Cameron DeWhitt
Host of Get Up in the Cool
Cameron DeWhitt is a clawhammer banjoist and Old Time musician living in Philadelphia. He hosts the weekly podcast Get Up in the Cool, which features conversations and musical collaborations with some of Old Time's heaviest hitters, like Ken Perlman, Adam Hurt, Spencer & Rains, and Jake Blount. As an interviewer, Cameron balances an effusive curiosity for the potential of traditional music with a dogged respect for its origins. Serving as audience surrogate, Cameron asks illuminating questions to Old Time's best and brightest while telling the larger story of the tradition's modern era. And with over 80 episodes released and no signs of slowing, Get Up in the Cool is quickly becoming one of the largest available archives of new Old Time recordings.
Cameron is the innovator behind "pitchfork-style" banjo, a three-finger clawhammer technique that allows the player unprecedented access to melody, harmony, and rhythms typically roped off from clawhammer players. With pitchfork-style, he improvises over tunes in a way that most old time banjoists would only attempt with meticulous arrangement. In Cameron's hands, traditional melodies are transformed from repeated statements into philosophical discussions, accelerating the folk process in a single performance.
Cameron DeWhitt has hosted 439 Episodes.
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Episode 7: Keith McManus (Honorary Mayor of Clifftop, actual Mayor of Greensboro, PA)
August 17th, 2016 | 52 mins 18 secs
banjo, cameron dewhitt, clawhammer banjo, fiddle, get up in the cool, keith mcmanus, old time, old time music
Welcome to Get Up in the Cool, Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends! This week, I’m proud to present Episode 7, featuring Keith McManus, honorary mayor of clifftop, actual mayor of Greensboro, Pennsylvania. Also joining us are Jim Meckley and Vince Farsatta from Keith’s band, Stewed Mulligan, on guitar and banjo, respectively, as well as Mike Hall filling in on Bass.
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Episode 6: Brian Slattery (I learned this tune from...)
August 10th, 2016 | 54 mins 11 secs
brian slattery, cameron dewhitt, clawhammer banjo, fiddle, get up in the cool, old-time
Welcome to Get Up in the Cool, episode 6, wherein I jam and chat with renaissance man Brian Slattery. I really love the theme of this episode: Brian doesn’t learn old time tunes from source recordings, so he chose tunes that he learned from specific people, in person. In a way, Brian is more old time than my nerdiest guests (God bless them); his sources are all relational.
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Episode 5: Bach Bui (Mack Blalock Tunes via James Bryan)
August 3rd, 2016 | 48 mins 3 secs
bach bui, banjo, cameron dewhitt, fiddle, old time, podcast
Hello Friends! This is episode 5 of Get Up in the Cool, wherein one of my favorite people ever, Bach Bui, plays James Bryan playing Mack Blalock; I’ll let Bach explain the details.
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Episode 4: Ryland Burhans (C Tunes/Is This Tune Racist?)
July 27th, 2016 | 48 mins 8 secs
c tunes, clawhammer banjo, fiddle, get up in the cool, old time music, ryland burhans
This is Get Up in the Cool Episode 4: A New Hope. This is actually the first episode I recorded, and I’m so glad that my first guest was the mischievous and charismatic Ryland Burhans.
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Episode 3: Rachel Junior and Helen Dana La Fleur (Old Time and Bluegrass Vocal Duets)
July 20th, 2016 | 52 mins 22 secs
bluegrass, clawhammer banjo, fiddle, helen dana la fleur, old time music, rachel junior, sick, sick sad and lonesome, viola
Welcome to episode 3 of Get Up in the Cool! This week’s episode features Rachel Junior and Helen Dana La Fleur of Sick Sad & Lonesome. Their specialty is Old time and Bluegrass vocal duets!
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Episode 2: Harry Bolick (Mississippi Fiddle Tunes and Songs from the 1930s)
July 13th, 2016 | 51 mins 8 secs
banjo, cameron dewhitt, clawhammer banjo, fiddle, get up in the cool, harry bolick, mississippi fiddle tunes and songs from the 1930s, old time, old time music
Today we have a very special friend on the show, Harry Bolick. This year Harry released his book of transcriptions called Mississippi Fiddle Tunes and Songs from the 1930s, and we’re going to play a few tunes from it.
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Episode 1: Brad Kolodner (New Takes on Old Tunes)
July 5th, 2016 | 1 hr 3 mins
banjo, brad kolodner, cameron dewhitt, clawhammer, clawhammer banjo, fiddle, old time, old time music, old-time
Part One in the "Baltimore Boys" series, wherein I jam with the friends (and tenants) of Brad Kolodner. We discuss growing up in the household of hammered-dulcimer titan, Ken Kolodner, and play some of their best modern takes on traditional tunes.