Album Notes

The NewLanders CD "Where the Allegheny Flows" has songs about Pittsburgh steel, the Johnstown Flood, coal mining, our rivers, the Homestead strike, songs of Western Pennsylvania. Also on the CD, the printed lyrics and historical information that can be viewed on your computer. Featured artists include Doug Wilkins, Paula Purnell, Gerard Rohlf and Art Gazdik. Their new album Where the Allegheny Flows includes the following songs: "Peter Gray" Written over the often used melody of the English marching song, "The Baffled Knight," the song is about a broken hearted man who travels west and is killed by Indians. "Hard Times" One of the most popular songs by Pittsburgh songwriter Stephen Foster, it was inspired by his difficult life and the hard times Pittsburghers face just before the Civil War. "The Johnstown Flood." On Friday, May 31, 1889, 2,000 people were killed in one of America's most infamous disasters. The song follows the ride of John G. Parker, who galloped his horse ahead of the 40-foot wave and tried to warn the people of Johnstown. NewLanders' guitarist Gerard Rohlf's great-grandparents were killed in the flood. "The Homestead Strike" Believed to have been sung during the epic battle of July 6, 1892, when Pinkerton militiamen tried to quell a revolt by locked out steelworkers. Singer Paula Purnell's great-great uncle was shot, but not killed, during the battle. "In the Valley Where the Allegheny Flows" A love song written in and about New Kensington, Pa., in 1912. "Monongahela Sal" A 20th-century, "done her wrong" ballad inspired by the rough-edged steel town just upriver of Pittsburgh. "Pittsburgh Town (Is a Smoky Ol' Town)" Pete Seeger retold the story about the hard and dirty work that was done in Pittsburgh. "Run Johnny Run" Pennsylvania songwriter Jimmy Driftwood wrote this 1950s rocker about the stubborn Scotch-Irish whiskey-producing farmers of western Pennsylvania who refused to pay a whiskey tax levied by President George Washington. The predominance of the federal government was enforced for the first time when Washington sent 15,000 troops to quell the rebellion. "Dark as a Dungeon" A coal-mining song written by Merle Travis, who also wrote the classic "Sixteen Tons." "Copper Kettle" Another 1950s song about the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790s. [Text from Westsylvania Web Site]

Our CD "Where the Allegheny Flows" was voted a Top 10 CDs of 2003 FROM THE CD PLAYERS OF THE STAFF OF CALLIOPE, THE PITTSBURGH FOLK MUSIC SOCIETY
(As Published in the Pittsburgh City Paper December 31, 2003)

not necessarily in any particular order

Gillian Welch, Soul Journey (ACONY)
Marcia Bail, So Many Rivers (ALLIGATOR)
The Iguanas, Plastic Silver 9 Volt Heart (YEP ROC)
Vasen, Trio (NORTHSIDE)
Pierre Bensusan, Anthology (ENG)
David Long, Midnight from Memphis (BIG EVE MUSIC)
The NewLanders, Where The Allegheny Flows (NEWLANDERS)
Lunassa, Redwood (GREEN LINNET)
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Will the Circle Be Unbroken (CAPITOL)
Bruce Cockburn, You've Never Seen Everything (ROUNDER)