ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past "Cluck, Old Cucco!" 3:14

While some might object or even personally lay claim to the superlative pseudonym of newcomer "worldsbestgrandpa", there's no denying that this LttP bluegrass 'Kakariko' debut arrangement is absolutely unique & charming. Clawhammer banjo, harmonica, guitar, and a recognizable but highly interpretive/contextual take on a familiar source, this is great stuff. Grandpa writes:

"The Kakariko song makes me so happy! I started playing it on clawhammer banjo and it sort of evolved into a remix. The changes in arrangement are probably subtle enough that a lot of folks might not really notice, but I hope the judges do!

My goal was to reduce the original song down into a natural sounding oldtime tune, which are usually only three different chords, so a lot of the rearrangement is in the chord progression. The banjo and harmonica are backed up by some simple Carter strumming on the guitar and me being silly on the washboard. I hope you like!"

Kakariko certainly made Hazama happy all the way back in 2001; it's a REALLY good example of town BGM that conjures a feeling of homecoming, family, comfort, and now grandpas, too! The treatment here evokes Appalachia; if any of you watch Justified on FX, it's the type of jam that wouldn't be out of place up in the hills of Harlan County. Larry writes:

"These guys were outside performing during CTCon, but we were moving/loading/walking places and too busy to him 'em up. Won't make that mistake twice. In any case, here's my letter to Gramps confirming the direct post:

"Ah, son of a B, you're from Folk Y'all! :-D Makes me want to fly up to Connecticut right away and shake your hand. Great work on this! There were no worries about understanding the arrangement. Sometimes due to the mixing, the melody would end up a little de-emphasized instead of standing out all the way, but there were constant tradeoffs between the banjo and the harmonica handling the lead, so I can see how it would be tough to make each instance of the melody sound upfront every single time. That said, it wasn't a problem for me to hear. :-) Wow, just amazing, blowaway stuff, man. Kickin' some ass here! Keep the hits comin', bro, this is phenomenal!"

You can opine on the particulars. A lot of my excitement stems from the novelty of having a piece like this on OCR, which we don't yet, but the performance is still strong and full of character. I sincerely hope Grandpa and Folk Y'all get more involved on the forums and with submissions, as I know the community would enjoy what they're cookin'."

Indeed, this is an underrepresented genre, banjo is a GREAT instrument, and while this piece is relatively brief, it shows off creativity & musicianship and is a heck of a lot fun, so I'd love to see more submissions in this vein. We walked past these guys without knowing who they were at CTCon, and even at the time, we were all noddin' our heads and smiling to the groove they had going, and they'd drawn a pretty large crowd, bringing VGM to the people & taking it to the streets. Keep doing what you're doing, and here's hoping we hear more!