Paul R - Posted - 09/16/2014:  06:02:18

quote:

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Originally posted by RawhideCreek

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim Yates

quote:

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Originally posted by RawhideCreek

Possibly my favorite viola joke (which could probably be adapted for banjo, if it hasn't already been):

The symphony is doing a children's concert at a local elementary school.  At the intermission, children are invited down into the orchestra to meet the musicians, see the instruments, and even to hold them.

Things are going well until a teacher notices that one violist has grabbed a child by the neck and is shaking her.  The teacher runs over, pulls the two apart, and says, "What's going on here?"

The upset violist replies, "My instrument's out of tune because this kid turned one of the pegs."

"Why don't you just tune your instrument again?" asks the teacher.

"Because she won't tell me which peg!"

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Q - How do you make a violin sound like a viola?

A - Stand in the back and don't play very well.

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Q.  What's the difference between a violin and a viola?

A.  A viola burns longer.

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The viola player came home one night to find police cars and fire engines blocking the street, and his house a smouldering pile of ashes. A detective approached him and said, "I'm sorry to tell you that the conductor came to your house, murdered your wife and children, and burned your house down." Astonished, the violist replied, "The conductor came to MY house?!"

RTWhite - Posted - 09/16/2014:  07:35:31

It helps knowing you're smarter than the person telling the joke. I started playing in February of this year. I've been to one festival (Grey Fox) and a number of concerts in the D.C. area. Nearly every banjo player I've interacted with has been sharp, smart and fun to be around. Everyone plays a guitar.... how many can pick a banjo?

I served in the Coast Guard for nine years (four were in college). At some point the Coast Guard jokes such as "Why is every Coast Guardsman six feet tall?  So he can walk to shore if his boat sinks." or terms like "puddle pirates" stop having some sting.  The good offense to that is "How do you know a Coast Guard unit is at a Navy base? All of the Navy sailors kids aren't ugly." The jokes we "endure" are much funnier when they come from people who have "been there and done that" and it's true in music too.  That said, there are some funny banjo jokes and the banjo players I've listened to give as good as they take.

It's a confidence thing.  Banjo players aren't dumb. I'm not. You're not.  Banjo players have nothing to PROVE.  As soon as someone really starts picking.... people get excited. How many instruments combine metal, wood, bone and shells to make music? The banjo is not a simple piece of hardware, and neither are the folks who play it.

As for Dueling Banjos.... it the first thing people want to hear when they find out you play. So after people kept asking for it, I asked my banjo instructor to teach it to me, including a break. There's only so much entertaining I could do with one banjo and Cripple Creek or Boil Em Cabbage Down.

5Stringtrout - Posted - 09/16/2014:  08:35:48

I am retired from the Postal Service after 37 years and I still a lot about "going Postal".  At least the banjo jokes are fun.  Like someone said earlier "there are two types of

people who tell banjo jokes, banjo players and people who are jealous of us.

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 09/16/2014:  10:16:50

quote:

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Originally posted by 5Stringtrout

I am retired from the Postal Service after 37 years and I still a lot about "going Postal".  At least the banjo jokes are fun.  Like someone said earlier "there are two types of

people who tell banjo jokes, banjo players and people who are jealous of us.

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And a favorite of mine:

"There are two types of people in the world:  Those who divide people into two types and those who don't."

Always remember, "He who shall, so shall he who."

Edited by - Rawhide Creek on 09/16/2014 10:18:51

giweb - Posted - 09/16/2014:  22:20:03

Sorry, but I have to chime in here: In the early 1960's playing acoustic folk music, guitar or banjo, got you surrounded by beautiful, long haired girls who joined in the singing and followed your performances. Think Greenwich Village, Newport Folk Festival, etc. Folk turned into Folk Rock which paralleled the British Invasion. Think of the ending banjo sequence of Bluebird by Buffalo Springfield or the 12 string guitar on Stairway to Heaven. Bluegrass, Grand Old Opry and CW were on a separate roadway that came to clash with Rock & Roll. So began the banjo and long hair jokes. I find irony in the CW artists with long hair now. I am very grateful to have begun in the folk era. My banjo memories are of beautiful long haired girls and not Deliverance.
Sometimes old age can be a blessing. I thank God my "video games" were guitars and banjos!
giweb
"Nothing Worthwhile is Easy!"
"Making Music is Worthwhile!"

reese158 - Posted - 09/17/2014:  05:50:18

I keep a bullwhip coiled inside the pot of my banjo to deal with churls.

mike gregory - Posted - 09/17/2014:  05:55:08

Less churls, more girls!

mmuussiiccaall - Posted - 09/17/2014:  06:11:52

quote:

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Originally posted by mike gregory

Less churls, more girls!

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Chagrin!

steve davis - Posted - 09/17/2014:  07:14:31

Ask those that put down banjo music what kind of music they prefer and quite a few won't have an opinion.Some might even say they don't like any music.

Joe the banjo guy - Posted - 09/17/2014:  07:30:27

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim Yates

An accordion/banjo duo were hired to play a New Year's Eve gig at an old folks home.  At the end of the night, the owner said, "They seemed to like you guys.  Can we book you for next New Year's Eve?"

"Sure," said the banjo player. "Can we leave our gear here?"

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Hahaha...lots of good ones on this thread, but this is my fav. 

wesrichards - Posted - 09/17/2014:  11:41:07

Tell the jokers to just go frail themselves.

Bart Veerman - Posted - 09/17/2014:  13:27:59

Don't worry, as the days go by there's fewer and fewer people who even remember Deliverance and thanks to folks like the Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, Old Crow Medicine Show, Dixie Chick etc. banjo is gaining popularity. If this trend keeps up we'll all be admired and envied soon...

R.D. Lunceford - Posted - 09/17/2014:  15:09:43

quote:

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Originally posted by UncleClawhammer

Comparing banjo player jokes to racist jokes is, of course, ridiculous.

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Not sure I'd agree.  Banjo jokes are based on stereotyping.

The assumption is that if you play the banjo, other things are true about you too,

and one of those implied things is that *you* are a racist.

I also agree about the generational aspect, though I don't think banjo derision is 100% dead in the modern generation.

I don't hide the fact that I am a banjo-player, but I see no reason to advertise it to folks I know don't care about the banjo.

I've always despised modern "whitebread" culture, so I actually revel in being an "outsider".

Once I was invited to a BBQ by a friend who asked me to bring my banjo.  Initially I left it in my truck.  One of the first people I met was a guy wearing a "Paddle faster I hear banjos" T-shirt. We had a laugh over his shirt which I actually liked.  Later as the party progressed, the wine and cheese crowd had congregated in the back so I went out and sat on the front porch and played.  After my daughter came out and sang a few OT songs and she and her friend did a bit of Irish step-dancing, some people gathered and it was obvious the party was on the front porch.  About that time, the T-Shirt guy walked by and the look of surprise when he saw me playing the banjo was priceless.

bubbalouie - Posted - 09/17/2014:  18:52:41

I played tuba from grade 6 to 12. We were the best high school concert band in our city. As a kid carrying it home to practice I took a lot of razzing.

We played with a really good military band called the Vimy Band. I am friends with one of the conductors that has retired here in Sooke.

When I knew him in Kingston the band was shutting down. There was lots of out of work horn players all over town.

I was at a farewell party at a pub & i guessed which instrument a lot of the guys played just by talking to them.

Peoples personalties tend to make them gravitate to certain instruments.  

Paul R - Posted - 09/17/2014:  20:58:14

quote:

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Originally posted by giweb

My banjo memories are of beautiful long haired girls and not Deliverance.

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Like this?

She stuck around. Thirty-five years this past August.

And I tell the banjo jokes around these parts.

mike_cabinet - Posted - 09/18/2014:  07:55:28

Those were jokes? Now I feel better.

UncleClawhammer - Posted - 09/18/2014:  08:03:23

quote:

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Originally posted by R.D. Lunceford

quote:

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Originally posted by UncleClawhammer

Comparing banjo player jokes to racist jokes is, of course, ridiculous.

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Not sure I'd agree.  Banjo jokes are based on stereotyping.

The assumption is that if you play the banjo, other things are true about you too,

and one of those implied things is that *you* are a racist.

 

I also agree about the generational aspect, though I don't think banjo derision is 100% dead in the modern generation.

 

I don't hide the fact that I am a banjo-player, but I see no reason to advertise it to folks I know don't care about the banjo.

I've always despised modern "whitebread" culture, so I actually revel in being an "outsider".

 

Once I was invited to a BBQ by a friend who asked me to bring my banjo.  Initially I left it in my truck.  One of the first people I met was a guy wearing a "Paddle faster I hear banjos" T-shirt. We had a laugh over his shirt which I actually liked.  Later as the party progressed, the wine and cheese crowd had congregated in the back so I went out and sat on the front porch and played.  After my daughter came out and sang a few OT songs and she and her friend did a bit of Irish step-dancing, some people gathered and it was obvious the party was on the front porch.  About that time, the T-Shirt guy walked by and the look of surprise when he saw me playing the banjo was priceless.

 

 

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The difference, as has already been discussed, is that playing a banjo is something you choose. Racism involves treating someone badly or mocking them for something they couldn't change even if they wanted to.

Edited by - UncleClawhammer on 09/18/2014 08:08:11

Richard Dress - Posted - 09/18/2014:  08:58:50

It's mostly about the banjo player.

Some jokes are about banjos--no big deal.  The particular jokes in question are about the actual dude, not the instrument.  And some jokes will even focus on the stigma.

Also, I can't recall any racist jokes that focus on race.  They seem to focus on the dude doing something stupid to make fun of, rather than color or physical features.  But hey that's my take, I don't have the statistics to back it up.  A typical formula that comes to my mind is "How many ______, does it take to change a light bulb".   Today the blank being discussed is 'banjo player'. 

Anyway, it's the banjo player who is almost always a white male, traditionally the silent star of the performance.  That is the banjo player stereotype.  Not only the usual suspect, a white male, but a HILLBILLY white male who is certainly a bigot.  That is the stigma.

It's all about the banjo player and the stigma.  That is how the OP's question comes across to me.  I don't think these factors can honestly be ignored.  It's too obvious:  banjo + hillbilly = stupid bigot + ha ha

This is why I think banjo player jokes are in bad taste and banjo players should resent them.  Good manners may require you to let it pass, but it doesn't mean one has to accept the joker's premises.

Edited by - Richard Dress on 09/18/2014 09:03:51

arnie fleischer - Posted - 09/18/2014:  09:12:46

Hey, I'm a retired lawyer, a civil litigator at that, and I've had to put up with lawyer jokes as well as banjo jokes.  

As Don says, many of them are identical.

As for DB, I often play it at my solo nursing home shows. I move from one side of the mic to the other as I "duel" with myself, hamming it up like crazy.  Everyone knows the song, and everyone loves it.  

Just smile and pick.

And remember, it's not just the banjo.  In the film "Gather at the River" Tim O'Brien - Tim O'Brien! - says that mandolin is Italian for out of tune.

Aradobanjo - Posted - 09/18/2014:  11:24:48

Hello,

KET aired a show last week about stereotyping the Appalachian folk because of the Deliverance movie. In fact, most movies from the 20 century are derogatory to banjoist.

Churches are the most intolerant of banjos. The twisted logic use is "banjos are played in bars." Pianos, organs, and every instrument are included in the bar scene. Yet, Psalms 149 and 150 talk explicitly of stringed instruments and drums in the house of the Lord. 

Happiness is to know the Savior. Banjos are happy instruments.  

Two Saturdays ago, my wife and I with my friend's family met at a park. I spied a cased instrument with a man walking to a bench far away from everyone as we looked over Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati.  Seeing it to be a dulcimer, I walked down and chatted with him. We discussed music and our playing preferences. I liked gospel and so did he. He asked me a question with a statement. "I know denomination 1 and denomination 2 do not let banjos play in their churches, where do you play?"

Of course shared him mine,but with reservation. If I didn't play there, it would never happen in my life time.

I like the story Jesus tells.

"What is this evil generation like? They are like children in the market playing a flute while calling out to each other, 'When we play happy, you are sad. When we play sad you are happy.' John the Baptist came and you claimed he was insane. Jesus Christ came and you say he is a drunkard because of his company. Wisdom is justified in her children." I find it comforting to know that Jesus Christ never complained about music or the instruments of music while on this earth. Yet, many faiths denounce many instruments as clean and unclean. 

Does a banjo fit everywhere? That depends on the banjo and banjoist. Many banjoists have taken it to many places. One cannot take it to the grave is about it. Eye has never seen, nor has anyone one listened to, nor dreamed about in their hearts, what God has in store for them that love Him. 

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 09/18/2014:  11:35:23

"When you lose your power to laugh, you lose your power to think straight."

-- Act 1, Inherit the Wind, Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee

Edited by - Rawhide Creek on 09/18/2014 11:36:25

Banjo Lefty - Posted - 09/18/2014:  20:04:53

My daughter asks: what's the difference between a banjo and a yoga mat?

You take off your shoes before stepping on the yoga mat.

mmuussiiccaall - Posted - 09/20/2014:  21:00:36

a mother load!

bluegrassbanjo.org/banjokes.html

Klondike Waldo - Posted - 09/24/2014:  18:04:43

quote:

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Originally posted by chuckv97

Count your blessings. You could have been a tuba or accordion player.

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Dude, I  paid for college and made my living for years as a tuba player, before I took up the bagpipes and then banjo. Lately I've become a lyric tenor.   I don't let jokes like that, usually coming from someone who thinks their talent is in humor, get under my skin.

I'm too busy keeping in shape for my upcoming gigs.

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 09/24/2014:  20:40:09

quote:

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Originally posted by Banjo Lefty

My daughter asks: what's the difference between a banjo and a yoga mat?



You take off your shoes before stepping on the yoga mat.

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Q.  What's the difference between your banjo and your bed?

A.  Your mother won't let you jump up and down on your bed.

(I'm with you, Bob; remember, I played viola for a living for 20+ years.)

Edited by - Rawhide Creek on 09/24/2014 20:41:55

figmo59 - Posted - 09/25/2014:  16:54:26

I walked up to ah counter at Cahbellahs gun dept..
Wearin one of me banjo tee shirts..

There..were 2 salesmen there..
One looked at me shirt...

Smerked...n said..."squeal like ah pig.."

As Deadpan as I could...
I said...

Yeeoo...hittin...ON...Me...?!! :0/

Turned to tha utter salesman..n..said..

I'm gawn'ah need that ..box of big..Bullits..

Make'em holler points...

Edited by - figmo59 on 09/25/2014 16:55:09

gregsquared - Posted - 09/26/2014:  01:25:33

quote:

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Originally posted by 5Stringtrout

I am retired from the Postal Service after 37 years and I still a lot about "going Postal".  >snip< 

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Puts me in mind of the time my mom first met my son's friend Jon, who had worked at UPS for a while.  Vaguely recalling that she had heard that he had something to do with shipping packages, and wanting to show a personal interest, Mom asked, "Are you still postal?" 

Never in her 70-odd-year life had heard the derogatory term; hard to explain it through the gales of laughter filling the room. 

ChuckHenry - Posted - 09/27/2014:  06:12:34

No banjo stigma at work so far! I was asked to make a video of myself so people could get to know me a little better, and I decided to pick a little bit as an intro. Then I did the whole interview while holding my banjo! It was sent out to our department of 200+ people, and all the feedback has been positive! My boss said she loved it! I work in a pretty dry, corporate environment, so I was a bit nervous to send it out. Of course the first person I showed it to said "Hey, it makes me think of dueling banjos." Oh well...

X - Posted - 09/27/2014:  08:40:12

In my experience, banjo players tell the funniest banjo/banjo player jokes, LDS folks tell the funniest Mormon jokes, and so on. Something about being on the inside, I think. When people say things to laugh "at" rather than "with" the banjo enthusiast, it's obvious to me they don't get it. The e-card posted above captures it well - "losers" :)

Being a rocker, I've heard a lot of bass player jokes and drummer jokes. The bass jokes are, without exception, hilarious. Drummer jokes are just plain cruel, because they're all true. Those poor people have it rough.

Why do basses have four strings? Three spares. See? Hilarious!

What does a drummer say when his girlfriend breaks up with him? "I need a ride home." Ouch.

I can't say how best to respond to banjo jokes. Just remember that it's nothing compared to the abuse we get on BHO.

Cleitus - Posted - 01/01/2015:  20:22:24

Love the jokes and never worries me - if they bring up the kid in deliverance etc, point out is was the hillbillies and black people that actually developed the folk style banjo NOT the white easterners who played classical things. Ask them the last time they heard classical banjo nowadays???

Cleitus - Posted - 01/01/2015:  20:30:24

Of course the negative side are those really out to pick a fight rather than tell a joke and will use the joke as an excuse to start something - does not matter what you say, a punch is coming. Reaction then depends on the situation - walk away if at all possible but if cornered and both of you standing, the banjo tuning head bought up smartly into the groin can delay things a bit - don't forget to say 'Ooops! sorry about that'.

PTOEguy - Posted - 01/02/2015:  09:33:50

I find the stigma part of the fun - as long as it is done lightheartedly. I grew up in a family of classical musicians, and their amazement is half the fun. Of course I may be scarred by years of playing low brass (trombone and euphonium), which can be fairly reviled by the rest of the orchestra.

I think part of the issue with banjo and trombone is the volume they are capable of producing. In late high school my parents got me a serious trombone (wide-bore, big bell, F attachment, etc.) and I remember playing it once in an orchestra and thinking "I could really cut loose and drown out the rest of the group". I wasn't close to going full out and the conductor was telling me to tone it down.

If you want to be innocuous - try playing ukulele. I've been there, done that, but I kind of missed the jokes.

mike gregory - Posted - 01/02/2015:  17:51:51

And if that needle-sharp string end pieces your palm, that might be considered Banjo Stigmata!

gregsquared - Posted - 01/03/2015:  00:29:08

quote:

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Originally posted by lightgauge

I have always told them a line Steve Martin and maybe others have said. You can't play a sad song on a banjo. I enjoy the happiness it brings me and most others. The next best option is to tell them a funnier one. That usually neutralizes theirs and lightens the whole situation. Life is too short to let such minor things get you down. 

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I can't play as well as Steve Martin, but why does everyone repeat his obviously wrong, one-size-fits-all assertion. 

Mike Gregory, for one, CAN play a sad song on a banjo.  (Sometimes unintentionally.) 

gregsquared - Posted - 01/03/2015:  00:42:01

quote:

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Originally posted by RTWhite  >snip< 

I served in the Coast Guard for nine years (four were in college). At some point the Coast Guard jokes such as "Why is every Coast Guardsman six feet tall?  So he can walk to shore if his boat sinks." or terms like "puddle pirates" stop having some sting.  The good offense to that is "How do you know a Coast Guard unit is at a Navy base? All of the Navy sailors kids aren't ugly." The jokes we "endure" are much funnier when they come from people who have "been there and done that" and it's true in music too.  >snip< 

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"Why is the Coast Guard called the Broomstick Navy?  Because every Coast Guard ship (or cutter) has a broomstick on board to feel for the bottom.  If they can't reach it, they turn back." 

-- ex-Coastie  

Edited by - gregsquared on 01/03/2015 00:50:49

gregsquared - Posted - 01/03/2015:  01:04:41

quote:

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Originally posted by RawhideCreek

Always remember, "He who shall, so shall he who."

 

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Hoo ha. 

Buzzsaw - Posted - 01/03/2015:  11:32:05

Mike's Quote    " ALSO: Burt Reynolds didn't REALLY put an arrow into that moonshiner's spine.

THAT was faked, too."

    Come on Mike, You Gotta Be Kidding Me?  Next You'll Tell us That Burt Wasn't Really Driving The Trans Am in Smoky and the Bandit.    Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeez

dougzbanjo - Posted - 01/03/2015:  16:50:36

quote:

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Originally posted by Legend600

I am new to the banjo. I am already tired of the jokes and stigma attached to us pickers.  How does everyone handle it?  Why must people assume we are all dueling banjo inbreeds from the movie deliverance!! It really does get old when I tell someone I play the banjo.  Many ask why I would want to play a banjo.  I tell them because i enjoy the sound and love to learn something new. Is that not enough??

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Its because they can't play it.

ceemonster - Posted - 01/04/2015:  23:18:12

[[[How does everyone handle it?]]] The standard response is, "Squeal like a pig."

RB4picker - Posted - 01/05/2015:  07:08:35

"It really does get old when I tell someone I play the banjo.  Many ask why I would want to play a banjo."

Tell them you tried the piccalo and gave up on it.    

David

Buzzsaw - Posted - 01/05/2015:  07:35:07

Think about it....Dosen't Every Instrument have a STIGMA of some sort? 

I think it all Depends on where you are and who you're talking to.

Here are Some Examples of how  Many Ignorant  NON Musicians would interpret the Following ....

  You Say:  "I'm a Guitar Player"  =  "I Don'T Have a REAL Job."

   You Say:  " I Play Violin"   =  "I'm a Rich Snob. "

    You Say:  " I Play Harmonica   =  "I'm a Hobo."

   You Say:    " I Play Drums"    =  "I Have Issues."

   You Say :   " I Play Accordion"  = " I Love to Polka and Grew up Watching Lawrence Welk"

I'm sure EVERY other Instrument has their Social Interpretation as well....

  So What.  You Play Banjo Because You Love Banjo.....If You Didn't, You Wouldn't.   

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 01/05/2015:  14:00:10

Look at it this way. If you played bagpipes many people would ask you to play Over The Hills and Far Away.

phillavery - Posted - 01/14/2015:  21:29:18

No Stigma here ............ shower every day .....!!!

stanleytone - Posted - 01/14/2015:  23:41:44

I tell them I got paid 200 bucks the other night for playing my banjo.......that usually shuts them up.

Andyincov - Posted - 01/15/2015:  05:08:13

It doesn't help that in the UK 'banjo' is a euphemism for penis.  I've had many occasions where saying 'playing my banjo' has elicited raised eyebrows and guffaws.

Banjo is a joy-spreading sound - laughs and jokes are its natural bedfellow.  Try deflecting by making fun of the bass player - sometimes this works ;-)

cheers

Andy

loukiii - Posted - 01/15/2015:  06:08:02

quote:

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Originally posted by Andyincov

It doesn't help that in the UK 'banjo' is a euphemism for penis.  I've had many occasions where saying 'playing my banjo' has elicited raised eyebrows and guffaws.

Banjo is a joy-spreading sound - laughs and jokes are its natural bedfellow.  Try deflecting by making fun of the bass player - sometimes this works ;-)

 

cheers

Andy

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That's awesome! LOL

Kurt Kemp - Posted - 01/17/2015:  03:58:50

Reminds me of a song..

youtu.be/UA3cHp46Dj0