the rail yard sessions

The Rail Yard Sessions, grew out of my desire to develop a collection of original old-school, acoustic blues songs that reflected the grit and disheartened souls that lived the blues. The legendary early blues recordings that captured the sounds and life of rural America and brought the blues to an international audience, were known for harsh, gritty and “tongue-in-cheek" lyrics. Those songs embraced taboo subjects, relationships and hard living, as well as spiritual aspects of God, faith and death. Measured by today’s standards, the language heard in those early records might be characterized as, “edgy.”  When honoring and working to preserve the art and legacy of something so important as the foundation of the blues, it is appropriate and important to stay true to tradition.

Because the blues grew out of acoustic instrumentation, I wanted to adhere to that format and create an album using only those tools. I believe it makes it a greater impact and is more musically pleasing to tell a story through a simple acoustic performance. Lastly, I wanted to write material to fit my vocal style, aptly described as talking blues.

As is often the case in the blues, several songs are based on certain individual’s true life experiences. For privacy reasons, I won’t divulge which specifically, but I will admit the tale told in, Great Granddaddy Blues (Fumo Noir) is based on my paternal great grandfather, Tobia Fumo. And while I did inherit his gold pocket watch, I can’t say with certainty he was wearing it when he met his untimely fate. 

Instrumentals are rare these days. Tennessee Trails is a country blues acoustic instrumental inspired by my passion for hiking, all things Nashville and love of the Allman Brothers’, Little Martha.

As with all my work, I want to thank the many people who contributed to this effort and without whose help, you would not be listening to these songs. Particularly, my longtime in-studio partner at The Bridge Sound and Stage, Alex Allinson, a true gem to have behind the console and to be able to bounce ideas off. A special thanks to my father’s cousin, Robert Fumo, whose research helped me write Great Granddaddy Blues (Fumo Noir). You can learn more about other contributors as well as the detailed instrumentation of the recordings by clicking on the liner notes button above.