banjotom2 - Posted - 10/08/2008:  20:48:25

I just read online somewhere that 'Far Side' cartoonist Gary Larson, not only worked in a music store up to a week or two before quitting to pursue his cartooning, but he was apparently a guitarist (jazz) and a banjo player who played in a duo called "Tom & Gary".

He included the banjo in several of his cartoons and music themes in a number of others.

Just thought that was interesting.

Join the BHO "Banjo Players Union"...You''ll be able to take ''Union'' breaks every 45 minutes... Not to mention the cool BHO T-Shirt you get!

BanjoTom2

brokenstrings - Posted - 10/08/2008:  21:00:50

I love Gary Larson, and at least one of the cartoons involved Stradivarius' younger brother, who made banjos.

Jessy

Frailaway, ladies, frailaway!

steve davis - Posted - 10/08/2008:  21:14:47

I remember a banjo in a courtroom,but I can't remember the context.

concerning gardens...weed ''em and reap

BANJOJUDY - Posted - 10/08/2008:  21:29:56

How about my all time favorite:



And then this is my almost all time favorite - as in number 2:



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Edited by - BANJOJUDY on 10/08/2008 21:31:20

steve davis - Posted - 10/08/2008:  21:43:23

That's the court one ...thanks BanjoJudy

concerning gardens...weed ''em and reap

mike gregory - Posted - 10/09/2008:  01:12:31

Now let's all grab them banjos and SING!

=============================================
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah,
Someone's in the kitchen, I think!
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah,
Skinny-dipping in the sink!
====================================================

I am a great fan of Larson's cartoons.
And I hear you ask
"Why would the odd and twisted way Larson looks at the world, be at all interesting to a rock-solid, steady (almost to the point of dullness) middle-of-the-road clod like Mike?"






=):{ )
Mike Gregory, Banjo Maker Infraordinaire
When I say my instruments are as good as anything Gibson or Martin ever made,
I mean MEL Gibson and DEAN Martin!


My banjos can be seen on my own website
http://littlebanjos.lunare.net

OM45GE - Posted - 10/09/2008:  02:29:55

I wept when he stopped selling his cartoon a day calendars.


"But if there were no music
Then I would not get through" - Shawn Colvin

JSnood - Posted - 10/09/2008:  03:49:29

There's a Hair in My Dirt Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson has written and illustrated the new book "There's A Hair In My Dirt! A Worm's Story." It's the story of a family of earthworms and a fair maiden in the forest. Larson quit drawing his syndicated Far Side comic in 1995. The Far Side thrived for 14 years and appeared in more than 1,900 newspapers worldwide. Larson has published more than 20 books featuring his cartoons. In 1994, Larson completed his first animated film, "Gary Larson's Tales from the Far Side." His second animated film "Gary Larson's Tales From the Far Side II" has appeared at the Telluride Film Festival.
Terry Gross, Philadelphia
30 April 1998
Fresh Air
(c) 1998 Federal Document Clearing House. All Rights Reserved.

....blah, blah, blah....

GROSS: My guest is Gary Larson, the creator of the syndicated comic The Far Side. Now he has a new book called There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story. We'll talk more after a break.

This is FRESH AIR.

Back with Gary Larson.

Now, I know one of the things that you've done over the years that gives you a lot of pleasure is listen to music and play music. And I think even before you were a cartoonist that you played guitar and banjo in bands?

LARSON: Mm-hmm. Yeah, well I started off playing banjo when I was like 12 or 13, I think. And...

GROSS: Was it the Pete Seeger "learn how to frale" (ph) approach? Or...

LARSON: No. You know, this is -- this is sort of embarrassing for me. I -- I mean, for being a basically a shy person, I don't know what made me pick up the banjo, which is this instrument that screams, you know, "look at me" when I'm playing a banjo.

LAUGHTER

And -- but I started playing a four-string plectern (ph) banjo, which was -- I don't know if it was like -- it might have been in vogue in like the '20s or something. But it was like ragtime or Dixieland what have you. And I -- I mean, I really worked at it. I -- I learned to play it.

And I think a few years later, the movie "Bonnie and Clyde" came out and of course, "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" on a -- what else? -- a five-string banjo, which is, you know, as you know, totally different from a four-string. So I mean, not only did I choose a strange instrument, but I didn't even choose the one that became real popular and was real cool to play.

So -- but I -- and then I finally switched to -- seriously to guitar, I guess, in my early 20s. It's funny. I was just talking to my -- I'm still in touch with my old college roommate and we're still good friends. And he finally confessed to me that, I think he said: "you know, we thought we were going to have to kill you."

LAUGHTER

Because I would practice the banjo, you know, in the room. And I never thought about it. Of course, that would drive someone insane. But...

GROSS: Well, what about guitar? What was your guitar playing like? Or what is your guitar playing like?

LARSON: Well, I -- I became interested in jazz. And that's where I've been ever since. And suddenly one day I discovered, gee, guitar is very expressive and wonderful, and I've just been at it ever since. And I love it.

GROSS: I know you've done some studying with the great jazz guitarist Jim Hall (ph). Did you approach him? And he lives on the East Coast and you live on the West.

LARSON: Yes. Yeah.

GROSS: How did this work?

LARSON: Well, we had a mutual friend in a guitar-maker -- a guy that passed away named Jimmy DeQuisto (ph). And I was talking to Jimmy one day and said to -- he was just saying "hey, you ought to call up Jim Hall and see if you can get some lessons from him." And I mean, I was -- I thought, "God, if that could happen, it would just be a miracle."

And so I don't know what happened next, but yeah, I approached him or maybe through Jimmy. I don't remember how it happened. But he was willing to do it. And wow, it was fantastic.

GROSS: So, did you fly to the East Coast to take lessons with him?

LARSON: Yeah, I did. My wife and I actually moved to the Village area and lived there for a few months.

GROSS: Wow.

LARSON: For one summer and I'd go up there and take lessons from him a couple times a week, and I also linked up with another guitarist named Remo Palmier (ph) and took from him as well. So it was -- I mean, it was just a wonderful experience for me -- a great summer. That was during my sabbatical.

GROSS: Does playing still give you a lot of pleasure?

LARSON: Yeah. Yeah, it's -- it's just great, I think, when I'm -- I mean, it's frustrating for me, too. I mean, you're a student of it and you want to be better and you keep practicing it and...

GROSS: Yeah, when your ear is more sophisticated than your ability to play.

LARSON: Yeah, exactly, exactly. But everything else, you know, when I'm playing guitar, all of the troubles seem to melt away. I'm just absorbed in it. So, I guess it's a form of therapy in a way, too.

...blah, blah, blah....

Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ

On a steel horse I ride.

twayneking - Posted - 10/09/2008:  07:04:47

Gary is a weird little man.

I''m just sayin''

Tom King

Check my latest blog entry, "Ten Strategic Career Moves to Help You Weather the Coming Financial Crisis!"
Just click on my avatar...

mike gregory - Posted - 10/09/2008:  09:45:40

quote:

---

Originally posted by twayneking

Gary is a weird little man.

I''m just sayin''

Tom King

---

ZEPP - Posted - 10/09/2008:  11:43:55

Just for you, Jessy:

Cheers,
ZEPP

BANJOJUDY - Posted - 10/09/2008:  13:22:40

That's a good one, Zepp. I had forgotten about it.

RIght clicked on it and it is saved in my joke folder.

Judy

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Have you visited the Tune of The Week area
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JackJack - Posted - 10/09/2008:  15:23:24

Gary Larson is my second favorite cartoonist. My favorite is Bill Waterson of Calvin and Hobbes.