Joe Rollin Porter
Cleveland, Ohio, United States | SELF
Music
Press
You certainly don’t get many artists like Joe Rollin Porter anymore. He’s a magnificent guitarist and his skills give his songs this added layer of awesome that can have even the most uppity of music know-it-alls bowing down.
Joe Rollin Porter is an Americana folk performer out of Cleveland that was kind enough to grace downtown Canton with his presence for the Brewed Roots Festival. Porter takes classic songs like “The Cuckoo Bird” and “Greensleeves” and makes them so astoundingly amazing, you can’t help but tapping your toe to the tune. And his entire album, “Troubles Like Mine” really does that to you, has you humming along and tapping your toes
He commands this album and has the listener wrapped around his terribly swift and talented fingers from the first pluck on his guitar. And you have to know he’s amazing when he keeps you interested with only the sound of his guitar and his cool voice, no need to have any drums or bass or anything else, he keeps you captivated with two elements. That’s what music should boil down to.
We have no trouble when it comes to appreciating just how freaking amazing this album is, hopefully there will be a lot more like this sometime soon. –Aaron Fowler 9/15/2011
- Buzzbin Magazine
You certainly don’t get many artists like Joe Rollin Porter anymore. He’s a magnificent guitarist and his skills give his songs this added layer of awesome that can have even the most uppity of music know-it-alls bowing down.
Joe Rollin Porter is an Americana folk performer out of Cleveland that was kind enough to grace downtown Canton with his presence for the Brewed Roots Festival. Porter takes classic songs like “The Cuckoo Bird” and “Greensleeves” and makes them so astoundingly amazing, you can’t help but tapping your toe to the tune. And his entire album, “Troubles Like Mine” really does that to you, has you humming along and tapping your toes
He commands this album and has the listener wrapped around his terribly swift and talented fingers from the first pluck on his guitar. And you have to know he’s amazing when he keeps you interested with only the sound of his guitar and his cool voice, no need to have any drums or bass or anything else, he keeps you captivated with two elements. That’s what music should boil down to.
We have no trouble when it comes to appreciating just how freaking amazing this album is, hopefully there will be a lot more like this sometime soon. –Aaron Fowler 9/15/2011
- Buzzbin Magazine
Next up we'll go to the opposite end of the state and take a look at folk guitarist and vocalist Joe Rollin Porter from Cleveland.
Porter's forte is keeping folk music alive and he does so brilliantly by delivering a 10-track-collection mostly culled from the American folk tradition with songs ranging from the well-known to the obsure, including several Child ballads, songs from Harry Smith's legendary Anthology of American Folk Music, and even one old blues number.
The arrangements here are as sparse as possible: just Porter's guitar and voice with an occasional hand clap or foot stomp. By keeping things this simple, he allows his considerable strength as a musician to shine through and also makes the entire proceeding much more authentic than a full-band production would allow.
Porter begins with the well-known "Black Jack Davy" before proceeding to his rewritten version of Little Hat Jones' 1930 blues tune "Bye Bye Baby Blues." Other highlights of the record include "The Cuckoo Bird," an excellent version of "Greensleeves," the bleak title track, and possibly one of the best versions I've heard of "Did You Ever See the Devil, Uncle Joe."
Porter finishes the album with a nice arrangement of "Oh Death" that is clearly based on Dock Boggs' rendition.
Porter displays a very pleasant and deep singing voice that is quite emotional throughout the record, but the main strength of the album lies in his skill and obvious experience at finger-styled guitar. The dexterity and speed displayed here are attained only through years of hard work and it is obvious that Porter has more than paid his dues.
Guys like Joe are the type of performer that we all need to pay close attention to. They are the ones keeping the musical past alive, shining a new light on the old songs, and while it's true nobody will ever equal Dock Boggs, Woody Guthrie, or Son House, that is no justification for abandoning the styles they perfected.
- No Depression
Discography
Troubles Just Like Mine (CD) - 2010
Photos
Bio
“Where has this guy been hiding?” That’s a common question at Joe Rollin Porter’s performances. The answer is irrelevant; what matters is that his music is here now.
Joe’s fingerstyle acoustic guitar playing and vocals transcend genre and style, viscerally connecting with music lovers of widely diverging tastes. His live performance can bring a room full of loud distracted drinkers to a hushed silence, hanging on every note. The music primarily consists of Joe’s own arrangements of traditional American folk songs, with a dose of early rural blues and an occasional dash of Celtic flavor as well. The end product is truly unique.
Joe does not attempt to “authentically” replicate old-time music. Nor does he try to modernize the old songs to make them appeal to contemporary commercial tastes. Rather, after years of absorbing and internalizing traditional folk music, the songs flow out as natural self-expression. The result is an individual artistic statement that injects new life and energy into the folk tradition, keeping the heritage alive and growing.
If you don’t care about any of that, but you like great fingerstyle guitar playing, or simply enjoy high quality entertainment, Joe provides that too.
The music speaks for itself, but the following are a few attempts to describe it from some admirers:
“Rich authentic vocals” “Interesting & provocative
vocal modulations”
“Nice textured depth & intricate tension/compliment
between guitar & vocals”
“sometimes sounds like 2-3 guys playing at the same time”
“very mature rhythmic phrases and changes”
“A lot of really complex things are going on in that music,
but it’s great for just tapping your toes, too!”
Joe’s first album “Troubles Just Like Mine” (available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/jrporter and http://www.digstation.com/JoeRollinPorter) is an impressive achievement. With all basic guitar and vocal tracks being live simultaneous takes, and only a minimum of backing vocals and hand percussion added to round out the listening experience, it provides a reasonably faithful representation of his live performances as well.
Joe is a life-long resident of Ohio currently residing in Cleveland, and has played guitar for over 30 years.
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