Summer 09 Rolls on.

Upon my return from the Appalachia Stringband Festival at the George Washington Carver facility near Clifftop West Virginia
I am getting ready to deliver 3 new banjos to 3 patient local players who ordered them from me since last Fall. The Galax Fiddler's convention time was to be my deadline for completion. So far so good, although I still have hours of set up time and tweaking to do before delivery.

I find that banjo making is enjoyable as long as I can make them to suit me as I have my particular basic style set after 25 years. I sold one at the Clifftop festival to a banjo junkie last summer and another one to the same guy in January. The one I had with me this year was admired by many people but I had someone committing to buying it before I left Floyd last Friday. The folks who made these custom orders I am now finishing were respectful my style choices generally. The banjos are alike in their construction and set up yet they vary slightly in their appearance. However, one is left-handed and another has the request of a pearl inlay of the state symbol of the South Carolina ie, quarter moon over the palmetto tree. I found that inlay job to be a challenge over the simple stars , dots, and diamonds which don't involve much labor to cut and inlay. Cutting out and inlaying the palmetto tree allowed me to practice some engraving technique for which I am a beginner. It is for Amy Boucher, banjo player for the Buck Mountain Band and wife of our 9th district Congressman.

Since Spring 09, I have been deemed a master banjo builder and have been working with an apprentice through the Virgina Foundation for the Humanities apprenticeship program. My apprentice, Bob Browder, and I are each building a banjo out of some amazing birdseye maple heartwood. Upon completion by the Spring 2010, I hope to have a beautiful natural birdseye maple 12" open back banjo decorated with some engraved classic pearl inlays and a 'Whyte Laydie' tone system. It has my name on it for me to keep (assuming it has a better tone than the 'Little Wonder' one I play now). Whyte Laydie and Little Wonder are names for the metallic part of the banjo just under the head on top of the wooden hoop. Each has a design difference and a specific patent as well as a track record for a great tone since their invention in the early 20th century. They are forever associated with the famous Vega banjo company. I have other types of 'tone rings' that I find work very well and cost less to make and install which helps to keep the overall cost lower.

Music wise, since last the post Jenny and I performed in July recently at a small revival at the Indian Valley Presbyterian Church. We were honored to have Janet Turner sing some trios with us. We love her honest and youthful sound so much.
Fiddler Shay Garriock joined us a few nights later for our perfomance at the Oak Grove Pavillion
behind Zion Lutheran Church in the town of Floyd. We got great responses and saw many people who we had not seen in years. The next weekend found us on the road out to Morehead Kentucky for a nice old-time fiddler's convention that hired us to be a performing band for a set on Saturday night just before the band finals. We met many nice people and heard a lot of great music by the young Kentucky musicians who are proud of their area's musical heritage. We were not at Floydfest as the Floyd Press mistakenly said so I hope they get it right next time. We don't have anything else until Fall and I'll post again by then. Thanks for your support.

June 13th Mars Hill Concert will be hard to top

On June 13th 2009,  Jenny and I along with Shay Garriock met and had our 2nd music adventure as a trio.  We were scheduled months ago  to perform for a concert for the students who annually attend the music camp know as Blue Ridge Old-time Music week held on the campus of Mars Hill College just north of Asheville, NC.  Having the opportunity to debut  our new sound with Shay at the Workshop Porch stage at the 2008 Floydfest,  we  started  our 2nd gig  adventure of 2009 once again in North Carolina. 

  Adventure  means you spend sometime on the road getting to a new place and look forward to meeting up and performing for a good audience with a sponsor that takes good care of all your needs.   This was indeed the case on June 13th when we met Shay in Statesville, NC the morning of the 13th.  We had previously contacted Harry West of Fine Vintage Instruments, a music store located in Statesville  known for its proprietors  (Harry and Jeanie West)  who had once been an active husband and wife duo in their younger years and recognized as contributors to the genre of old-time country music by historians and fans of early country and Bluegrass.

Harry was interested in our new CD's and bought some to re-sell in the store after we played  and sang the old Wade Mainer song  Take Me in Your Lifeboat.   We left after a NC Barbeque lunch and headed west for Mars Hill getting there in time for a sound check in the campus chapel around 4 with the concert to be at 8.  We got our room and board situated, saw and visited several of our friends, many of  whom were staff/ instructors in various instruments such as old-time fiddle, guitar, clawhammer banjo, and vocal harmony. 

Hillary Dirlam,  long-time director of the  camp  gave us a nice welcome and introduced us as if we were something special.   We were flattered and knew we had our work cut out for us to not let her down.  Jenny and I began our first set with several of our favorite duets like heard on our early recordings that some were already familiar with.   Shay came on with his fiddle and launched our sound in a new direction.  The acoustics of that sacred space as well as the skill of a competent sound man with a decent system helped get us fired up to play well and enjoy ourselves like all musicians would hope for.  Kind of like a house concert but with a big crowd.

There were probably 150 people who really got into what we were doing and responded 

positively to our music which include many numbers from  'Turkey in the Mountain'.  As students of banjo and fiddle,  Shay and I felt that we could demonstrate some of our tunes that

show techniques and stylistic elements that many had come to appreciate on a different level than the general public.  

With Jenny on guitar for the last number, we were surprised by the enthusiasm of the crowd and were asked to do an encore for which we not prepared.   Shay broke into the old standard dance tune called  'Hen Cackle' which got some dancers in the crowd to  come up and cut loose near the stage.   We do love dancers like that.   With a great number of CD's sold, decent pay for our performance, and a fine wind down party afterwards, we couldn't have asked for more. 

 On Friday coming home, we felt inspired to do something like that again and again.  Keep checking back as we hopefully will  have some other similar trips that I'll report on after they occur if notable as Mars Hill was.