Behind the Monitor -#EnglishValleyMusic - the twanging dude

David Schnaufer was king of the dulcimer and an experimental musician who loved exploring the sonic wilderness. We recorded at English Valley Music between 1996 and 2006 when he sadly passed away. He was an inspiration to many and a true 'Twanging Dude'. He worked with Cyndi and I on "Sisters of Avalon" and "Merry Christmas ...have a Nice Life!" Many of those stories can be found in the autobiographical book "Pluck' by Linda Paulus  
DavidSchnauferPluck.com

In 2000 I started working on the Rocket Network – a way that musicians could collaborate and record over the internet. One of the people I met was Vesa, a guitar player from Finland. I mentioned David Schnaufer to him as I was looking to do a dance track to mix David’s acoustic string instruments and voice with synths and beats.
Vesa said in chat (which is how we communicated back then), "How's this for a title: Twangin' Dude. If we get your friend to do some talking, he could go like; “I don't care for girls and such, I don't care for cars that much..."
"I just care for the moon and stars, I'm a twangin’ dude"

I ran it by David, and he loved the title ‘Twanging Dude’ – he also loved being involved with an online collaboration. Remember this was 2001 – no Facebook, no Zoom – the possibilities of the internet were all brand new. And so, David wrote and recited these classic stanzas – I think really, he was ‘The Twangin’ Dude’

"My name is Ebenezer.  I heard that sound when I was in the womb.  
It was my father's father's father calling from the mountain, howling at the moon.
I was electric before electricity, the twang of the bow and the land before the city. 
And I learned to dance before I could walk and I could twang before I could talk.
I play the sound of the ground I walk on, I wasn't born to play it smooth. 
I'll play the thunder and the mountain dew. I'll play the sound of the ground I walk on,
rough and rocky. 
I'm a twanging dude.

I'll twang on the banjo, I'll twang on the harp. 
I'll twang on zither strings and I'll twang on your heart.
I'm a twanging dude 
I'm the twanging dude. 
I’m the twanging dude

This ain't no violin. I wasn't born to play it smooth. 
I play the sound of the ground I walk on 
rough and rocky. 
I'm a twanging dude 
twanging dude 
twang, twang, twang, twang."

Twanging Dude - David Schnaufer Voice and various dulcimers
Recorded, programmed and produced by Jan Pulsford
Written by David Schnaufer and Jan Pulsford with a title by Vesa Anttila.
Guitar - Vesa Anttila in Finland via the Rocket Network Recorded at English Valley Music, Hendersonville, Tennessee © 2001

Available to listen and download on Bandcamp