The Old Spruce Sessions – Skip Gorman & Mark Burds “Texas Bells / Coyote Howl”

It was a serene and mild May afternoon and I hopped in the Subaru, swung West before heading South to pick up my old buddy Mark to spend a few hours with mando/fiddle maestro and cowboy song legend Skip Gorman.

Skip is a wealth of music history and knowledge of old time & bluegrass music, nearly forgotten tunes and a hell of a storyteller and as authentic as they come.

We arrived at his old farmstead, a home that elicits imagery of yolked draft horses plowing fields and swaying vast swaths of corn held in place by miles of stone walls. Settling into the living room, I hung a single Golden Age Audio R1 ST stereo ribbon mic and this one take of “Texas Bell / Coyote Howl” poured out. Skip is known for the effortless blending of medleys, this one finding its way onto his recording of “favorite, rare old fiddle tunes from the hills and prairies” released last May.

We ended the evening trading stories and instruments, playing obscure tunes where Skip taught the melody on the spot (and I tried to hang on as best as I could). But, the moments like this are the ones I treasure the most.