My inlaws think that my liking bluegrass makes me a fan of the banjo.... so they invited me to a Banjo Jamboree at the Grand Opry House in Galveston, TX last year and it was mostly Dixie Jazz and a couple classical and of course a few bob wills classics. All were tenor and for some songs half broke out in Mandolins then half of them broke out in Mandolas. It was interesting to say the least. It made me think of "How do you keep two banjo players in time with each other?" "shoot one". I was ready to use that lone bullet on myself by the end. That was a tremendous amount of oral stimulation. I guess being married, one could overdose on oral stimulation rather quicker than the single folks. Later...
On Feb 18, 5:02 pm, mistertaterbug <taterbugmu...@gmail.com> wrote: > 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 <taterbugmu...@gmail.com> 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 <vmin...@gmail.com> 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 <mikehoffma...@gmail.com> 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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