David Bragger: At Home in the Old-Time Tiki Parlour

Observing the status quo over the years lends one a macro view of the music scene.

- Bob Buckingham

There are the “stars” and the players who are the current favorites. Young people pop up in various combinations and then something catches your eye. A steady stream of events, recordings, videos, consistent internet hits on one person in many manifestations begins to take form and a new force comes on the scene. David Bragger is one such force. A notice of teaching appears in social media and the forum sites. A band name, The Sausage Grinder, comes up with increasing frequency. Then a name brand, in this case, The Old-Time Tiki Parlour, starts causing a stir, jumping out of the box with a new CD/DVD by Dan Gellert, a woefully under-recorded one-man old time funk machine with no equal in the old time world. This was cause for investigation. Here’s what we learned from the creator of the Old-Time Tiki Parlour, David Bragger.

What kind of music did you play before old time?

As a kid, I was interested in many types of music. My mother has very eclectic tastes and through her record collection, I discovered the Clancy Brothers, the Beatles, Dave Brubeck, Mississippi John Hurt, Dr. John, Gilberto Gil, Queen, Bob Dylan, African music, and opera at a very young age. In fifth grade I took some guitar lessons and proclaimed that I could never be a musician. So I quit. Turns out that I had a horrible teacher who had no interest or passion in teaching. I figured it was me. As I continued listening to music obsessively, I stumbled upon Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart. The possibilities of musical expression and tone became very clear to me by this point. The experimental progressive music that I listened to in my teens reignited my interest in acoustic sounds and folk music of all things. I picked up the guitar again. Never give up!

You were playing music before you found old time music, or before it found you. Can you describe how you became an old time musician? What instrument was your gateway instrument to the music?