american roots live repost from The Morning Call Online

Ablaze with roots music
By Dave Howell Special to The Morning Call Nasty Ned is dedicated to preserving American roots music. That's the idea behind ''American Roots Live,'' a weekly event he recently kicked off at Easton's Bluetone Cafe.

''American Roots Live'' is a cross between an open mike, where individual performers or small groups play according to the order on a signup sheet, and an open jam, where people take turns playing with an onstage band.

AMERICAN ROOTS LIVE' WITH NASTY NED
When: 9 p.m. Thursdays
Where: Bluetone Cafe, 683 Walnut St., Easton, 610-258-5812
Admission: Free; donations accepted
On the Net: http://www.nastyned.com, http://www.american-roots.blogspot.com
Also: 9:00 p.m. Wednesdays at the Crossroads, 78 North Ave., Garwood, N.J., 908-232-5666
Ned is anything but nasty as he encourages his audiences and asks for applause for performers, most of whom are regulars. Many of them also play Wednesday nights at the Crossroads in Garwood, N.J., where Ned began these shows in April. The first Thursday night event at the Bluetone was Sept. 14.

''It's not necessarily an open democracy,'' says Ned. ''I match musicians with other musicians according to style and how good they are. They don't even have to play an instrument.''

Singers are welcome to perform with the ever-changing house band. The house band might be players who are jamming or a band that has volunteered to host.

Ned, who prefers not to give his real name, says 50 to 60 percent of the performers do blues. But there's folk, gospel, bluegrass, and even comedic songs. What they share is passion.

Among those performing at the first Easton jam were John Powers, EJ Rice, Johnny Charles, Lori V, Sonny Young, Billy K, Chip Bush, Jamo Flynn, Brian Bridge of Dyer Weed, Brad Sicotte, Arne Englund, JR Bradfield, Gary Rivenson of Philadelphia Funk Authority and Gene Downin from the Noo Dogs.

''Roots music'' is a relatively new term. The Public Broadcasting System Web site states that it is what used to be called ''folk music.'' It also says, ''The term 'roots music' is now used to refer to this broad range of musical genres, which include blues, gospel, traditional country, zydeco, tejano, and native American pow-wow.''

Other descriptions are less inclusive, focusing on old-time country and blues. Ned calls it ''everything that has come before today's music. It's not just banjos and harmonicas on the back porch. It's W.C. Handy, Muddy Waters, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Beatles. Everything is based upon what we've seen and heard before.''

''Kids don't understand where their music comes from,'' he says. ''Historical societies have popped up everywhere. Music should be treated the same way. It's a part of who we are. American music has influenced music everywhere.''

He continues: ''As a working musician, I've seen that there are less and less venues to play. With technology the way it is, a club owner is more inclined to pay $150 for a DJ or karaoke than hundreds of dollars for a live band. But there needs to be a live music scene to preserve our musical roots.''

Ned is happy he found the Bluetone Cafe, known for its live blues and R&B. ''Joe Karam [the owner] gets it,'' he says.

Ned starts each show by playing ''The Star Spangled Banner'' on the harmonica, an instrument he has been using for 40 years. His first instrument was the saxophone. He played in the school marching band, but gave up the sax and the ''funny uniform'' when he heard the music of the British Invasion, which included the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

''I took up playing guitar, but I never progressed,'' he says. ''I still play the guitar like a teenager.'' Hearing bluesman Slim Harpo on the radio in 1964 encouraged him to pick up the harmonica.

In 1995 he recorded the CD ''Just Like Life'' as the leader of Nasty Ned & The Famous Chili Dogs. His current group is Nasty Ned & The Noo Dogs.

Ned is an enthusiastic talker, but unfortunately he does not have a good story about how he got his nickname. ''Ned'' was given to him in high school, and ''Nasty'' was added after a particularly blazing performance.

Ned has many plans to expand his roots shows. He expects to open a third venue in New York City on Tuesday nights. He is producing a TV show that will feature acoustic performance, monologues, interviews and record reviews. He has begun to present concerts of American Roots All Stars.

He also tries to whip up excitement with a blog that describes in detail what happens at each ''American Roots Live'' events. It's at
americanroots.blogspot.com.

jodi.duckett@mcall.com