30-Minute Music Hour

(city street noise) It's the 30 Minute Music Hour. I'm Andy Moore. From Madison, Wisconsin, Ida Jo and the Show! EILEEN AND I NEVER PLAYED OUTSIDE WE ALWAYS HAD TO HIDE OH, EILEEN AND I NEVER CLEARED OUR MINDS NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRIED OH, IT'S NEVER EASY TO HIDE OH, IT'S NEVER EASY TO HIDE WELL, IT'D BE A WHILE TILL I UNDERSTOOD THAT LOOK IN OUR EYES EILEEN LAUGHED AND SAID "YOU'RE SURPRISED?" IN YOU AND I THEY CONFIDE OH, IT'S NEVER EASY TO HIDE OH, IT'S NEVER EASY TO HIDE EILEEN MET THE END OF HER LIFE WHEN I FELT I'D MET MY PRIME FOR MORE AND MORE CAME TO REVEAL THE BURDENS OF THEIR MINDS ALL FOR EILEEN TO HOLD INSIDE OH, IT'S NEVER EASY TO HIDE OH, IT'S NEVER EASY TO HIDE MY LIFE HAS BEEN A MEMORY DAY IN DAY OUT YEAR BY YEAR ALL I KNOW IS I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE I ALWAYS STOOD A STEP BEHIND WATCHING THEIR DAILY PEDAL AND GRIND THINKING IT'S ENOUGH DO YOUR TIME SO I'LL TELL YOU THESE DAYS FIND YOUR OWN WAY I'LL TELL YOU THESE DAYS FIND YOUR OWN WAY I STARTED RUNNING FROM EAST TO WEST HOPING TO CATCH THE SUN RISE AND SET I FOUND A NEW DAY BUT MORE OF THE SAME AN HONEST DAY'S WORK FOR WHAT THEY SAY IS PAY 'CUZ ONLY THE DEVIL STILL GIVES IT AWAY I'VE MET MORE THAN MY SHARE OF SHAME SO, I'LL TELL YOU THESE DAYS FIND YOUR OWN WAY I'LL TELL YOU THESE DAYS FIND YOUR OWN WAY WHEN ALL I HAD LEFT WAS HONESTY TO RIGHT I TURNED THEY SILENCED ME ONLY WORDS AND POCKETS EMPTY AND I GOT PENNIES WHERE MY PAPERS HAD BEEN FOR ALL IT SEEMS I'D MEET MY END ONE STILL LIVES WITH NOTHING LEFT SO I'LL TELL YOU THESE DAYS FIND YOUR OWN WAY I'LL TELL YOU THESE DAYS FIND YOUR OWN WAY All right, Scott, "Go Easy." GO EASY GO SLOW I'LL SHOW YOU A THING OR TWO YOU DON'T KNOW GO EASY IF YOU CAN I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO BE A MAN WELL, GO EASY THE ONLY FIRE IS YOUR DESIRE TO PLEASE ME BELIEVE ME I'VE GOT A PLAN BUT I NEED A MAN WHO SEES ME TO FREE ME SO, GO EASY GO SLOW I'LL SHOW YOU A THING OR TWO YOU DON'T KNOW GO EASY IF YOU CAN I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO BE A MAN YEAH, YEAH TAKE MY HAND COME TAKE MY HAND FOLLOW ME COME FOLLOW ME TAKE MY HAND COME TAKE MY HAND FOLLOW ME COME FOLLOW ME COME FOLLOW ME OH, COME FOLLOW ME COME FOLLOW ME SO, GO EASY GO SLOW I'LL SHOW YOU A THING OR TWO YOU DON'T KNOW GO EASY IF YOU CAN I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO BE A MAN YES, I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO BE A MAN YES, I'LL SHOW YOU HOW Scott Lamps on bass. Fred Ecenrode on drums. Ida Jo and the Show. These songs are from "Providence," a beautiful package inside and out. "Go Easy," is the third cut, and that was the third song. - Yeah. And you can hear a little Texas swing in that little break, right? Yeah, definitely. I was a big Texas fiddler back in the day. Well, you did contests? - I did. I did a lot of contests growing up, yeah. And how did those work? They're very intense, actually. You're in a room full of all of these Texas-style hoedown fiddlers. - All ages? - All ages, yeah. It's broken down into age groups. Then you go on and you play three songs, and you're done, and they judge you. It's very intense. It's like "American Idol" for fiddlers. ( laughs ) - That's exactly what it is. It's like as about as fast as you can play, and as powerful as you can play. If you play soft and gently, you're probably not going to get very good points. And I'm sure you learned by listening to the other competitors, too. Oh definitely. You started with the Suzuki method, though, right? I did. I've been classically trained. I actually played all through college, classical violin. Do you have to unlearn classical? Maybe you're asked that a lot. - No, that's a good question. Yeah, to a certain extent. I think I was lucky, because like I said, I also played in more fiddle contests, and I used to play in a Finnish folk group while growing up, too, actually. So I think I kind of learned a bunch of things all at once. But definitely, a lot of classical players have a really tough time playing anything but classical violin. How would you describe the difference between a violin and a fiddle? Mostly just the style with which you play it. There's a lot more freedom in anything but classical, basically. Classical is very intense and very much on your technique and your execution. Maybe that's why they call it a discipline. Yeah, definitely. - What's Suzuki? I've never gotten what that is. Suzuki, it is a little bit confusing. A lot of people think that it's just learning by ear, which isn't necessarily the case. But Suzuki is a strict series of books that you learn one piece at a time, and in that order. You never jump around. So, it's meant that every song builds on each other. Every piece that you learn builds on each other so that you have all the technique that you need once you get to that harder piece in the higher books. A lot of this explains sort of the length around the track that you've come to this chop style. - Yeah. And as people who like mountain music, traditional music, and Celtic music, know the chop is nothing new. No. - But you have put some finish on it. And I hear that it goes someplace else because you're singing along with it. Is that fair? Yeah, that's definitely fair. You're right that it's nothing new. But where it's found is basically really just in Bluegrass, like background chops, not in a vocal setting at all. So it is definitely a new kind of swing. The singing with the chops, and you're doing more than chopping and singing. There's fiddle; there's some really nice echo, and stuff like that. But that had to be self-taught. It definitely was. It definitely was. It really came from just the need from me to play and sing together. Basically, I wanted to back myself up. So I had learned little bits of this method, a long time ago, so I tried to put it together and it took a while to get the hang of it. Well, Scott and Fred, let's maybe hear you play and think some more, for two or three more. Is that all right? - Yes, sounds perfect. More from "Providence," Ida Jo and the Show. PROVIDENCE YOU COME AND FIND ME FOR I CAN'T GO ON MY OWN I HAVE LOST THE WAY I FOLLOWED YESTERDAY WHEN MY DEAR PROVIDENCE WAS HERE I WOULD LOOK BEYOND MY APPREHENSION AND DOUBTS WOULD DISAPPEAR WHEN I'M NEAR BOTH CONFIDENCE AND FEAR CLOUDED BY THE CROWD AROUND WITHOUT A SOUND SINCERE PROVIDENCE YOU COME AND FIND ME FOR I CAN'T BE ON MY OWN IT HAS ALL BEEN SAID THIS LIFE'S A DAY FROM DEAD IF MY DEAR PROVIDENCE WAS HERE I WOULD LOOK BEYOND MY APPREHENSION AND DOUBTS WOULD DISAPPEAR WHEN I'M NEAR BOTH CONFIDENCE AND FEAR CLOUDED BY THE CROWD AROUND WITHOUT A SOUND SINCERE IF MY DEAR PROVIDENCE WAS HERE THERE WERE THINGS BEYOND MY COMPREHENSION PROVIDENCE MADE CLEAR WHEN I'M NEAR BOTH CONFIDENCE AND FEAR CLOUDED BY THE CROWD AROUND WITHOUT A SOUND SINCERE THIS IS WHAT I'VE HAD TO DO SINCE LONG BEFORE EVEN I KNEW LIKE A MOTHER KNOWS HER CHILD LIKE A RIVER RUNNING FREE I'LL NEVER STOP IT'S ALL I'VE GOT TO GIVE OOH, OOH-OOH-OOH THIS IS WHAT I'VE HAD TO DO SINCE LONG BEFORE I COULD TELL YOU LIKE SECRETS NEVER KEEP LIKE THERE'S NO ESCAPE FROM DESTINY I'LL NEVER STOP IT'S ALL I'VE GOT TO GIVE I'LL NEVER STOP IT'S ALL I'VE GOT TO GIVE I'LL NEVER STOP IT'S ALL I'VE GOT TO GIVE THIS IS WHAT I'VE HAD TO DO COURAGE OH, COURAGE IS A LOVE SONG IT WON'T BE EASY BREAKING AWAY THERE WILL BE JUDGMENT AS LONG AS THERE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR WAY IT WON'T BE EASY FACING OUR STRENGTHS FOR WE FEAR HOW WE ARE CAPABLE MORE THAN WE FEAR WHAT WE WILL WASTE OH, COURAGE OH, COURAGE IS A LOVE SONG WHOA-OH-OH COURAGE OH, COURAGE IS A LOVE SONG IT WON'T BE EASY WAITING IN VAIN FOR ALL THAT YOU NEED FOR WHO YOU SHOULD BE TO FALL INTO PLACE AND HOW DID EASY CHALLENGE GREAT AND CLAIM TO RISE ABOVE COURAGE AND THE PATIENCE TO WAIT OH, COURAGE OH, COURAGE IS A LOVE SONG WHOA-OH-OH COURAGE OH, COURAGE IS A LOVE SONG WELL I KNEW THE MAN WHO KNEW WHAT HE HAD AND HE STILL LET GO FORGET WHAT YOU KNOW MAKES IT EASY TO HOLD WHAT LEAVES YOU FEELING ALONE OH, OH-OH-OH IT'S NOT THE SAME TO HOPE THAN TO TRY FOR WE ARE WHAT WE ACT ON NOT WHAT WE CARRY INSIDE AND I'D RATHER HAVE MY SIMPLE LIFE FOR ALL I NEED TO KEEP ME ALIVE IS ALWAYS TO TRY OH, COURAGE OH, COURAGE IS A LOVE SONG COURAGE OH, COURAGE IS A LOVE SONG I WON'T BE WRONG TO BE IS TO BELONG HOLD ON FOR COMMON GROUND GET UP SON TURN IT AROUND IT'S COLORS YOU SEE COLORS I DO BELIEVE COLORS ON YOU, ON ME ON YOU ON ME ON YOU ON ME ON YOU ON ME YOU WON'T BE WRONG YOU CHOOSE TO KEEP YOU DOWN VICTIMS DON'T OWN THE PROUD GET UP SON TURN IT AROUND IT'S COLORS YOU SEE COLORS I DO BELIEVE COLORS ON YOU, ON ME ON YOU ON ME ON YOU ON ME ON YOU ON ME ON YOU ON ME (applause)