“It all just came down to - take a deep breath and play any damn thing,” says the multi-instrumentalist and recording artist with sixteen albums, including various collaborations. “A lot of us traditional musicians put ourselves in a box; we want to be respectful of the style and not mess it up,” explains Molsky, a two-time Grammy nominee who has teamed up with one of the most influential fiddlers alive, Darol Anger to record their first album together Lockdown Breakdown.
“It’s a really important milestone for me. I have so much respect for what he does,” shares the Bronx-born musician, whose teaming with David Grisman Quintet founding member Anger has forged a deep camaraderie.
“He’s become a very close friend. He is like the brother I never had.” He described his experience playing together: "There is nothing like playing music with someone you communicate well with. This is not just a professional collaboration, it’s pretty personal. I think this is what gives [it] a lot of the energy it has.”
Molsky, who has dedicated his decades-long career to preserving the music styles of Appalachia, ragtime, and blues, says that working with Darol has taught him so much.
“I made the same mistake a lot of people do when they are first learning to play something, [which] is that I did it to the exclusion of everything else. Darol is not afraid to do anything, and that is an inspiration to me.”
Molsky says this is not the first time Anger talked him into experimenting. During the sessions for Anger’s 1999 Diary of a Fiddler, Anger caught wind of something he was playing.
“He knows that I love Jimi Hendrix, and I still do. I think we were just playing one day, and I just played a couple of notes of ‘Voodoo Chile,’ and he said, ‘Okay, we’re playing that.’ That is earlier on before I allowed myself the luxury of playing anything I want to. I was thinking of myself way more as just an old-time fiddler.”
Describing Lockdown Breakdown as a mix of old-time, old school, new tunes, R&B, and Scandinavian, “We’ve accumulated so much material together over the years performing with Fiddlers 4, The Old Time Koszmic Trio and occasionally sitting in with each other at festivals,” says Molsky who lends his vocal to the 1960’s folk song, “Abraham Martin and John.” “I guess we realized we could make a statement with our respective fiddle styles that could work in different settings.”
The album’s title track, “Lockdown Breakdown,” written by Molsky during the pandemic, showcases Anger on the octave violin. “It goes all the way down to low C, which is on a cello, so he plays all the bass lines. We can play freely at the same time and not be in each other’s way.
“For instruments to really sound good they need to ring into each other,” explains Molsky describing the recording process adding, “We worked with Dave Sinko who is a phenomenal engineer.”
Other highlights include Swedish composers Magnus Stinnerbom and Ale Moller’s “Kvartetten”/“The Fox Hallin.” “We had just recorded it,” remembers Molsky, “and out of the blue, Magnus invited us to come to Sweden. That was exciting!”
Rounding out the album with a surprising rendition of “Can I Change my Mind,” Molsky shares, “The new recording has some 60s R&B, which is kind of a big thing with me.”
Bruce Molsky is one of the premier old-time guitar, banjo, and fiddle masters. When not performing, he teaches at the Berkley School of Music, where he is a Visiting Scholar for the American Roots Music Program.
“Part of the thing is to make this early 20th century music available and on the radar for students.” Expressing happiness for his ongoing work, “[Some] end up taking lessons from me for years. I couldn’t ask for a better teaching situation.”
He continues, “Teaching other people teaches me. It helps me to focus on my own playing.”
Like Darol Anger, who retired from teaching at Berkley, Molsky spent years guiding young musicians. “You have to take one little thing at a time and not be overwhelmed by the totality of all music,” he said, adding that he teaches his students the same way.
“I encourage my students to study one small thing at a time. The greatest musicians are paying attention to everything. Every note counts.”
Molsky says he and Anger are not planning to record in the near future. “Darol has a lot of projects going on. We are looking forward to playing out as much as we can. Not just in support of Lockdown Breakdown but because we love playing together!”
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