Dollar Country Newsletter, July 2024
Dollar Country Newsletter & Radio Show
<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aMBs!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb2bffb83-d550-4a23-9008-9bee76523f38_1561x397.jpeg" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="370" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!aMBs!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb2bffb83-d550-4a23-9008-9bee76523f38_1561x397.jpeg" width="1456" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg fill="none" height="20" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p></p><h2>News From Dollar Country</h2><p>It was about midnight and I was just starting to put the newsletter together for print when I felt a tickle in my throat and a bit of warmth on my forehead. By the time I woke up I was undeniably sick, and I slept about 18 hours a day for the next three days. Something feels different now, post-covid, about getting sick. I tested three times and I definitely didn't have covid, but it just didn't feel like a normal cold. It could be part of getting older too, but now I just get sick sometimes, and it takes me out completely, but it doesn't feel like a common cold or the flu, it just feels like being really sick. It's hard to describe. </p><p>Of course I was already a bit behind on things, as I always am, so after being sick I'm more than a bit behind. And that's my longwinded way of saying I'm sorry this newsletter is getting to you mid July instead of earlier in the month (to my Australian subscribers: I'm sorry this is getting to you a month and a half late instead of just a month!). </p><p>With the reviews this month I tried to be less wordy to fit more in, but to be honest part of the reason is that how much more can I write about country gospel records? Unless they have something unique going on I think two paragraphs says as much as three paragraphs would. I always admired and disliked Robert Christgau because he would write reviews of albums that were one or two sentences long. The brevity is admirable, but, as a guy who would rather use a paragraph when a sentence would do, I tend to enjoy longwinded descriptions. I've also included a small write up about my love for Gospel music as a non-religious person because it's a thing I think about and wanted to share.</p><p>Now that we're a few months in, I'd love to hear what you think about the newsletter. You can email me or DM me on social media to let me know what your favorite parts. Please don't be shy about the things you don't like as well. I love the newsletter, but I've always liked the things I've made, I'm a bit biased.</p><p>Cheers<br />Franklin</p><div><hr /></div><h2>►Subscribe!</h2><p><a href="https://dollarcountry.bigcartel.com/product/physical-newsletter">Paid Subscription Link</a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pF9x!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2564203c-69e2-4141-a983-6e64e781216e_1500x1500.png" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="1456" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pF9x!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2564203c-69e2-4141-a983-6e64e781216e_1500x1500.png" width="1456" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg fill="none" height="20" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr /></div><h2>►Country Gospel for the Non Religious</h2><p> Sometimes I'm curious if people who read my newsletter wonder about my religion. After all, gospel music is a big part of Dollar Country. To be plain, religion has no bearing on my life. I feel the same about religion as I do about how much mayo a man named Kevin in Chicago prefers on his BLT, I just hope he likes his sandwich. Now if Kevin starts demanding other people make sandwiches the same way he does or else they'll be punished, then we'd have a problem. I've gone to church service probably a dozen or less times that I can recall. I learned morality and found community outside of religion and churches. Some people need that structure in their lives and I get that, but it wasn't my path.</p><p> So why do I spend so much time listening to gospel music? The main reason is that I've learned to love it. At first I did find the fact that it's all about Jesus to be off-putting, one of the things I love about country music is the storytelling and here's a genre where the stories are all about one thing and are constantly repeating. The first thing that drew me to it was the historical aspects. Country music is generally made with a purpose. Even the small country artists I focus on still had an inkling of trying to make a living at it, so they sent their records out to radio stations or reviewers. Their records travelled. Gospel acts didn't have that same motivation. Sometimes they wanted to reach more people to spread the word, but many LPs are by groups that only sang at their church and in their immediate region. The focus wasn't to “make it” in the music business, but to share praise with friends and neighbors. That means that if I travel to a certain part of one state then I'll often find completely different records in the junk stores than I would if I traveled to a different part of the same state. I describe this as <em>hyper-regional</em>.</p><p> Gospel isn't as focused on writing new music. There are new songs and songwriters in gospel, but the focus is on already established hymns and praise songs. This does exist in country to a strong degree, but gospel takes it even further. With the focus on praise and not making a living through music, gospel acts pick songs based on how much they like them as opposed to what might do the best on the radio. Country artists might pick Jambalaya or Mama Tried as a way to get radio stations to notice their single among the incoming mail, a part of that decision being made is from a marketing perspective. A gospel band tends to choose their favorites, or ones with harmonies that match their capabilities. </p><p><em>*find the rest of this on the pdf version or the print version available to paid subscribers*</em></p><div><hr /></div><h2>►Records From The Archives</h2><h4>Eddie Nash - Just One Time / Mama Tried</h4><ul><li><p>Year: Unknown</p></li><li><p>Label: Hill-Country Records</p></li><li><p>Genre: Country</p></li><li><p>Format: 7”, 45rpm</p></li></ul><div class="image-gallery-embed"></div><p>Mama Tried:</p><div class="native-audio-embed"></div><p>Just One Time:</p><div class="native-audio-embed"></div><p></p><p> One man band’s get a bad rap, don’t they? They’re playing many instruments at once with parts of their bodies not normally used to play instruments. When we think about them we picture street performers, we don’t picture the stage and lights and fame. They’ve got bass drums on their backs, cymbals on their elbows, they play music with their toes, but they look silly. In our society you just can’t look silly, no matter how good you are at something, it’s a curse. I, for one, love silliness, and I also love one man bands, so Eddie Nash is comfortably in my wheelhouse.</p><p> Eddie plays 10 instruments on this single, he has them listed on the back if you were curious. Both songs start off with his trusty drum machine (a Wurlitzer Side Man, the first one on the market) kicking off a steady 4/4 beat. Both sides are very similar, but the star of the show here is Mama Tried. It’s a song that’s been covered enough times that it’s noteworthy to hear a version that actually sounds unique, and Nash does it here. From the electronic drums to the xylophone and cymbal crash, it’s like nothing I’ve ever heard from anyone else. His vocal delivery is relaxed, just on the edge of lazy. The flip side is Just One Time, a Don Gibson song, that is equally as unique. Nash pulls out the same tricks on either side, a bit of xylophone between a line here, a bit of organ between the verses there, a cymbal crash randomly or chimes here or there. I say this with love: it sounds like he’s just randomly hitting things.</p><p> You know the guy with the bass drum on his back standing on the street I mentioned earlier? Well that’s not Eddie, that’s Panhandle Pete, his dad. That’s right, his father was a one man band too. Eddie does things a bit different, he sits down at a piano with his instruments around him as opposed to having them physical strapped to him. His left foot is on a rigged up roller skate that can slide across to let his toes play the organ. What he does is well thought out and very well practiced, but most of his gigs are at shopping centers and amusement parks. It’s so silly because this guy is doing something amazing, but I guess that’s just the way it is.</p><p> Eddie Nash was based in Asheville NC and released at least 3 LPs and 3 singles.</p><div><hr /></div><h4>Janet Cunningham - A Mother’s Tear Stained Bible</h4><ul><li><p>Year: c.1973</p></li><li><p>Label: Rose Records</p></li><li><p>Genre: Country Gospel</p></li><li><p>Format: 12” LP</p></li></ul><div class="image-gallery-embed"></div><p>This World Can’t Stand Long:</p><div class="native-audio-embed"></div><p>How Can You Refuse Him Now:</p><div class="native-audio-embed"></div><p></p><p> The first thing I do when I find a country gospel LP is flip it over and look at the credits. If there's a fiddle, pedal steel, or banjo credit then I know it's gonna have country or bluegrass elements, if it doesn't have those then I just don't know. This one didn't have those, but Country Gospel Players was in the title so it's gotta be country right? Yeah, mostly. The spotlight here is on Janet and her singing, and she sings well. This record isn't amazing, but like so much country gospel music, it gets the job done. The instrumentation is simple, only a bass, electric, and acoustic guitar accompany Janet. There is also the occasional harmony on the vocals, other than that the Country Gospel Players are a mystery. With a smallish label like Rose Records my guess is that these folks were one of the other bands on the label that happened to be near the studio when Janet came in. </p><p> My personal favorites are This World Can't Stand Long and How Can You Refuse Him Now. The lead guitar does a good job of mingling with the vocals but never overpowering them, there's even a few nice guitar breaks on here. As for Janet Cunningham, even with an address on the back of the jacket, I couldn't find a single thing out about her. Wheelersburg OH, where she was living then, is right on the southern border with West Virginia, a beautiful and rural part of the country. Rose is based out of Vandalia OH, a suburb of Dayton in southwest Ohio.</p><div><hr /></div><h4>Jean Smith - Songs From The Heart</h4><ul><li><p>Year 1970</p></li><li><p>Label: Gospel Melody Records</p></li><li><p>Genre: Country Gospel</p></li><li><p>Format: 12” LP</p></li></ul><p></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xp99!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8730b698-7556-4b2b-b2a9-0b9851348a66_2784x2802.jpeg" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="1465" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xp99!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8730b698-7556-4b2b-b2a9-0b9851348a66_2784x2802.jpeg" width="1456" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg fill="none" height="20" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><br /></p><p>Only A Backslider Now:</p><div class="native-audio-embed"></div><p>Satisfied:</p><div class="native-audio-embed"></div><p>[Full LP Available to Subscribers <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/dollarcountry/p/subscriber-shows?r=1owi04&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true">HERE</a>]</p><p>Jean Smith was a pastor from Jasper Arkansas, She was born in Blue Eye Missouri, which was named after the eye color of an early postmaster. This has no bearing on the review, but I thought it was interesting. The most troubling thing about this album is that in opposition to it’s cover it has not a single bit of accordion playing. I like the accordion more than your average person, but rarely do I think that an album is significantly lacking in it either. It takes up an eighth of the cover, come on.</p><p>The music is mostly mid tempo gospel ballads. It’s not terrible, but neither is it amazing. The best part of the album is the prominent pedal steel playing and the drums. Rhythm instruments are often pushed to the back of a mix in most country gospel, but here it’s steady and heard. Gospel Melody Records was based in Lavaca Arkansas and released a handful of gospel LPs and singles in the 70s.</p><div><hr /></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!XwlX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F336c22f8-38ab-495f-bc39-a9d4eff91777_1013x315.png" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="315" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!XwlX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F336c22f8-38ab-495f-bc39-a9d4eff91777_1013x315.png" width="1013" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg fill="none" height="20" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p><a href="https://dollarcountry.bigcartel.com/">dollarcountry.bigcartel.com</a></p><div><hr /></div><h4>Charlie Sloane Sings</h4><ul><li><p>Year: c.1964</p></li><li><p>Label: Cowtown Records</p></li><li><p>Genre: Country</p></li><li><p>Format: 12” LP</p></li></ul><div class="image-gallery-embed"></div><p>Flying Saucer:</p><div class="native-audio-embed"></div><p>Super Fine Black Sister:</p><div class="native-audio-embed"></div><p>[Full LP Available to Subscribers <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/dollarcountry/p/subscriber-shows?r=1owi04&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true">HERE</a>]</p><p> At first this record made no sense to me, and then I learned that Cowtown was a Song Poem Label. Song poems deserve a longer explanation than I have room for here, but for now let's just say that they are formulaic songs recorded by musicians with lyrics sent in by non-musicians. The lyricists pay a fee to have their words put to music. What that means is that this record is a bunch of songs with random lyrics sent in that all sound very similar. The beauty of song poems is that you can get a song about literally anything, the problem is that they are often religious songs or love songs that aren't very interesting.</p><p> The ones contained on this LP are pretty good, but mostly because the recording is great. Good reverb on the guitar and vocals, and that's about it. It's a sparse recording of 30 (!) songs over one LP. This thing locks in at 60 minutes and I bet it took less than 120 minutes to record. My guess is that Charlie had a stack of lyrics in front of him and he put a track down, tossed the paper off his stand, then started the next one. There is some solid pedal steel playing that breaks up the recordings a bit. To put it plainly, this a crowd sourced demo reel. There are some fun songs, but it's utilitarian in nature, and I kinda like it that way. I could throw this on with company over and you can tune in every couple songs to hear something interesting, but otherwise it just sounds like pretty decent low key country. Charlie Sloane seems to have done one other thing on Cowtown under the name Chucklin Chuck Sloan but that's all I could find. It could be an alias, he sure sounds like he knows what he's doing.</p><div><hr /></div><h2>┌Book Corner</h2><ul><li><p>Author: Various Authors</p></li><li><p>Year: 2007</p></li><li><p>Publisher: Chenega Future, Inc.</p></li><li><p>PP: 176</p></li></ul><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!--vz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d9b1fbb-a0c9-47b1-b8e5-d9907d262149_898x1336.jpeg" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="1336" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!--vz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d9b1fbb-a0c9-47b1-b8e5-d9907d262149_898x1336.jpeg" width="898" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg fill="none" height="20" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image" tabindex="0" type="button"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p> I picked this book up in Nashville in 2023 at McKays for the nice price of 50 cents with the idea that it might be interesting. It ended up being the perfect book to read while taking care of my 5 month old because the whole thing is made up of short remembrances of growing up and living off the land in Chenega Bay Alaska. The main focus is on subsistence living which is the practice of living off of food you've hunted, gathered, or grown yourself. Subsistence is a fairly foreign idea to many people, including myself, who have grown up in a capitalist and western society. Society at large tells us to go out and get whatever we need and if we can get extra you can sell it to those who don't have it. Supply and demand, self made millionaires, and if you get there first it <em>belongs</em> to you. These ideals are not the makings of community, they are what tear communities apart. Subsistence, on the other hand, is a means of community building. </p><p> Chenega is made up of Alaskan Natives, Chugach Alutiiq specifically, about 100 miles southeast of Anchorage by plane. There is no road out of Chenega, it's a remote village, and so the people there lived off of the sea and the land. Stories repeatedly talk about collecting salmonberries, blueberries, wild celery, fiddlehead ferns, and seaweed for meals. It seems like every grandma in the village had a different (and always the best) recipe for salmonberry or blueberry jam. Fish, seal, crab, urchin, sea cucumbers, octopus, gumboots, mussels, clams, and cockles were all taken from the water, and bear, moose, dear, duck, and porcupine were were hunted on land. All of the stories have to do with either hunting, collecting, or cooking this food and the community around it. In short, it shows that when you have to do things like subsitence you have to spend a lot of time with people. Being out on a boat fishing with someone means you're spending all day with them, collecting berries with someone means you are walking around in the woods with them, and making jelly with someone means you will spend hours in the kitchen together. When you go to the store and buy what you need and go home, you don't spend that time with people. It's time consuming and difficult but it built community in Chenega. </p><p> When the fishermen would come back from the sea they would lay their fish out on the beach and members from every family would come down and take some, just what they needed. It was customary to let elders take what they needed first, but if you caught something then you made sure it was shared. If one member of the village shot a deer, then everyone in the village would eat. These stories are mostly told by people who no longer live in Chenega, some have moved to the lower 48 states and some to Anchorage, and they talk about it knowing that they live like “white people” now, and they have the perspective of how things in the city make them feel less connected to others. </p><p> My favorite part of the book is the appendix of recipes. Almost all of them have 5 ingredients or less, many have only 2, some kind of meat and some kind of fat. There are recipes for sea cucumbers and broiled seal flippers, porcupine stew, and bear steaks. Recipes I'd never seen before and never thought about. This book shows a window into life for many native people around the world, especially before western cultures came to them. The picture this book shows is that of a small community that is sustainable, appreciative, and more or less happy with it. The stories are told from people who know what came next, which is white people showed up and industrialized, spilled oil, and put up supermarkets. There are benefits to both methods, and most of the writers talk about this plainly, but there is something lost from before. </p><div><hr /></div><h2>►Upcoming Events</h2><ul><li><p>August 6th: Country Night at The Little Rose Tavern in Cleveland</p></li></ul><h2>►Upcoming Radio Shows</h2><ul><li><p>July 24th: DC Episode 249</p></li><li><p>August 7th: DC Episode 250</p></li></ul><div><hr /></div><p>Thanks for reading this, I put a lot of work into it and I hope you enjoyed it.</p><p>-Franklin</p><p>*Subscribers get your full LP audio and PDF newsletters on the <a href="https://dollarcountry.substack.com/p/subscriber-shows">Subscriber Bonus Stuff</a> post*</p>