Category Archives: those included in the present classification

those included in the present classification

All hail the viper

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The bright green pit viper you see below is Trimeresurus gumprechti, one of more than 1000 species “new to science” that the World Wildlife Federation recently claimed have been recorded over the past decade in the Mekong Delta region of South-East Asia encompasses parts of Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and the Yunnan province of China. 22 new snake species alone are among this list, complementing other non-snake species such as the prehistoric Laotian rock rat (Laonastes aenigmamus) and a cyanide-producing “dragon millipede” (Desmoxytes purpurosea).

embalmed ones, those included in the present classification

A song for this season

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So the original 5-song live EP by the Viper and His Famous Orchestra, A Song for All Seasons, is now available for sale through CD Baby, and should show up soon on iTunes and other digital sale sites as well. And below, I’m trying out CD Baby’s html code that’s supposed to let you buy the CD directly from this page.

Let’s see if it works:

Buy the CD
A Song for All Seasons
click to order

OK. Not the most subtle thing in the world. But there you have it. May it serve you well.

In any case, here’s the info on the CD that you’ll find on CD Baby, and I hope to type in and upload the original liner notes from it at some point as well:

A Song for All Seasons was recorded live at two Champaign, Illinois watering holes: Mike & Molly’s (April 29, 1999) and The Highdive (February 20 & 24, 2000). The musicians of the Orchestra are The Viper (baritone ukulele, tiple, lead vocals), Riley Broach (double bass, trumpet kazoo, and vocals), Edward Burch (suitcase, other percussion, straight-but-not-narrow kazoo, and vocals), Rob Henn (trombone, trombone kazoo, egg, and vocals), and guest violinist/sawist Colin McKoy on “Limehouse Blues” and “Whispering.” The cover art is by Edward Burch, with photographs by Rachel Leibowitz, modeled on a 1960s LP of the same title by harpist Robert Maxwell (Decca DL-74609).

Meanwhile, you can also read this earlier post that describes how and why Edward Burch designed the great cover art for the CD.

those included in the present classification, those that from a long way off look like flies

I know why the caged bird yodels

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Last week I got the idea that the Paint Branch Ramblers should have an opening song to bookend what we’ve been closing with, the “Last Call Waltz.” This is the song, most recently recorded by Tangleweed, but orginally written as “Blue Fishin'” by Kip Rainey, Edward Burch, and me as part of the incidental music we were writing for what was to be a show about fishing in the U.S. for export to Norwegian television. Don’t ask. Wait: do.

In any case, I had an idea for a title, the “First Round Polka,” and all I needed was a song to go with it. The only stipulations I set myself were that the song a) should follow the basic polka chord changes (i.e., “Tiger Rag” or “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”), b) should modulate into the key of the relative 5th for a trio section, and c) should be wordless except for a yodeled melody, and that melody should make some reference to the similarly wordless yodeled melody in the “Last Call Waltz.”

So this past Wednesday, I fooled around on the mandolin until the instrumental parts came together, and this afternoon I wrote the yodel. Here’s basically what it’s going to sound like.


download

The chords are:

F F F C7
C7 C7 C7 F
F F F Bb
E7 F C F

With the coda:

Gm E7 F D7
G7 C7 F

Now to write out the rest of it for practice on Monday.