Folio Weekly August 2011

August 25, 2011 performance
with Philip Pan
(European Street Cafe Listening Room Series)

Madrigals, Reels and Ancient Blues

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The dynamic duo Tammerlin celebrates a decade-plus of tapping into the source of traditional tunes. Northeast Florida musical duo Tammerlin is notable for its knowledge of arcane, traditional European and American folk music, but the story behind the actual band name is a little less esoteric. Multi-instrumentalists Arvid Smith and Lee Hunter first began playing together as Tory Voodoo in 1994, but like any good coin ¬operated musicians, the pair had the humility to know when to reinvent themselves — or at least their name. "We started doing more gigs that were relegated to fi ne arts events, folk society festivals and schools," Smith explains, "and since a lot of these shows were in various churches, the name Tory Voodoo became a real liability." The band's name had already garnered positive notice in the UK press, leaving the pair nonplussed in their new title search. In 1998, they finally settled on the name "Tammerlin" as a winking tribute to the Edgar Allan Poe poem "Tamerlane." The band's reasons for slightly altering the spelling of Poe's poem were equally pragmatic. "We found out there was a hardcore punk band in Ohio that had that [Tamerlane] name," Smith laughs.

Originally credited to "A Bostonian," Poe's 1827 epic threnody captures the deathbed confession of a conqueror who realizes a little too late that he's made a fatal error in trading his love life for the sake of worldly powers. The poem's themes of loss, exile and longing for love seemed like the appropriate match for this pair's take on traditional music, much of which spoke of the same universal blues.

The two originally met when they were recruited to create a "soundscape" of incidental music for an outdoor production of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" at downtown Jacksonville's Metropolitan Park. They quickly discovered they shared a love of music ranging from medieval ballads and '60s rock to Appalachian folk and Delta country blues. "There's something truly compelling about any music that's survived this long that still touches people," Hunter believes, "and we all love a good story."

Five albums and 17 years after that reluctant name change, Tammerlin is still going strong with its vision of blending British Isle folk with American blues and country music, creating a sound acclaimed folk music rag Dirty Linen Music described as "captivating … one of the best kept secrets in America." The two are fascinated not only by a song's longevity, but how that same material can change as it's interpreted over the years. "As a musician," says Hunter, "the challenge is to update the material and still make it work."

The duo Tammerlin has been active on the folk music festival since inception, sharing the stage with players like Doc Watson and Emmylou Harris, performing in the last few years from Asheville, N.C. to St. Augustine's ever ¬popular Gamble Rogers Festival. And while Smith's and Hunter's decade¬ plus romantic relationship ended amicably a few years back, their love of creating music together has remain unchanged. "She is an amazing writer," says Smith of his musical partner. "She can create a great song every week." Strong words coming from journeyman player Smith, a Folio Weekly contributor and a strong presence on Northeast Florida's music scene for decades. Smith is adept on a literal army of stringed instruments. He plays with local rockers The 1911s (featuring Shawn Lightfoot), and his ongoing (and successful) study of the sitar has given him entrée into kirtans and other yoga related events. "I just think of them as one big guitar," says Smith of his mastery of myriad stringed instruments. Along with penning songs and playing guitar, Hunter is an accomplished marimbist and percussionist who studied under teacher and now ¬collaborator Charlotte Mabrey.

The talented pair never lets their obvious musical chops blur their focus on delivering a song. One could argue that in a day when the majority of popular music is centered around technology and electronics — with even contemporary country artists bleating out embarrassing attempts at rap — the pair's decision to focus on a traditional approach is as defiant as it is anachronistic. "I just think the purpose is different," says Hunter. "These old songs all come from a kind of ballad tradition; they are simply telling a story." Embellished and passed on over time, the universal themes (love, loss, regret and joy) have survived through diligent study and work by artists like Smith and Hunter. For their upcoming performance at European Street Café, the pair is joined by an equally adept line¬up featuring drummer Darren Ronan, bassist Trey Andrews and Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra violinist Philip Pan. "These guys can play anything," promises Smith.

While Tammerlin navigates the folk scene's outer realms, Hunter acknowledges the folk audience can be a prickly bunch when it comes to their reels and rags — whether it's Jon Jacob Niles or Maybelle Carter. "There's always going to be that certain element of the crowd that thinks [a song] should be done a certain way." Yet she is equally confident in the audience's tastes, allowing that "most people come to listen with open ears."

Dan Brown dbrown@folioweekly.com Reprinted by permission.