Beware the Lone Star Tick

“HALLOWED GROUND”? Now, we’re talking. It can mean only one thing – We’re blessed to have Don Bikoff back…but the thing is – he never disappeared. When the purple hibiscus wither and the leaves fall off, we all know that next spring those incredible 6 inch blooms will come forth from the good earth. So, after a slight interlude of 45 years, when Don in 1968 first gave us his enigmatic and hauntingly beautiful riffs in CELESTIAL EXPLOSION – composia for 6-string guitar,(just re-released on CD & LP on the Tompkins Square label), he shines again.

Steeped in a blues/folk music tradition in the late sixties, Don had first hand access to the great finger pickers of our time – Dave Van Ronk at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village; Mississippi John Hurt at the Newport Blues Festival to name a few. Don would take me to the Village Gate where we would cram into a small table right in front of Van Ronk –it most definitely wasn’t cocaine – but it was coffee aroma, sweet pastries, stale smoke, and unforgettable lyrics and guitar work that “ran all ’round the brain”.

A devotee in December, 2012 wrote: “Don is only 65 years old, and he’s still playing strong, so as of this writing, we’re gonna make sure he… gets some recognition for his rightful place as an Obscure Giant on the periphery of American Primitive guitar.”
It should come as no surprise that those nimble fingers that used to glue together model car kits of Chevy Impalas and the like –fingers that could have been those of a gifted surgeon – would work their magic on a musical instrument.
Over a period of 2 weeks in early 2013- many of the cuts on a first take with no editing –a master engineer captured the unadorned beauty of Don in action. Don used his Gibson J-200, National steel, and Taylor 12-string in the recording sessions. You will want to listen the first time – and again and again as all the nuances are revealed.
“ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT –A Return Written in the Stars…A 60’s Guitar Man’s Second Coming” –Wall Street Journal - April 26, 2013
-I’m thinking 45 years is not so long after all –There’s a groundswell building…tread lightly…you’re walking on HALLOWED GROUND!
Feen ( still here)) – November 15, 2013

1. GOOD DOG, JOSIE
…tail wagging…can I jump onto that bed…harmonics…real ingredients…right out front…keeping it light…warm yet crisp…
2. BEWARE THE LONE STAR TICK
…bottleneck on the Gibson J-200…bouncy…spirited…but beware , the tick senses you 150 yards away…you could get bitten by the sound if you dare to hang around…
3. MAX’S TUNE
…on the J-200…sheer joy…rays of sun for the son…
4. AMY IN QUEBEC
…on Taylor 12 string… full-bodied sound… still making music together after all these years…
5. CYPRESS GROVE
...I see Decay Times on the soundmix computer monitor…but nothing too old here…a relaxing walk in the swamp with a harmonics ending…but wait -is that frogs & two other critters in the background?

6. GUZZI ON HALLOWED GROUND
… shades of “Easy Rider”…hop on your Guzzi and leave your Hog at home because there’s gold in them thar hills!
7. WHEN THE TROUTFISH ARE IN BLOOM
…those fish are jumping for joy, just ask Mr. Doorite…way too much traffic in order to spawn…there’s a bottleneck up ahead and it could be on National Steel…
8. DEMISE OF THE ZUNDAPP
…damping…pull offs…hammering on…bottleneck…accelerating fast…Dr. Fritz Neumeyer & Friedrich Krupp, please hold onto your motorcycle helmets…
9. SLIGO RIVER BLUES
…a beautiful tribute to John Fahey’s song…appeared on John’s first album, Takoma Records, “Blind Joe Death”…
10. HUMMINGBIRD DELUXE
…a wonder to behold…coming out of the mist above…in full radiance…wings flapping…all of us birders want them in our own backyard…