Adventures in phishing

Recently, Bev and I were awakened by what turned out to be a phishing call.  "Unknown Number," read our phone.  A thick-accented young man, yelling like his chair was on fire, informed us that our computer has a virus.  He wanted us to bring up a page and do something.  That's when I hung up.

He called back.  Bev hung up.

He called back again.

Me: Hello?
Him:  HELLO!  WE WERE CUT OFF?
Me:  I'm sorry?
Him: WE WERE CUT OFF.  ARE YOU THERE?
Me:  Yes.
Him:  YOUR COMPUTER HAS A VIRUS.  YOU HAVE TO...
Me:  Whose computer?
Him: WHAT?
Me: Whose computer?
Him: YOUR COMPUTER.
Me: (Click)

He never called back.  Anyway, I will cherish the "Whose computer?" "YOUR COMPUTER" exchange as long as I live.

If we'd asked him who we were speaking to, no doubt he would have responded, "ME."

Lee

This is what I like look when professionally photographed

The first professional, studio-type photo of me since high school, not counting my various driver's license photos (and who wants to count those?).  Taken for the updated church directory, where I will be included as a staff member.  It came out nicely--professionally, even.

The fold in the photo happened during mailing.  I guess there wasn't a cardboard backing?  (I forgot to ask Bev, who opened it.)  Anyway, this is the professional version of what I look like.  Click for larger view.

Lee

The One Horse Open Sleigh (J. Pierpont)

So, I received my eBay copy of the William B. Bradbury tunebook, The Victory (1872 edition), and there on page 74 is James Pierpont's The One Horse Open Sleigh, a.k.a. Jingle Bells. Only with its original melody, which is different in spots from the one we know.

So I put together a recording, with me at the Casio WK-3800 (Patch 071). This is tricky to play, because the tenor part is up top on its own line (and notated an octave up in the treble clef), which makes putting all four voices together a royal pain, since the tenor has to be added to the bass, alto, and soprano, and played an octave lower than written. Therefore, I recorded this four bars at a time and joined the results together. Which is actually less of a hassle than renotating the thing for easier reading.

Except for a couple rushed measures, this came out nicely, I think. Consider it a late Christmas post:

The One Horse Open Sleigh (James Pierpont)


Now you say you've heard Jingle Bells in its original form. Unless you've heard it before, in which case you can say you've heard it again.


Lee

1914 mandolin club 78 is over-the-top amazing

I managed to get two decent label shots out of several--I chose this because it's closer to the label's actual color. It's aqua, but it refuses to come out that way. But this is not important. (Note: Improved hue courtesy of Bob, who tweaked things much closer to the actual color.)

What is important is the incredible performance we're about to hear--a two-selection medley by the Williams College Mandolin Club, 1914. The second strain, taken from Sousa's Corcoran Cadets March, breaks loose into plantation-orchestra territory, with a busy drum backing and (I swear) at least one banjo in the mix. I eagerly await listener feedback, since it's often hard to tell exactly what instrumental line-up you're hearing on an acoustical recording, especially one as casually recorded as this.

"Purely African-American," I decided on my first listen. Sure enough, though the Williams College Mandolin Club was very likely without a black participant, what we're hearing here seems to be imitation-African-American, as black mandolin clubs are described in Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff's Out of Sight: The Rise of African American Popular Music, 1889-1895.

An initial check suggests that discs like this are rare as hen's teeth. Mandolins show up a lot on 78, but not mandolin clubs. This specific type of string band, from the looks of it, was way under-documented.

This 78 was included for free with an eBay purchase--the dealer figured I'd like it. I like it.

Oh, and dig the talking at the close of the disc--the last three words almost sound like "...carry the backbeat," though I doubt I'm hearing it correctly. Needless to say, the chatter was unintentional.

To the amazing music: The Royal Purple--Come Fill Your Glasses--Williams College Mandolin Club, 1914.


Lee

Betty's home town newspaper pens tribute to her career

Read all about it: Local woman a part of rockabilly history

Jennifer Blue's article is very nicely written AND it gives a plug to some place called Music You (Possibly) Won't Hear Anyplace Else. Please note that I swiped the above photo (by Dave Polcyn) from the Mansfield News Journal piece.

Coming up: a report on my church-musician experience to date (all two Sundays' worth).


Lee