Oh, and I forgot to mention, if one ingests enough collards, you will definitely move... Taters and Greens
On Feb 18, 4:23 pm, mistertaterbug <[email protected]> wrote: > Aha, now I get it. Sorry, but it's hard for me to think about more > than one thing at a time like you young college whippersnappers. So, > New Jersey was a mecca for banjo enthusiasts in the early days? Cool. > Thanks for taking up for banjo players and trying to keep the > bubbatooth syndrome in check.You've got at least one "attaboy" for > that. I get as much mileage out of banjo jokes as the next guy, but I > know the reality is there's a lot of very complicated music played on > banjos, and not just by classical players. I reckon if anybody could > bring respectability to banjo culture it would've been guys like > Ossman and Van Eps (Aren't Fred Van Eps' recordings supposed to have > been one of Earl Scruggs influences?). But beings this comes up, I > wonder if so much minstrel and classical banjo music came from the > northeast because of business opportunities (publishing/printing/ > licensing) due to the number of people and venues closer together, or > was it due to the most prominent players of the instrument in that day > being located there, which obviously would attract more prominent > writers/players? I know that there were a number of banjo > manufacturers located in the Northeast. Why would the North feel so > compelled to write romantic musical scenes about the South, however > unrealistic? How romantic was it for the blacks and the dirt-poor > whites? I doubt it had anything to do with climate. > > I do find it funny that you brought up the NJ connection considering > Hartford said one time that "you gotta be Jewish and from NJ to play > oldtime music these days". I think he was kidding, but still the > reality of it may not be too far off base. > > Val, where could a copy of "The Secret Lives of Banjos" be obtained? > And yes, I do think that 27 banjos in one place is way over the legal > limit. There's probably an ordinance against it someplace. > > puhtater > > On Feb 18, 12:18 pm, Val Mindel <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Mike H, if you ever get a chance to catch "The secret lives of > > banjos," you should. It's a show put together by Jody Stecher and Bill > > Evans and includes a great story about Arctic explorations, banjos and > > penguins ... It also shows the broad reach of the instrument. They use > > something Iike 27 banjos in their show and demonstrate convincingly > > that the banjo has a wild and well-traveled history. > > > Meanwhile, for my $.02, I think we can play outside our immediate > > zones, just as we listen outside those zones, given sufficient will > > and passion/obsession. It's a matter of relating to the underlying > > emotion. Music really is generated from just a few main themes -- > > love, death, god, events, work -- mixed and matched as appropriate, > > and we can relate to these themes, even if the specifics (collard > > greens) are foreign. Granted there is music that is outside my ken > > (Chinese opera, for example), but I suspect that if I wanted to and > > had a spare lifetime to mess around with it, I could tackle anything > > that moved me. But being moved by it is the key. Just look at some of > > our Japanese old-time musician friends who play great, with scrupulous > > regard for the channels the music has come through. Of course, the > > farther you are from the source, the harder it is to pick up the > > nuances, rhythmic and otherwise, but I don't buy the you-gotta-have- > > been-born-there notion, nor do I think the music died with some past > > generation. Many young people are playing it well, with great > > attention to detail and history, and not-so-young people like me are > > still working at playing it, and that's a good thing, I think. But > > then I've spent much of my life in zones where the frost-free date > > skated to the end of June (or where other climatic realities dominate) > > so I'm hardly any sort of argument for regional authenticity. best, > > val > > > On Feb 18, 11:19 am, Mike Hoffmann <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Tater tater tater tater tate- > > > Your post was about ethnic groups and then there was a sentence about > > > Chicago. I drank a cup of coffee and read a big chunk of a book (Making > > > the > > > second ghetto - race and housing in chicago 1940-1960) that I really > > > should > > > have already finished yesterday before working on music. The chapter I > > > left > > > half finished was on white ethnic neighborhoods in Chicago. Then the > > > coffee > > > actually started working and I picked up my mandolin and was playing and > > > listening to stuff on my computer whence I should have been doing homwork. > > > That lead to reading this mailing list and thus your post, reminding me > > > about white ethnic groups and Chicago and that I should be reading that > > > book. I guess I should have just left the response in my head! Sorry for > > > leading us off track. > > > > On another note, I was once told that NJ was a hotbed of classical banjo > > > activity. I also just read an account of a North Pole expedition that > > > mentioned banjos AND accordions playing home sweet home while in the > > > arctic. > > > I think banjos were everywhere. Fred Van Eps and Vess Ossman both lived > > > here and played extensively in Asbury Park, but certainly not old-time > > > music. My dad always calls our local area banjo land because he gets > > > frustrated at the inability to think liberally at school board meetings > > > and > > > such. I always get mad and remind him that it takes a large mind to play > > > a > > > banjo. The banjo gets pigeonholed as a rural, southern thing. Even a lot > > > of the minstrel stuff was written in NYC, and it certainly romanticized > > > the > > > south. There is something about fantasizing about the South for us > > > Northerners. Even Dixie was written up North. Maybe that is why old-time > > > music is so popular up North in New England, MN, and Wisconsin > > > specifically. > > > It's cold and in the south it is so warm. I get jealous when I listen to > > > Charlie McCoy sing, "in the wintertime I'm doing mighty well, but in the > > > summertime its a burning hell" because in the wintertime here it is cold! > > > > On a side note, I am watching Dora the Explorer with my niece right now > > > and > > > a flower is lost in the snow and they are trying to find their way back to > > > warmer climates. Perhaps that is the same as us Northern flowers > > > listening > > > mournfully to southbound trains. Also, in the background I could swear > > > they > > > keep playing little brown jug. > > > > need to organize my thoughts better > > > Mike H --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. 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