Durham-based old time musician Joseph Decosimo is back with his third album, "Fiery Gizzard." It's a record that sees the master fiddle and banjo player working with some of his friends and peers from around the Triangle music scene. The record features contributions from Andy Stack of Wye Oak and Joyero, Libby Rodenbough of Mipso and Fust, and Joseph O'Connell of Elephant Micah, among others.
"In the past I've worked with a lot of string bands making strictly traditional old time music. In the scene here in the Triangle, and particularly on the new record, I feel like there's a reflection of friendships that aren't always in the old time world," Decosimo said. "It feels really special to bring in people who aren't necessarily part of that scene. People I've built friendships with and trust with these pieces of music that I care so much about, and then to hear what kind of beautiful things they bring to them."
Decosimo grew up outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee. After picking up a banjo in the 7th grade, he started his path towards becoming a student of traditional music from around the world, particularly the American South and Appalachia. That path eventually led him to the UNC-Chapel Hill where he studied folklore and eventually earned a Master's degree in folklore and a PhD in American Studies.
At UNC he started to build meaningful relationships with musicians like M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger, and professors like the late Bernie Herman, who passed away in 2024. "He was one of the most omnivorous thinkers," Decosimo said. "He would always put things in terms of a process of sense making, and I think that has influenced my music a lot. Studying traditional music has helped me gain a sense of where I came from and helps me realize where I'm at now."
Like with his past records, "Fiery Gizzard" is a collection of songs that have been passed down from past generations and have made an impact on Decosimo. He recently caught up with WUNC music reporter Brian Burns to talk about the new record.
The new record is called "Fiery Gizzard." What inspired that title?
Isn't it fun to say Fiery Gizzard? I grew up on Walden's Ridge in a little community called Signal Mountain, just north of Chattanooga. In that area you'll find a gorge called the Fiery Gizzard. I think the image that invokes is a little unwieldy and I kind of love that.
The origin of the name is a bit of a mystery. One thing we do know is that there used to be coal mining in that area, and they had built this experimental blast furnace there in the late 1800's. The furnace apparently caved in under its own heat after three days and it was spewing molten lava everywhere.
"Ida Red" is both the opening track and first single on "Fiery Gizzard." Tell us about the history of that tune.
Yeah, that's a really common tune in southern Appalachian fiddle banjo repertoires. It goes under the name "Down The Road" in some places, but this version was inspired by a banjo player in Eastern Kentucky named Morgan Sexton. He never made a living as a banjo player, but he played the most beautiful and celestial banjo music you've ever heard. I've loved his music for a long time because it has so much space in it, and it takes my mind all over the place.
"I Had a Good Father and Mother" is another standout from this record. Tell us about that one a little bit.
That's a piece from a street preacher named Washington Phillips, who was from Texas and made music with an instrument that is still kind of a mystery. It was a zither-like instrument that was possibly called a manzarene. There are some people who think it was a dulceola. What really matters is that Washington Phillips wrote some beautiful songs and the way he played his instrument was other-worldly.
I first heard that song on a 78, played through an old Victrola, and the sound of his voice completely floored me. It's one that has been recorded by a lot of other people like Gillian Welch and Will Oldham. I wasn't originally intending on recording that song, but one day my friend Joseph O'Connell popped by the studio and wanted to give it a whirl, and I really loved what we did with it. We recorded it just up the road in North Durham at Stadium Heights Sound and our friend Andy Stack engineered the recording. And then after the fact, my friend Kelly Pratt added some horns and woodwinds. It felt like we took something very small and built around it to make something very immersive.
