Things felt right: the front door was splattered with stickers advertising everything music; we tuned up in a room filled wall to wall and floor to ceiling with CDs; the studio was small and hot. The stage was set for the Varnish Cooks to give a great performance on “Open Tunings,” a radio show hosted by Scott Regan on 88.5 WRUR in Rochester. We played four of our favorite songs: “Rovin’ Gambler”—a tune about someone who’s either good at living or good at lying; “Shady Grove”—ghosts walk around in our version of this song; “In The Pines”—our searing, soaring vocals echo the centuries of whistles bound up in this train song; and “Father, Get Ready When He Calls You”—a haunting spiritual we learned from Jean Ritchie. Thanks, Scott, for having us on and for your feedback: it’s a great honor to be told we perform with honesty and sincerity since this is what we strive to achieve. We can’t wait to do the show again!