“‘Let the Rich Go Bust’ was written in the summer of 2020,” says writer and singer of the song Eli Smith, continuing, “The song reflects a part of my experience of living through the pandemic, the Trump presidency, participating in the Black Lives Matter protests in New York City that summer, and some general observations on recent history and extreme wealth inequality. ’Let the Rich Go Bust’ was inspired by a song called ‘Poor Man, Rich Man,’ recorded by North Carolina musician and cotton mill worker Dave McCarn in the 1930, responding to the early days of the Great Depression. Our song has different words, mostly, and a different tune, but a similar spirit. Hopefully it's pretty funny.”
The Down Hill Strugglers – the Appalachian-style folk trio that’s had music in the soundtracks to films Inside Llewyn Davis (starring Oscar Isaac) and Dreamland (with Margot Robbie); two of whose members have had music in the over sixty-one-million-selling video game Red Dead Redemption 2; and who have played The Kennedy Center, Newport Folk Fest, The Library of Congress, Brooklyn Folk Fest, NPR Mountain Stage – have recorded its first album of all originals, Old Juniper. It’s the band’s first album in seven years and first since the passing of band member John Cohen (New Lost City Ramblers).
Formerly on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (under the band name the Dust Busters), The Down Hill Strugglers carry forward the sounds of the old, rural America. Eli Smith, Jackson Lynch, and Shepard harmonize in the high, lonesome style and the band plays an array of instruments, including fiddle, banjo and guitar, as well as harmonica, banjo-mandolin and old fashioned pump organ.
Old Juniper is the first new album from the Down Hill Strugglers since 2017 and is its first album of original music. The band wrote songs that are true to the deep and diverse roots of the old time string band style where they feel most at home but that also reflect the experiences and feelings of the band members living modern lives.
“Whistle Won’t Blow,” reflecting a sound that the Carter Family would’ve recognized, glides atop a lap steel guitar. The instrumental title track takes some unlikely turns via a distinctive chord progression partway through.
A beautiful rendition of the traditional “The Girl I Left Behind Me” is a bonus track that appears on the LP and will be released at a later date as a single. Instead of using the traditional tune, they paired the words with a fiddle tune from Zambia that they heard from an old 78rpm record reissued on the Secret Museum of Mankind series.
The album was recorded live to tape with the band playing around one microphone.
The title track was recorded on a summer night in band member Walker Shepard’s sister's barn in upstate New York. Astute listeners can hear the sound of crickets in the background.
The band formed while hanging out at the home of their mutual friend Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, where they also met bandmate and mentor John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers. Lynch and Smith are based in Brooklyn.
Band members Eli Smith and Walker Shepard spent two and a half years working on in-game music for the new hit video game Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games), on which Smith served as Traditional Music Consultant. Smith plays banjo, guitar, jaw harp, mandolin and whistling while Walker Shepard plays the fiddle. Players find Smith in the game, in the role of a cowboy, sitting at a campfire playing guitar. He also appears on the official soundtrack playing the banjo. A reviewer for Forbes.com said, “If there is anything here in this game that feels actually, genuinely perfect, it's the music.
Down Hill Struggler Tour Dates
September 5 – Kingston, NY – house concert
September 6-7 – Hillsdale, NY – Oldtone Roots Music Festival
September 12 – Thomas, WV – Purple Fiddle
September 14 – Baltimore, MD – The Red Room
September 21 – Brooklyn, NY – Jalopy Theater
