Bluegrass, Blue Prince, and the Blues

Kirk answers a bunch of listener questions on topics like bluegrass guitar, the music of Blue Prince, good apps for training theory skills, Robert Fripp's "Frippertronics," a mysterious sound on a Gene Clark song, different types of music notation, and the legacy of the blues. All that, and a trio of terrific singer/songwriters stops by the studio to help answer a question about lyrics. Come see Triple Click Live! Friday, July 11 at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR. Tickets Here Kirk has new music for sale on Bandcamp: Music For Podcasting and his original score for Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread Thanks to The Wailin' Jennys for coming on the show! Stay tuned for a full-length interview episode this summer, and go see them live if you can. They are amazing. 7/27/2025 Update: Several people wrote in with theories about the "Lady of the North" sound, and Kirk has been convinced it's an electric violin. FEATURED/DISCUSSED: “White Trash Wedding” by The Chicks from Home , 2002 A live performance of “White Trash Wedding” “Simon’s Theme” by Trigg & Gusset from the Blue Prince original soundtrack, 2025 Kirk’s recent essay about Blue Prince and music Two good free music sites: musictheory.net and muted.io “What Am I Here For” by Jade Bird from Something American - EP , 2017 “Across The Sea” by The Wailin’ Jennys from Bright Morning Stars , 2011 “Lady of the North” by Gene Clark from No Other , 1974 Bass legend Lee Sklar on YouTube Mark Lager's 2024 No Other retrospective in Under The Radar Magazine The terrific Wonder of Stevie podcast Tantacrul’s tremendous video about the history of music notation “Hammond Song” by The Roaches , 1979 Chords of Orion video explaining and re-creating Frippertronics “The Heavenly Music Corporation II” by Robert Fripp and Brian Eno from No Pussyfooting, 1973 “St. James Infirmary” rec. Joseph “King” Oliver, 1930 “Cross Road Blues” rec. Robert Johnson, ~193x “Down Hearted Blues” rec. Bessie Smith, 1929 Two versions of "Wedding Song" by Anaïs Mitchell from Hadestown , 2018 Kirk’s essay about musical creation and “The Spark” OUTRO SOLO: Rob Reich, prolific bay area multi-instrumentalist, died unexpectedly a few weeks ago at the age of 47. It's an unfathomable loss. Rob recorded an outro solo for Strong Songs back in its very first year, so we're including it in this episode as a tribute to him and his generous musical spirit. Read more about Rob here . -------------------- JUNE 2025 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS Thomas McIlheran – Andy – Lisa Crotty – Rick Keeler – Elizabeth Culver – Meryl Allison – Robyn Metcalfe – Cesar – Corpus Frisky – Ben Barron – Catherine Warner – Damon White – Jay Swartz – Rush – Daniel Hannon-Barry – Christopher Miller – Jamie White – Christopher McConnell – David Mascetti – Joe Laska – Ken Hirsh – Melanie Andrich – Jenness Gardner – Nathaniel Bauernfeind – Paul Delaney – Sami Samhuri – Jeremy Dawson – AccessViolation – Dave Florey JUNE 2025 HALF-NOTE PATRONS Ian Steding – Margaret McReynolds – Alison Dugan – Princess of Whales – Dave Douglass – Suzanne Crawford – PhantomMare – Kym Griffith – Rachel – Aruni Jayatilleke – Ryan Gillen – TB – Daniel Kaberon – Wiggy Hash – Whit Sidener – Julie Kellman – Simon Hellman – Bea – Claudia Carty – Dani – Glenn Jackson – Christopher Selby Spink – Philip Kelly – Daniel Nervo – Kevin Stafford – Lawrence – Sy Jacobs – Irritable – Ian Pidd – Andrew Hofer – Jordan Gatenby – Melissa Kuhns – Ashley – Seattle Trans and Nonbinary Choral Ensemble – Kevin Marcelo – Samantha Coates – James – Jeff – Dan Cutter – Joseph Romero – Ol Parker – John Berry – Danielle Kriz – Clint McElroy – Mordok’s Vape Pen – Inmar Givoni – Michael Singer – Merv Adrian – Joe Gallo – Lauren Knotts – Dave Kolas – Henry Mindlin – Monica St. Angelo – Stephen Wolkwitz – Rand LeShay – Maxeric Sp – Matthew Jones – Thomas – Anthony Mentz – James McMurry – Ethan Laser – Brian John Peter – Chris Remo – Aaron Wilson – Dent Earl – Carlos Lerner – Misty Haisfield – Abraham Benrubi – Lee R. – Ca