Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/21/2014:  18:16:36

Nels,
Banjomas...much better than X-Mas.
Bill,
I can always use the best tuners on the banjo planet! Rlckard!!! Thanks!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/21/2014:  18:26:58

We are here in Louisville, Kentucky, visiting with our son & his family. I`m posting this. Tapping away with one fanger on this smarter than me phone... I'll post more fully tomorrow evening. See ya then!

cbcarlisle - Posted - 12/21/2014:  21:01:50

I think "banjo más" is what we call BAS here in the Southwest!

DEmery - Posted - 12/22/2014:  17:09:03

Dan I checked the ticker on your thread views and wow....a couple of months ago I did a little math and predicted you would blow past 200K by year end. Heck a Luthiers Life did that plus 10K.  In a day or so you will trip the 210,000K mark. Looks like cold weather had brought BHO viewership in to see what's up in Paris, Tennessee. David Emery

media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736...db61c.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/a9/d5/3a/a9d53a1f80383f85e3d24fcc8e3db61c.jpg" />    

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/23/2014:  02:43:36

Curt,

David,

It sure looks like it has. Amazing isn't it? BTW I like that drawing...

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/23/2014:  03:20:42

HOME AGAIN

GPS. Ya gotta love um, ya gotta hate um.

Yes I realize that it is my falt.

I do know the way from San Jose... I mean Louisville. But I decided to stick the GPS lady on the windshield and turn her on anyway.  

Debra (my wife) says, "Why do you want to turn that thing on? You know  which way to go."

"Well," I said, "I kinda like to argue with her and then go the way I'm gonna go anyhow!"

So I did, I left her on. And I ignored her too...

Until Central City on the West Kentucky Parkway. 

She showed another route that would save around a half of an hour.

I was tempted...

Then I suckered....

Instead of getting home around 6 PM, we got home last night around 8 PM. 

She paid me back for every time I've ignored her directions.

I think we took every two lane and one lane back road there is between Central City, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee.

We went over hill and under hill. We went round and round, always following her directions. Past every small hamlet and burg. Through places no one has even dreamed of mapping. Fact is I'm not sure they've even made those roads yet!

To be honest, we saw some of the prettiest country on God's green earth.  She trecked us through some of rural Kentucky's most beautiful countryside. Farms all along the way. So very little traffic that we were able to slow down and savor this beauty.

It was well worth the detour.

Thank you GPS.

Do you think she's reading this?

Hope so.

Maybe next time...

Back before this event though, we stopped in Elizabethtown, Kentucky for gas.

Check this out! How long has it been since you've seen a gas price like this?

Yep, we filled 'er up!

More Soon!

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/23/2014:  06:38:22

The road less traveled............................. 

Nels - Posted - 12/23/2014:  07:45:37

maybee...GPS is trying to even out the traffic flow..so that all roads get traveled.....probably not!! 

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/23/2014:  20:05:33

Dave & Nels,

 !

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/23/2014:  20:15:59

INTERESTING BANJO

A fella brought this Bacon & Day Silverbell #6 Ne Plus Ultra into the shop today.

It needs a bit of work. Still he said that he might want to sell it.

This one is ebony inlayed with ivory, beautifully engraved, a bit rough around the edges but still oh so beautiful.

More Soon!

Edited by - Dan Knowles on 12/23/2014 20:16:56

R. Blakeslee Gilpin - Posted - 12/23/2014:  20:42:29

Wow!

Bufo Bill - Posted - 12/24/2014:  06:50:49

Gosh, what a beautiful banjo. Happy Christmas Dan.
All the best from Bill. :D

casinojack - Posted - 12/24/2014:  09:12:20

MERRY CHRISTMAS Dan

May God bless you and your family.

You have blessed BHO with A Luthiers Life.

It has become a daily part of my life.

Jack

C Flat Fred - Posted - 12/24/2014:  09:52:57

Hi Dan,



As a long time lurker and a new member of the Hangout and beginning banjo builder (I am in Ken61's banjo building class) I just wanted to say that I have read through every post on this thread and find it enjoyable and inspiring.



I also found David Emery's cartoon to be hilarious. I am a beginning adult Violist (they were all viola jokes first!) and after I had been playing for a couple of months mentioned to John Kirk, a local and wonderful musician, that since taking up the viola I have been strangely drawn to the banjo. He looked at me for a moment and then said "if you also took up the accordion and bagpipes you would be musically unacceptable for any occasion!"

Merry Christmas to you.

Fred

Banjo Lefty - Posted - 12/24/2014:  11:46:32

Any idea what that fella might want to sell that tenor for?

rubicon - Posted - 12/24/2014:  12:14:50

Merry Christmas Dan , thank you for all the effort you put into this thread daily so we have something to look forward to each day happy holidays

Yanni - Posted - 12/24/2014:  12:17:10

Merry Christmas Dan, to you and your family :)

Ian

Tom Berghan - Posted - 12/24/2014:  13:14:14

Of all days, it seems especially appropriate on Christmas Eve to share this poem with the many readers of "A Luthier's Life."  

If anyone fits the description "Renaissance Man," it is Dan Knowles . . . luthier, painter, musician, actor, teacher, carpenter, engineer, composer, and poet.  Here is a beautiful poem recently written by Dan. (click in the image to enlarge for viewing)  Thank You Dan, Merry Christmas to the wealthiest man I know who is so rich with friends.  Tom

A Birthday Blessing, by Dan Knowles

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/24/2014:  13:22:58

Dan

Too you and all of your family, a very MERRY and HAPPY holiday season.

Health and happiness through out the coming year.  

GMB - Posted - 12/24/2014:  17:34:36

Dan,  Happy Christmas to you and yours.  Our thanks for taking us on this daily journey;  we look for this every day.  cheers, jerry

dbrooks - Posted - 12/24/2014:  18:54:53

Dan, allow me to join in the chorus to thank you for the gifts you have shared in this thread. And thanks to all who have contributed their insights as well. Merry Christmas to all. 

David

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/24/2014:  19:18:37

R. Blakslee, Bill & Lefty

Ya, I quite agree. I have no idea of his asking price. He is not at that point yet.

Bill, Jack, Fred, Rubicon, Ian, Dave, Gerard & David,

Thank you so much for your oh so kind Christmas wishes. May y'all have a wonderful Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Tom,

I don't really know what to say except that I am truly rich having friends like you. May you and Susan have an exceptional Christmas!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/24/2014:  20:04:51

CHRISTMAS EVE

T'was the night before Christmas

And all through the house

All the elves had left for the holiday

No one was about.

I in my apron,

Was deep in the shop

Fixing the band saw,

The blade it was shot.

This Santa he Looked

This Santa he thought,

What can I make

For those who I've not

Yet prepared

Nor purchased a gift,

For these who remain

Yet so important on my list.

A box for my grandaughter,

A box for my wife

And for my favorite father in law

I shall make a knife.

So drawing and sawing

The wood chips did fly

As the hands on the clock

measured the hours pass by

So grinding and sanding,

Scraping and spraying

Rubbing and polishing

Carving and gluing

In a long held twinkling

And flinging a brush

Dipped deep in shellac

All were finished in a rush

To the left for the granddaughter

​To the right for a sweet wife

While there in the front 

Lays the Farther in law's knife...

So if you are quiet on this blessed night

Perhaps you can hear ole' Dan in A Luthier's Life

As he speaks quietly by this monitor light

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

DEmery - Posted - 12/24/2014:  20:43:23

Hey Dan....Merry Christmas from the ole' town St. Augustine. Hope to see you in Paris this spring. David E. 

Kaelri - Posted - 12/24/2014:  20:55:27

Everyone here including company, gathered round the computer to enjoy your Christmas poem, Dan. We all loved it and our visitors now know about our friend the luthier!  And all enjoyed Tom Berghan's posting too.

kwl - Posted - 12/25/2014:  06:28:53

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Dan, and to all the folks who continue to visit this wonderful thread. May you all have a great 2015 as well.

Ken

Crusty - Posted - 12/25/2014:  06:37:39

Sittin' here strummin' on my Christmas present, readin' the overnight posts and sippin' on a cup of fresh roasted espresso I gotta say, "Life is good.  Merry Christmas Dan to you and yours and to all of BHO".

Gretsch Bobtail Steel

 

60spicker - Posted - 12/25/2014:  08:34:23

Merry Christmas to you, Dan. I am grateful and my life enriched for having "met" you this year, and I look forward to the advancement of our special project - and in getting my arms around you as a friend-in-the-flesh in 2015. God bless you and yours, Dan Knowles. Terry

guitarman8491 - Posted - 12/25/2014:  09:24:41

Dan wonderful..thank you for all of the time you devote to sharing your art form and craftsman ship. May you, your family and all of the BHO family have a Merry Christmas and a year that follows with good health and happiness!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/25/2014:  13:33:12

Ellen, Ken, Mike, Terry & Doug,

Thank you each for your kind wishes! Merry Christmas to you from all of us here!

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/28/2014:  07:46:46

AULD LANG SYNE

Yesterday it finally was shot!

Shot what you ask?

Answer

The video we had meant to make before Christmas. Fun part is since our original planned shooting it morphed into a full blown production.

This is what went down...

The  R. E. Lee Academy for the Arts (here in Paris) offered us the use of room 14  for the video shoot. This was the first time this room has been used since its recently completed remodeling. It's a great room with nice high (12') ceilings. Heart pine floors an plaster walls give a very lovely sonic life to the room.It is around 40'X40' and so there was plenty of space to work.

We called and asked a bunch of our friends to come join us for the shoot and so it turned out to be quite a merry party. Not quite like the Skillet Lickers though, with their bathtub full of corn liquor! Or the Grateful Dead with their baggies full of...

 My parterners in crime on this production was Anna and Jon Eaton (a BHO member ). Anna is a wonderful singer and I was thrilled to be able to sing on this with her. Jon besides being a very fine banjo player is a great guitarist and he sure did wonderful here.

My grandsons Keaton, Braden and Chandan along with Chance Hall (Chandan's girlfriend) were camera people and not only captured the video but got a lot of great still shots.

Here is Anna Eaton...

And Jon...

Did I tell you that my friend Ed Smith came by with his Great Highland Pipes (he dressed up too!). There next to him is Jim Jackson, my good friend and great author of some very scary novels. Jim writes under the name Aiden James. Check him out on Amazon amazon.com/Aiden-James/e/B004U...r=1-2-ent

Here I am writing out some BIG lyrics as Braden & Keaton watch...

​Bubba Danny Conger "Playing into the can!"

And yes we had a great choir of singers with us. You gotta have a choir if you want a big finish for this tune. And what a great job they did!

Here we all are (sans me and the other camera people). From Left to Right: Sam Knowles, Danny Conger, Fiona Jackson, Keaton Jayne, Ed Smith, Anna Eaton, Hanna Smith, Jim Jackson, Regina Lindsey, & Jon Eaton.

guitarman8491 - Posted - 12/28/2014:  08:52:24

Only one word to describe it..Awesome! Many smiling faces and I am sure a lot of great music...cheers!!

60spicker - Posted - 12/28/2014:  09:44:57

So, um, where's the music? Anticipointment. :-P

Yanni - Posted - 12/28/2014:  10:45:13

^^ What he said!

Ian

Nels - Posted - 12/28/2014:  14:50:19

the band is tuning up! lights are down...and roll-em....action........lights roll up ....annnd....

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/28/2014:  16:18:54

Music, music, music! 

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/29/2014:  10:39:56

Ok, I'll go ahead and post the audio for the soon to be released video of Auld Lang Syne... but only if you'll promise to check out the video when it is released later today or tomorrow.

Here is a photo that Anna Eaton took and posted to Facebook yesterday...

Have you promised yet?

Good, here it is!

banjohangout.org/myhangout/med...archived=

Edited by - Dan Knowles on 12/29/2014 10:41:33

Brooklynbanjoboy - Posted - 12/29/2014:  12:42:56

Magnificent singing.  Thanks for sharing.  Have a great New Year Dan.

V/R,

Lew

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/29/2014:  12:52:17

Dan

Very good.  Lovely singing.  Very soulful.    Strong feelings

Nels - Posted - 12/29/2014:  12:56:04

Excellent! Thank you for sharing.  

60spicker - Posted - 12/29/2014:  13:30:52

This is really nice, Dan, and we're blessed to have a thread that covers all aspects of a luthier's life, up to and including the music itself! You know, that might actually make a good title for a discussion thread on some obscure banjo website somewhere. Think about it. 

Loved the mournful pipes fading to black...

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/29/2014:  16:40:07

Lew, Dave, Nels & Terry,

Thanks so much. I'm glad you liked it. Perhaps you'll like it even better as a video. Remember you promised to look at the video too .

I just received a call from Jon. He says that the video is just about ready to upload.

I'll be back soon with a link to the video.

jeaton12 - Posted - 12/29/2014:  18:31:40

Uploading to the old Youtube now. I hope you guys dig it. :)

cbrianroll - Posted - 12/29/2014:  18:52:34

That was great.Dan, thank you! Also thanks for.the luthier life, it's been a great topic to follow!!

dcraft - Posted - 12/29/2014:  18:54:01

Genuine, down home beautiful music. Very pretty work, thanks for sharing.

Dan Knowles - Posted - 12/30/2014:  05:00:02

AULD LANG SYNE IS UP AND RUNNING!

EARLY HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US!

youtube.com/watch?v=UWJOeyVn2v0

Yanni - Posted - 12/30/2014:  12:58:49

There are great recordings and videos and there are great recordings and videos thta have soul.  This is most definitely the latter.  Absolutely wonderful and well done to all the performers and those that captured the moment!  A very happy and peaceful new year to you all :)

Ian

Dave1climber - Posted - 12/30/2014:  17:57:52

Dan

Thanks for doing the video, very well done.  Thinking of playing it at midnight December 31.    

DEmery - Posted - 12/30/2014:  18:20:53

Well that was fun....wasn't it? Happy New Years Dan. David E. (212,818 Views)