Garland Gainer - New Mexico Fiddling


About this time last year my friend, Howard Rains sent me this recording of Mr. Gainer.  At that time he was an unknown fiddler to me.  And to be honest, he still is.  After trying to learn as much as I could about him, spending an unhealthy amount of time researching online, asking questions on forums, sending emails, I'm still empty handed and looking for information.

What I do know is that this recording upended my summer and "knocked my hat in to the creek" as they say.

I wish I could give you more details about who's playing backup (maybe Betty Solomon on piano??), the LP cover and accompanying album notes but I can't.  Yet anyways!  I've searched obsessively for a physical copy of this LP and have came up with bupkis.  With that being said, if you have a copy and you're willing to part with it please let me know!

Here's one of the few things I found online during my search.  A picture of Garland Gainer performing in 1973 at the "2nd Annual Texas Folklife Festival".  


In an effort to make these recordings as easily accessible to everyone I have started uploading a folder that includes a compressed .zip file (one click and the entire album downloads!) and also a separate folder that has the audio files so that you're able to listen online or download each track individually.  Doing my best to make this as easy as possible to spread the Gospel!!  I'm always open for suggestions on how to improve things here so please let me know!



I really appreciate everyone that follows this blog and supports my efforts here. There's a lot of hours after work, weekends, and a bit of money that goes into this blog and storage. I always enjoy getting feedback, stories, and whatever so please leave a comment or email me at - BrokenBowFiddleCo@gmail.com

Lastly, a HUGE shoutout to Howard Rains for sending this recording my way and so many others over the last few years.  Please check out him and his wife's website spencerandrains.com and subscribe to their Patreon if you're interested in lessons and great music.  


Comments

  1. Hi. Garland Gainer was from New Mexico but moved to Texas and played fiddle around Austin in the 1970s. He was a good friend of the late Olaf Riewe, a well respected luthier and bow maker here. If I recall correctly Olaf told me that it was Betty Solomon who played piano on the LP. The photo is from a folk festival in San Antonio in the 1970s. That's Vernon and his son Keith playing guitar. Both played regularly with Garland. He had a very unique style. He was a teacher and a big influence on Texas champion fiddler Jimmy Don Bates. --Dan Foster, Austin Tx

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