Episode #24: See and Hear Joe Jack Talcum’s recording of “Railroad Bill” – Live in Philadelphia
In 1932 George Saliba, inventor of our Presto, wrote a book called Home Recording and All About It, a punk rock title if ever there was one. And we’ve felt like The 78 Project was at many times a very punk rock endeavor. Lugging the gear through gardens, up mountainsides, around the country. We and our artist collaborators are always stripping it down, rolling up our sleeves, improvising, and always at the moment of truth, performing passionately.
It is why, when we were introduced to Joe Jack Talcum of Dead Milkmen by the gracious folks at the International House Philadelphia, and when he agreed to cut a record live at our Philadelphia screening of The 78 Project Movie earlier this month, we were thrilled. It felt like a perfect fit for the DIY, come-what-may nature of this journey, and for what was very much a hometown screening, a return to our Delaware Valley roots.
Joe’s “Railroad Bill” rides the rails and conducts his life with abandon and glee. And his story unfolds, twists and turns in exactly that spirit over the course of Joe’s vivid, driving performance.
Shot at the International House in Philadelphia, PA, January, 2015
Recorded at the International House in Philadelphia, PA on January 15, 2015