Well, I got interested in music by my mom first I would guess. She had a pretty good variety of records growing up and my dad 20 years her elder brought interests to the relationship from a different generation. She had an Autoharp which intrigued me but never really drove me to wanting to play it.
I played a recorder in the 3rd grade music class and then the saxaphone as it was the same basic fingering. That lasted only so long 3 years maybe and I dropped out because there is just only so much Frere Jacques a person can take. None of my living relatives at the time played anything besides my grandfather who played Oh Susanna on the harmonica. Nobody to "jam" with became a downer because IMHO you get so much better when you play with others. Iterestingly my Great Grandmothers brother played banjo on a Baltimore harbor dinner cruise ship in the 20's... Wish I could have seen that! 2 years later I wanted a guitar, I worked at mowing lawns and my dad matched my earnings to get the guitar. 2 years of Frere Jacques again... no luck. I took the guitar to college and sold it for $50. 10 years or so went from when I stopped with that guitar went by and I was now living in Portland, OR, doin' my chef thing and here comes a waiter carrying a mysterious little case and I asked that question, that is very tiresome for me to hear now... "What is that.... a violin?" Nope the waiter whipped out the Mando and kicked it's little ass. I said I have got to do that someday. So I got a little Tacoma in '98 took two lessons from that guy and began to learn the little demon. I had my little instructional book and again now nobody to play with.. I had no idea about jam sessions, Bill Monroe or Bluegrass really for that matter. I know I had heard bluegrass but only in tastes at Disneyworld or on our Family vacation Drives from the DC area to Appilachia as a kid. Put it down for 5 years. I was learning more and more as I never lost interest in the new music just the drive to get better. My wife and I were doing a personal chef job in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and saw David Grisman was coming to Alta, Wyoming's Grand Targhee Festival. WOW..... total bewilderment. I thought Woodstock was the only time there were more than an opening act and the main band. I saw Sam Bush, Vassar, Dawg, Tony Rice, Pete Rowan and several others on the last song all together and I knew I had to pick it back up. So I did in 2003 and started taking lessons but still had nobody to play with in the Houston area. Had twins and put the mando down again for a couple years. My former instructor retired and has been a jam partner for a couple years now and has been a great supporter for my need to play. The internal fire has been lit now for 3 1/2 years and no sign of it going out... That's why I'm here. Uh be Uh be Uh be that's all folks Sorry for the length (Ba Dum... Tsss) Adam --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
