Even "jocular" Russian music is depressing. Sounds like the dirge at Tom Waits' funeral.

It's hard to find a good hurdy-gurdy. They're not all that popular... I've been looking for years...

awesome because I thought I knew what a hurdy-gurdy was, and was proven wrong. rare that I learn something from the internets.

Approves:

ah the hurdy gurdy, one of the coolest instruments there is.

I love shiat like this. Another fine example of traditional instruments is the hammered dulcimer.

Duet for Bong and Umbrella Handle:



/Rackett and Krummhorn

Gharlans: It's hard to find a good hurdy-gurdy. They're not all that popular... I've been looking for years...

here you go (new window)

I'm doing a show later this month with a Hurdy Gurdy player (who plays one of the above instruments) and it's an awesome machine. He has it tricked out with stereo pickups and a whole rack of electronics (samplers, loopers, harmonizers, fx etc) and it sounds like a symphony orchestra when he gets it all fired up.

Gharlans: It's hard to find a good hurdy-gurdy. They're not all that popular... I've been looking for years...

Dancin_In_Anson: I love shiat like this. Another fine example of traditional instruments is the hammered dulcimer.


I have really, really wanted a hurdy gurdy since I saw Page & Plant in concert. They had a kid (I think 17 at the time) who did a gurdy solo, and I shiat you not it sounded like at least four different instruments were playing at once. And he made a percussive sound with the pumping action that I haven't heard anyone else make.

Page and Plant stayed onstage in the dark to watch him play instead of going backstage for a break.

I think that this is the guy. (new window)

Blues_X: I think that this is the guy

That rocked!

Blues_X: I think that this is the guy. (new window)

Holy shiat.

That was actually very pleasant and soothing =P

Dancin_In_Anson: I love shiat like this. Another fine example of traditional instruments is the hammered dulcimer.

The only times I've seen hurdy-gurdy's have been playing solo, some in the hands of pretty poor players who were just proud of their instrument, which is fine.
One of the coolest jams I've seen was a hammered dulcimer, didgeridoo, and bagpipes. All in the hands of professional musicians(including Dr. Didge, a fairly well known guy on the jam band circuit), but none had played together. It was at a festival, at an after hours campfire, and while some might have thought it droned on and on but I thought it was a very cool mood-setting type of jam, which was joined by several soloists on trumpet, sax, banjo, harmonica and such at various times.

Guess you had to be there.

Blues_X: I came to mention that. I saw the concert at the SkyDome and it was mind blowing. Best concert that I've seen.

Gharlans:You can find them here (new window)
The guy that plays the hurdy gurdy in the Page & Plant video is the son of that manufacturer.

No Zodiac, Butthole Surfers or Howard Stern references?, Farkers be slippin'...

blues_x, that link was one of the coolest things i've seen this week. and i saw a guy get hit by a car!

cheers!

Eluveitie (new window) has an excellent female hurdy gurdy player. Folk metal from Switzerland and you can see them on Paganfest, going on right now

theewhiterhino: Guess you had to be there.

Wish I had been.

It's not the same without the Roly-Poly man.

Gharlans:

It's hard to find a good hurdy-gurdy. They're not all that popular... I've been looking for years...


Off and on, I'll get a bug up my ass about getting either a hurdy-gurdy or a harmonium. One of these years...

Richard Thompson has occasionally used hurdy-gurdy to good effect, but I'll admit that a little of it goes a long way.