please help yourself (again) and take a look...



frobbi.org/slides/hamilton/index.html

 

robbif - Posted - 12/05/2013:  07:21:22

I've "discovered" a few more old cassettes.



For this first one, I'm turning the tables on Doc Hamilton, who's been providing all those

wonderful photos http://frobbi.org/slides/hamilton/index.html



This time, Doc's in one of my recordings and my photos!

Buck White & The Down Home Folks, Berkshire 1978​



http://frobbi.org/audio/buckwhiteberkshire78.html

robbif - Posted - 12/06/2013:  11:40:55

Thanks to Robert Pool, former bass player of the Arm Bros, friends of mine from the 1970s in Poughkeepsie,

I have some more photos from that era.



The entire project, with recordings, photos and member list is at frobbi.org/audio/armbros/index.html



The new collection is at frobbi.org/audio/armbros/morep...ndex.html

robbif - Posted - 12/07/2013:  10:58:52

Time for my holiday greeting...