Andrew Lardner
patreon
"Easter" by Leo Kottke
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 14:02:01 +0000 UTCFriends:
I'm excited to present an old favorite this month. Leo Kottke's "Easter" is one of the very first fingerstyle solos I was introduced to by my father, and it remains as one of my favorite compositions to play and listen to.
The earliest recording of "Easter" can be heard on the 12 String Blues record, recorded live at The Scholar coffeehouse in 1969. I'd be near certain he's using his B45 for this recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqIqIpaJt04
Quite a bit different from the other versions as you will hear.
The second recording was on the 1970 Circle Round the Sun record. In my mind this recording shows the rapid development of the piece and brings the style much closer to how he played it a couple years later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyk8CP-iYfE
There is also a recently unearthed recording from May of 71 where he makes a brief mention of the 12 String Blues record as he introduces the piece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPGQp5XC9ac
I transcribed this from the My Feet Are Smiling record. This will not come as a surprise to many of you, I feel by now I've made it clear that this is my favorite guitar record. By this time, late 1972, the piece had settled into what I think of as it's final form. Other live performances around the same era and beyond are similar, with a little further development as the late 70s approach.
Between 1972 and 1974 Kottke was frequently playing "Easter" as a medley with "Vaseline Machine Gun." I suspect he may have done this during the performance captured on My Feet Are Smiling but "Vaseline Machine Gun" was later edited out. The transition between tracks on the record makes it sound as if "Easter" flows directly into "Louise," but we know that's not possible since the two are in different tunings. I've included a recording from 12/26/1973 where he tells a little of the backstory behind "Easter" and you can hear the transition into "Vaseline Machine Gun." (I should add a warning here, he jokes that he would have liked to punch the kid he wrote "Easter" for, and his phrasing includes some colorful language, so you may wish to opt out of listening to the recording if you are sensitive to such things.)
Some of you here have probably already learned the piece from one of my old handwritten scores. If you have, there will still be some things to learn as I refined quite a few notes. Regarding the right- and left-hand editing, no video currently exists of Leo performing this in the 70s (that I'm aware of), but I suspect all the editing to be very close to what would have been done.
I'm playing this on another Božo 12 that came to me recently. The guitar was listed at something of a bargain price and after trying to convince some of my friends to buy it none did, so I decided to snag it. I was completely surprised that what showed up was pretty much a one-off long scale 12 that originally shipped out to Germany. I tell a little bit of the story in the lesson video.
Finally, the tuning. This is in open G, but it is performed at a lower pitch on the 12 string. The low D sounds as a Bb on the My Feet Are Smiling record. This means everything is tuned two full steps down from open G. I believe he also tuned down yet another half step beyond that in some concerts. The tuning you choose will be dependent on the string gauge, scale length, and setup of your instrument.
This will be one of the simpler Patreon additions, but as with everything, the beauty is in the small details. The front and back of the piece are in free time, so take the rhythms on the paper as a guide, observe the fermatas, but use your ear to determine the best phrasing.
My lesson video can be accessed here:
https://youtu.be/Sx_amkiQj9E
Thanks to everyone for helping keep this project alive. See you again next month.
Comments
Arthur Wilson
Can't get enough of seeing and hearing that Bozo 12-string. For me it's the epitome of a perfect 12 string acoustic. Both in looks and sound it's simply stunning and I can imagine it's a joy to have and play. Being a lefty myself, I think the chances of ever playing or owning one are slim to non-existent, though I did once get to try a Bozo lefty 6 string many, many years ago. Your playing of this classic Kottke composition is, as always Andrew, exemplary and wonderful to hear. Thank you.
Andrew Lardner
Yes I feel like it takes a week or so to build up the strength for the 12 again. What model Fraulini do you have? I agree about the new Bozo, sounds remarkably similar to me. I even thought about trying to get an old DeArmond pickup to mix in with the mics to see if it brought in that slight bit of artificial sound we hear on the record. The month got away from me though. Eggtooth some day. I need to find someone who can properly set up the other Bozo to get it playing right.
Michael L Ierardi
FANTASTIC ANDY, I like this version much better than the CIRCLE LP, I really hoped you would do this some day. I also thought this would be a good tune to start back on my Fraulini 12 string, which i wanted to get back to, you know when you haven't played a 12 string in a long time, it can take time to get it back. I thought the sound on your new BOZO sounds very similar Leo's on the live record. wow what a great instrument. Great choice, hope you do that version of Eggtooth sometime , your video of it was great. I hope you feel better soon, I know a lot of people who also have been sick. Thanks so much
