Click here for the August 2004 Notes from the Road, 
"The Songs of Native Soil."

Native Soil (Threshold Music 2004)
I’ve made my living as a songwriter yet I could never write the way I do without the influence of traditional music. The music of our ancestors is the rich soil that all new music arises from.  Music of Scots, Irish, African, and native American origin has been continually reinterpreted and recycled through generations to become something uniquely American, and has arisen out of what I call our Native Soil. This collection of songs, most old and a few new, is our contribution to that process. – DR

Cast of players:

Dana – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, fiddle and mandolin

Susan – vocals, banjo, guitar

John Herrmann – banjo

Meredith McIntosh – acoustic bass, vocals

Mike Alexander – acoustic bass

Pat Madsen – Drums

River Guerguerian – percussion

Track listing:

1. The Cuckoo

2. Lost Girl

3. Miller and the Lass / Vern's Reel

4. When First Unto This Country

5. East Virginia Blues

6. Red Rocking Chair

7. Cider's Dream (Chasing Squirrels)

8. Waterbound

9. Say Darlin' Say

10. Ain't No Cane

11. Ernie Carpenter's Grandpappy's Favorite / The Horney Ewe

12. Goin' To Cary