What are Tom's newest CDs?

What I Know is my first studio album in over 30 years. It was released on February 24, 2009 to great reviews. My previous album, Trolling for Owls, released in 2003, contains stories and songs from live performances. Most of my albums, CDs and downloads, are available online on this site from Nimbit. See the complete DISCOGRAPHY for complete details on every album.

Does Tom have a songbook available?

The Tom Rush: Wrong End of the Rainbow songbook is no longer in print. We hear stories, however, of people finding it in used bookstores, and even for sale on eBay. It was published by Warner Bros. in 1970.

How can we get Tom to play at our school/club/venue?

Contact Andrea Sabata at Skyline Music 561.790.4843. Andrea and Skyline handle my bookings.

How do I get permission to record one of Tom's tunes?

The proper way to get permission is to contact Bug Music in LA (they administer my publishing) and get them to issue a license. (323) 466-4352.

I hear Tom is available to do voice-over work for advertisers.

I'm available. On the east coast, contact Stephen Arcieri at Arcieri Talent in NY (212) 286-1700, Steven@ArcieriTalent.com; on the west coast call Jeff Danis, DPN Talent in LA (310) 550-4304, jeff@dpntalent.com

Will any of Tom's old recordings be re-released?

Most albums have been re-released on CD except Tom Rush: Live at the Unicorn, and Late Night Radio. All available CDs can be found at the store except for a couple of double-album imports from England, which can be bought from Amazon.com.

I'm a guitar player. Is there tablature available for Tom's songs?

There is nothing officially available at the moment. There is an instructional DVD on the Homespun label, available at the web store. It is occasionally possible to find earlier Tom Rush songbooks for sale on e-Bay auction site. In addition there is a website, Cowboy Lyrics, specializing in tablature, and a number of Tom's songs have been included. We have not checked them for accuracy. We also found a TAB of "Moles Moan" at http://www.fretplay.com/tabs/r/rush_tom/moles_moan-tab.shtml

Do you know if Classic Rush is available anywhere?

Classic Rush is a compilation drawn from the three albums that were made for Elektra Records: Tom Rush, Take a Little Walk, Circle Game. It has just been re-released on CD and is available from our online store.

I remember watching one of Tom's performances from Symphony Hall on PBS in the early 1980's. Were any of those performances saved on videotape? If so, is there a DVD or VHS tape available anywhere?

There are tapes existing of that show at WGBH in Boston. It hasn't been released for home use because of complex issues with the performing rights to that material. We do keep asking them.

Where is Tom performing during the next few months?

As soon as we confirm performance dates, they are put on the website. It is the best source available for the schedule.

Photo: Bruce W. Bedford

EQUIPMENT

It looks like you're playing an Epiphone Texan guitar, though I figured that you'd probably playing some new, designer guitar made by a pony-tailed craftsman out of yak wood, imported from the Maldive Islands (craftsman completes one every eight years, inlaid with father and mother of pearl). What other guitars have you played?

Yes, it's a Texan, two of them, actually. My old favorite, an Epiphone FT 79N that I bought new in Cambridge, MA for $179 (called "The Naked Lady" because of the inlay on the neck), burned up in my fire in NH many years ago, and since then two people have come forward to give me replacements (although nothing can ever replace the Lady). I like the guitars. Both mine have been worked on by the Music Emporium in Lexington, MA, which might be why they sound better than production run Texans.

The other guitar I use on stage is a handmade instrument by Don Musser, which is very similar to a Martin D-28, but has a few modifications. I lost a Guild 212 12-string in the fire. Just found one on eBay after looking for 16 years, and am having a wonderful time with it. My first real guitar was a Martin 00-18 that my dad bought me. The other guitar I use on stage is a handmade instrument by Don Musser, which is very similar to a Martin D-28, but has a few modifications.

Though you don't say it specifically, it sounds like the most of what you have recorded has been with the Epiphone Texan including the Prestige, Elektra, and Columbia material. Is that right?

The original Epiphone was a 'Frontier" model, the FT-79, and was made, I believe in the last year before they changed the headstock, 1962 maybe? I bought it as a guitar to take to beach parties and such, because it was so cheap as to be almost disposable. I then got very fond of it and had it dressed up with the inlay of the naked lady with a snake (a biblical theme), and she became known as 'The Naked Lady." It was fun to hear the roadie yell to the stage hand, 'Take the Naked Lady to Tom's dressing room." Heads would turn. I did indeed do much of the early recording with that guitar. Part of the tone came from the fact that I initially tuned her down a full tone, then a few years later bumped it up to a half-tone down, finally getting up to A440 in the late '60s. So that huge sound had partly to do with the strings flapping at such a leisurely pace.

What equipment did you use to get such a good laptop recording of "What I Know"?

It's ProTools with an "Mbox" both by DigiDesign.

I'm guessing you've had a few guitars long enough for the frets to wear out. What do you do at that point? Is it possible to replace just the frets? If so how? Do you have to replace the whole neck? Or do you just hang it up on a wall and admire it? Inquiring minds want to know!

Frets can be replaced, but you'll need a grownup to do this. Luthiers replace frets all the time. They have a weird looking pair of pliers that they use to wiggle the old ones out, and then they have an assortment of new fret wire that they match up to your particular situation.
The wire has a "T" shaped cross section with the top of the T being the fret you see, and the bottom going down into the slot in the fingerboard. Typically, they only replace the ones that need it, down at the bottom third of the neck. There can be problems if the neck has extensive inlay (as my old customized Epiphone, the ""Naked Lady," did), since removing the old fret can pull up chips of the inlay material. Hope this helps!

What guitar are you playing in the "Remember Song"" video?

It's my #1 guitar, handmade by Don Musser. Now luthier to the stars, he was just starting out when I bought it at McCabe''s in Santa Monica for about $750 in 1977. I know it was one of his first ones – they told me he’d come in the year before and bought “How to Build a Steel String Guitar” by David Russell Young.

Enjoying learning how to play some of Toms songs on the Homespun DVD after listening to them for 30 years. Can someone tell me what brand of thumb pick you use? All of the ones I've tried have been too stiff to play in your style?

Dunlop.

What kind of strings do you use with your six string instruments?

I use medium gauge bronze (not phosphor-bronze), a bit heavier than most players. I play pretty hard on stage, and the light gauge strings tend to buzz and break on me.

If you could play "Rockport Sunday" on any new guitar, which one would you choose?

I don't know how to answer the question. I don't know that much about guitars - my MO has always been to try to find one who's sound and feel I like (and that I can afford). I'm not brand-loyal, and have found that there's enough variation between individual instruments that, even though I might love on particular Martin D-35, for instance, I wouldn't love all of them. On top of that, I've found that my playing style evolves to fit the instrument, so that when I get a new guitar (which hardly ever happens - I'm happy with the ones I've got) I have to adapt to it, and the old familiar material comes out a little differently. I know that doesn't answer your question, but it's the best I can do"

TUNINGS

Any chance of getting the tuning Tom uses for "The Dreamer?

It's a standard tuning with the bottom (bass) E string dropped to D.

What's the open guitar tuning Tom uses on "River Song"?

It's a D, capo at the third fret to yield an F.

I am looking for the TAB and tuning of Tom Rush's "Rye Whiskey".

Sorry, no tab. But the tuning is an open D (starting with the bass string, D,A,D,F#,A,D). I used to tune my guitar down a half, or even a full step, so the recording might be lower than D. Then I put the guitar face-up on my lap and use the handle of a table knife as a slide, holding it by the blade. Do not use a sharp knife."

I play the "Remember Song" (a/k/a Remember?) in a regular tuning, D shapes with the capo on the 3rd fret, so it comes out in F.

What's the tuning on "Drift Away"?

D tuning, capo 3rd fret (so it comes out in F)

What's the tuning on "Rockport Sunday"

It's a C tuning: Starting with the bass string it goes C,G,C,G,C,E with the first three being tuned down from "regular" tuning, the G and high E strings being left alone, and the B string being tuned up to C. It's a nice tuning.

How about "Joshua Gone Barbados?"

I’ve usually done Joshua in open G tuning, and that’s the way it’s been recorded. Lately I’ve taken to doing it in open D, capo’d on the 3rd fret, so it comes out in F.

Can you give me an idea of the slide technique you use on "Galveston Flood?"

I used to play it in a C tuning (C,G,C,G,C,E - starting with the bass string), but have recently switched to the key of A (a G tuning capo'd at the 2ned fret). All the recordings are (I think) in C. I'm sliding a kitchen knife - held by the blade, using the handle as the slide - up and down the strings. 5th fret and 12th fret are the only stops on the route.

Mobile-Texas Line Tuning?

It’s been a long time, but I recall that it’s in a G tuning (D/G/D/G/B/D).

What's the tuning on "San Francisco Bay Blues"?

It’s in a regular tuning, though back in the old days I used to tune my guitar a full tone low, then a half tone low for a while, then I finally got up to pitch in the late ‘60s. It’s in C shapes, and includes F and G (of course) and also A and D and E7. I’m sure there’s some helpful website that will give you the chord chart – it was written by Jesse Fuller.

What's the tuning on 'Galveston Flood'?

The tuning is C and, starting with the bass string, it goes C,G,C,G,C,E. So you tune the E, A and D strings down, leave the G and high E alone, and tune the B string up half a tone.

What tuning do you use on 'Barbry Allen'?

It's an open D: starting with the bass string - D,A,D,F#,A,D. Back when I recorded it I seemed to be tuning my guitars down either a half or sometimes a whole step from A=440, so the recording may be pitched lower than D.

And what's the tuning on "Circle Game"?

'Circle Game' is in G tuning capo'd on the 4th fret, though I used to tune down a half (sometimes a full) tone so I'm not sure what key the recording was in.

What's the tuning on "No Regrets"

Again, it's a C tuning, (starting with the bass string) C,G,C,G,C,E. The B string is tuned up to C, the rest are tuned down (except for the G and high E, which stay the same)

Originally I used an "E" tuning, where the strings are tuned exactly as they would be if you played an E chord (E,B,E,G#,B,E) but I found I was breaking strings a lot, especially the G string. I quit doing the song for years until it finally occurred to me that I could tune a full tone lower and capo on the second fret to achieve the same effect with less string tension. So I now use a "D" tuning: D,A,D,F#,A,D. Go to it!

Would you please tell me what key you recorded "Lonely" in? Are you capoed? What is the chord progression?

I think it's in E. D tuning capo'd on the 2nd fret. Chords are the 5, the relative minor and the 1. Relative minor is a wrap-around with the thumb covering the 5th and 6th strings on the 2nd fret, ring finger covering 3 through 1 strings on the 2nd fret, and the 2nd finger covering the 4th string on the 1st fret. I think. Something like that.

Who wrote "Hobo's Mandolin" and what key is it played in?

Mike Smith, from Chicago, wrote "Hobo's Mandolin"; it's in C-sharp with the capo on the 3rd fret, so it comes out in E-flat (I think - I haven't played it in a while.).

QUESTIONS ... ALWAYS QUESTIONS ......

I just saw the movie Festival Express. Just a great movie with some fine performances. I was wondering if that's Mr. Rush seen in a couple of scenes in the movie.

Yes, that was me. And Trevor. Best party I've ever been to. And that's saying something, even if it does end with a preposition. (The DVD is available here in our online store.)

How did" Rockport Sunday" come about? Is it about Rockport, MA?

I wrote the piece as a sound impression of a generic small seaport town, was going to call it Newport Sunday but decided that Newport carried too much baggage, switched to Rockport. I did have Rockport, MA in mind, but almost any Rockport would do, as long as it has ocean.

Does a recorded rendition of Duncan and Brady 'extended version' exist anywhere and can I get it?

'Duncan & Brady' was recorded for the CD Trolling for Owls, which is available at shows and online.

I heard you play your version of Casey Jones at the Cellar Door in DC in 1968. I am thrilled now to have it on your new CD. Can you tell me where you learned this version? The music, the lyrics, and the performance are simply fantastic. Finally, am I correct in thinking that you originally played it in open G?

One of the cool things about traditional music it that the songs exist in innumerable variants and one can pick and choose which versions of verses to use. I believe that I assembled this version from pieces that are not guilty of character assassination. (Even though some of those verses are pretty good: “Mr. Casey said just before he died/’There’s one more drink I wish I’d tried.’/The fireman asked him ‘What can they be?’/ A glass of water and a cup of tea.”) The music is my attempt to emulate my friends Todd and Malcolm McKinney’s version, but I fall short.

I'm trying to find out some information as to whether John Sebastian played harmonica on the album Take A Little Walk With Me.

Yup, he does.

I was wondering: where can I get the lyrics for the song "Panama Limited"? I'm aware that the song is a compilation of sorts of some of Bukka White's music. Could you possibly elaborate on that?

As far as I know nobody has ever transcribed the lyrics to my version of Panama Limited - maybe you could be the first! Booker T. White ("call me Bukka"") was a Memphis bluesman who is now buried there in an unmarked grave in the Potter's Field section of the municipal graveyard there. He had a few train songs, and my "Panama Limited" is a commingling of his version along with some stuff from "Special Streamline." (I have been busted by a train buff who pointed out that the Panama Limited actually ran to Panama City, Florida, hence the name, not New Orleans - that would have been the Special Streamline.) In those days the train steam-whistle was like a giant one-note harmonica, and the engineer could "bend" that note by letting more or less steam pressure through the valve, and play with cadence. Most long-run engineers had a signature whistle blast, so you really could "tell by the way that the whistle moan, the man at the throttle was Casey Jones," for instance.

What happened to Buskin and Batteau?

Buskin & batteau are currently playing a very active schedule of shows. More can be found on their website at http://www.buskinandbatteau.com/

How about Trevor Veitch? Is he still playing?

Trevor is indeed still playing, although he mainly works as a producer these days. He's living with his wife and son in CA, and I see him almost every time I go through the area, and we e-mail each other jokes on a regular basis.

What's that song about 50/50? Is it on an album?

"All a Man Can Do" is on my studio album What I Know. I think that's the tune you mean, featuring the line, "Take your chances, take your shot / fifty-fifty's all you got.

Could you help me locate the sheet music or tablature for Starlight? I think this is one of Tom's best songs, yet he never sings it at concerts

I don't have any tabs for 'Starlight,' but I think it was part of a song book keyed to the Wrong End of the Rainbow album. You might find it on eBay.

I always wondered what the "rainbow circle" meant in my favorite song, "Merrimack County"

There is sometimes a faint rainbow circle around the moon, and the mariners of old used to say this was a predictor of bad weather. They were right. The phenomenon is caused by ice crystals in the troposphere (you can calculate the altitude by the diameter of the circle) and represents the leading edge of a low pressure system. When I was writing the song there was a verse about the weather on the day I was born. That verse was dropped, but the rainbow circle survived.

What's the name of the song about the old guy?

Could be Murray McLauchlan's "Old Man's Song," "Desperados Waiting for a Train" by Guy Clark, or if you've heard it recently or seen it on YouTube, you may be referring to "The Remember Song," by Steve Walters. There are probably others. There are a lot of old guys out there.

What's the name of the song about losing your memory?

"The Remember Song", is about a guy who can't. Steve Walters wrote it. I recorded it on my album Trolling for Owls, and a concert version is on the Judy Collins Wildflower Festival CD (not the DVD). Both are available from our store.

Who played bass on "Urge for Going" on the Circle Game album in 1968

Bruce Langhorne

Did Carly Simon ever sing backup for you?

in 1974, Carly Simon provided backup vocals on the album Ladies Love Outlaws and co-sang on "No Regrets" and as backup on "Claim On Me".

Who Wrote "Jazzman"?

Ed Holstein wrote the song. GOOGLE® him for more information.

I bought your Tom Rush album in Brussels in '66... I always wondered where the shot at the river and the trains was taken. It is, I think, my favourite album cover of all times.

In that shot I'm standing in New Jersey, the river is the mighty Hudson, and the city on the far side is New York, New York. I like the shot, though, because you can't really tell it's New York - none of the signature skyline is visible - it's kind of a generic train yard, generic river, generic city.

Who is the girl with you on the cover of Circle Game?

There are rumors that that woman was Linda Eastman (who later married Paul McCartney), but Linda was the photographer on that shoot. The woman in the picture was my then-girlfriend, Jill Lumpkin.

What's the name of the song Tom sings about coyotes? Is it on an album?

"The Coyote Song is properly called 'A Cowboy's Paean on a Coyote' ". It's been recorded on Trolling for Owls, a live CD of Tom's whimsical stuff which is available at shows and online.

Tom Rush had an guitar piece that was played every Sunday night as the theme song for a folk music show on Boston radio in the 60"s. Can you tell me the name of the piece and what album I can get that will have it?

Most likely it's 'Mole's Moan,' by Geoff Muldaur. Jefferson Kaye used it, I think, on his WBZ show. It's on the Fantasy CD Blues, Songs and Ballads, available on this website.

I remember a video by Tom on MTV in its first couple years. It was a sparse, gentle version of Lousiana Eyes. The video portion was set on a bare sound stage---no audience, just Tom and the other performers. I can't find a single reference to it anywhere online. Is it available anywhere? Was it another performer? Am I losing my mind?

I'm happy to tell you that your mind is not lost, just wandering a bit. I think the footage you're referring to was on a PBS special from Symphony Hall in Boston in, I believe, 1982. I don't recall ever having done anything for MTV, but that doesn't mean I didn't"

I once heard you sing "Making the Best of a Bad Situation." Who wrote it? Has it been recorded?

"Making the Best of a Bad Situation" was written by Dick Feller. It was recorded by Ray Stevens. Tom includes it in his show once in a while and has recorded it on his Trolling for Owls CD, available at shows and online.

I've just downloaded "Kids These Days," a song I've always loved, from iTunes. Who was "Pebble Beach of no fixed address"?

That would be Trevor Veitch, whose name was always being misspelled in the papers. 'Pebble Beach" was one of the more egregious errors and I decided to perpetuate it. He now has a fixed address.

Do you remember your first gig?

In 1961, a flamenco guitarist friend, Johnny Pankin, had a regular gig at the Salamander Coffee House in Boston. He decided he was going to go to Spain and live with the Gypsies and study guitar with them (when he got there, of course, the gypsies would have nothing to do with him). He asked me if I’d like to take over his night at the club and I agreed, all excited. My first paid gig! $10, if memory serves, and all the coffee I could drink.

I recall it was a tough one, propped up on a stool in the corner trying to musically get people’s attention while they chatted over coffee. Apparently I was too successful, though it didn’t feel that way at the time. After the first night Paul very kindly told me there would not be a second night because his customers weren’t buying enough coffee because they were listening to me instead of drinking - one of the stranger compliments I’ve received. I decided to focus my efforts on coffee houses where the emphasis was more on music than coffee, and it’s been downhill ever since.