mandobanjolibrarian - Posted - 02/20/2023:  16:52:14

quote:

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Originally posted by OldPappy

Found a picture of the 2010 Banjo Camp Adam mentioned.



I am the big ugly guy on the bottom row far left, Adam is the fine looking young man top row second from left.



Funny story about this. The picture was taken right before Dwight took us all up on the mountain top for a tour. On the bottom row to my left is a young man named Corbin, and his father next to him. When we were up there on the top of the mountain, and had walked out to the overlook, there were a bunch of rocks which had been torn up from the ground and the dirt all dug up and scattered. Corbin's father said indignantly "Now who would have done something like this!". He thought it was vandals, me and Dwight looked up and said at the same time "Bear", and that man nearly panicked asking "Where's Corbin?". Corbin had went to the rest room, and was not bothered by a bear.

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I like that some folks hold banjos, some folks hold nothing, one guy holds his dog, and one guy holds -- a log.

OldPappy - Posted - 02/20/2023:  17:15:15

The guy holding the dog is Caleb Diller, the dog's name was "Peg". The guy holding the firewood is a Presbyterian Minister, but I can't remember his name. I reckon he was getting ready to light the fire of redemption amongst us. Just kidding, redemption was Dwight's goal. The minister was a very nice guy. The guy upper row to the left was from Canada, and his name was John Kennedy I think.



We had a lot of fun that day. I drove the Ford Explorer in the picture with every seat filled. I think Caleb drove another car with the rest of the crew. As we started up the mountain Dwight asked everyone to be quiet so we could soak in the feeling of the place. At one point of the drive we were listening to his Harvest album, and he kept requesting me to play track 28 over and over. The tour included a trip up to the top of the mountain, visits to the graves of Maggie, Burl, Sherman, and Lee. Then we went over to the grave yard where Edn Hammons was buried. Edn's grave is underneath a huge oak, which is where I got the idea for the sketch I posted above. I saw Dwight start to pile acorns on the head stone so I joined in with that. I have had that picture for a long time. (They spelled his name on the tombstone differently than how he spelled it).

Edited by - OldPappy on 02/20/2023 17:29:31

Shaking Down The Acorns

 

CEParagon124 - Posted - 02/24/2023:  18:46:18

I never met Dwight and I quite honestly don't remember how I got onto his music and his CD's and DVD's, but I bought several, including Just Rhythm and Just Banjo.

I learned about his banjo camps and contacted him by e-mail re' that and quickly learned I would never be able to afford that.

That was well before I discovered the BHO.

He understood, but being Dwight, he responded to every question I ever asked via e-mail.

If I went weeks or a couple of months without making contact, he would e-mail me to see what I was up to, banjo wise.

We both owned a Clifford Essex Paragon five string, so he knew what I was playing and he tailored his suggestions accordingly.

We had not communicated since he had the stroke. I left him alone.

I think I'm going to fire up Just Rhythm and make sure I haven't drifted off the course upon which he set me all those years ago.

This is a great loss.

I was not aware of the PDF booklet. I will have to download it.

beornls - Posted - 02/24/2023:  19:01:26

Rest in peace Dwight. You were an inspiration to me years ago and still are. I’ll have to watch “The Fifth String” this weekend in honor.

StringsAttached - Posted - 02/24/2023:  19:32:09

Unfortunately (for me) this is the first time that I've been exposed to Dwight and his playing.  His style is so relaxed and flowing, but with impeccable rhythm. Makes me want to grab my banjo. RIP Dwight, see you later on...

LINK

frailin - Posted - 02/24/2023:  20:12:39

I met Dwight in 2002, outside a log cabin in Michigan. He was standing on a small gravel parking lot next to a couple other students that had driven to Lansing to take his weekend workshop. Folks were milling around him, excitedly chattering away.

Dwight was staring off in the distance, like he was deep in thought... or bored. I walked up and stood next to him. His gaze didn't change, just kept staring into the distance. I spoke... told him I was there because I'd listened to his "Just Banjo '99" CD. I told him that out of 10 possible instructors, who's CDs I'd also listened to, I chose him because of two tunes: Arkansas Traveler and Turkey in the Straw. I was all prepared to talk to him about his style, pacing, clarity and energy. I'd never heard anyone play that way. In my mind, no one even came close. That's why I wanted him to teach me how to play the banjo. I wanted to tell him I was excited to learn from him. No response. I let the silence hang. Frankly, didn't have any idea what to say or do next.

Still staring, Dwight spoke:



"How old 'er yew?"

"Fifty" I answered.

"Good" he said. "Yer startin' to sense yer own mortality."



?? I let the silence hang. He walked off. Never looked my way.



There was more. A lot more over the years. Dunno why I bonded with him so quickly. Especially considering the cold open. I did sense his despondence. It wasn't personal, what he did or said. It was where he was. He taught from his fidelity. Dwight loved deeply; God, WVA, tradition...the old ways. He showed his love the best way he could... the way the old people loved on him when he most needed it. Without suspicion or question, I found Dwight would embraced you. He didn't have to like you, but he gave you all he had.



Funny how in an instant I seemed to know all that. But I did. And that love for me never changed. To this day Dwight remains one of the best human beings I've ever met.

Peace to you, my teacher and mentor. Thanks for showing me how to spread the joy you so needed in your life.

vimeo.com/frailinflix/dwightdiller

Edited by - frailin on 02/24/2023 20:15:29

OldPappy - Posted - 02/24/2023:  20:18:41

The responses to this thread are really helpful to me in coping with this. Thanks to all of you for the kind words about Dwight.

banjered - Posted - 02/25/2023:  05:28:10

Thanks Craig, brought tears to my eyes. banjered

frailin - Posted - 02/25/2023:  05:39:07

I once read where we love people for their idiosyncrasies. Dwight offered a lot to love. :)

I wish I could have met Catherine. She sure lit up his life.

mike gregory - Posted - 02/25/2023:  06:05:38

First Bluegrass album ever bought and brought to our home, by my mom.

And it was a fun moment, when I saw Doug's name in the credits for the POPEYE movie, as "CLEM, the Banjo Player"

bing.com/search?q=popeye+cast+...&lq=0

kgslick - Posted - 02/25/2023:  06:49:27

Dwight Diller will be missed. While I never met him, his playing was always a great inspiration. That right hand was something wonderful.

Edited by - kgslick on 02/25/2023 06:49:46

Musicalhossgal - Posted - 02/25/2023:  07:21:12

I was very sorry to hear this, what little clawhammer banjo I play I learned from his instructional DVDs and YouTube's. I have several of his CDs, some of which are out of production, I understand.?

OldPappy - Posted - 02/25/2023:  08:03:46

All of his CDs, and DVDs have been out of "production" for many years.

His Tab Book was still available as a free download from his website last I looked, and there are two Bandcamp sites where the majority of his albums are available for a very low price with proceeds from those sites going to good causes.

I don't know what will become of his website now that he is gone, and the Tab Book is a treasure trove of material beyond just the tablature it provides.

Strumelia - Posted - 02/25/2023:  09:55:18

If anyone has Dwight's instructional DVDs that they'd be willing to share with me, please let me know. I'd be happy to pay a reasonable price for your trouble, plus mailing cost.
I have most of Dwight's audio CDs, but I never ordered any of his instructional DVD courses. I think they might help me beyond just listening to his audio recordings. (Were there two? if so, what were their titles besides the "Just Rhythm" one?)
Thanks friends.
This loss is a particularly hard one to process.
And yes, thank you Craig for your wonderful post.

Bklyngeezer - Posted - 02/25/2023:  10:08:12

My first serious private lessons were with a teacher who was a serious Dwight Diller fan. I learned Dwight's version of Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine (or The Rockies) from my teacher and the video of Dwight playing. He was just an all around amazing player but I loved his right hand action. I was just staring out and had a very rigid claw hammer stroke. Watching Dwight with that beautiful loose (yet controlled) and bouncy right handed strike, helped me learn good technique.

R.I.P. Mr. Diller. We never met but you had a profound effect on my playing and I thank you.

jaxpads - Posted - 02/25/2023:  11:09:37

So sorry to hear about Dwight Diller's passing.

I first heard him play at Maryland Banjo Camp. When he played, "Gospel Plow", it just shook me. After his performance he came up to me and said, "You liked that one". Oh yes I did!

Other than a workshop there I didn't have further face-to-face contact with Dwight. Reading the back of one of his CDs, I saw that David Nemec lived near where I did at the time and I took some lessons with him at his house.

cindyg - Posted - 02/25/2023:  12:01:35

Years ago I stumbled on a video of Mr. D playing Kitchen Girl and was hooked on his great playing. It looked so simple but I found it impossible to reproduce. I was fortunate enough [thanks to a Banjo Hangout member...you know who you are :-) ] to have a couple of conversations with Mr. Diller on, of course, the essentials of banjo playing and other things in general. Small thing, but it mean't the world to me. Truly. Over the course of my banjo playing days I sometimes hit walls of frustration or boredom, and pack it in for a time. I always eventually come back to my banjo...starting with a Dwight Diller tune. Such a huge loss for the old time banjo community. Godspeed, Mr. D. xoxo

Edited by - cindyg on 02/25/2023 12:04:45

frailin - Posted - 03/01/2023:  18:13:54

Regarding Just Banjo ‘99…

Does anybody know where that Lo Gordon banjo with the Roman numerals at the fifth fret (on the CD cover) ended up?

OldPappy - Posted - 03/01/2023:  19:34:38

Long ago, and far away.

 

Brooklynbanjoboy - Posted - 03/02/2023:  02:55:32

DD's Cedar Mt banjo sold by Dwight in 2002.

 

Brooklynbanjoboy - Posted - 03/02/2023:  03:18:31

Andy posted a photo of Dwight playing banjo alongside Lee Triplett at a 1973 festival in West Virginia.



That banjo had an interesting origin story . . .



When Dwight started attending old time festivals in the summer of 1970, he was armed with a Gretsch. At his first festival, the 4th Annual Old Time Fiddlers and Bluegrass Convention in Hillsville, Virginia, in June 1970, he found himself in the midst of a population armed with much higher end banjos than he had ever seen. Before the festival at Hillsville came to an end, some friends managed to locate an "Improved George Washburn" for $110. It was a parts banjo, largely, but it played far better than Dwight's junker. A year later, Len Reiss built a neck for the Improved George Washburn. Odell McGuire from Lexington, Virginia, began referring to that banjo as "Snotty." Dwight recalled: "With that banjo, I could walk into a large bunch who were playing at a festival and totally take over."



Sometime in 1971, Lee Hammons' son James sold Dwight an 11.5 inch Lange tenor banjo dating from the 1920s that James had rescued from a dump in Long Island, New York. Dwight needed to have a five-string neck made to fit this tenor rim. In the fall of 1970, Carl Fleischhauer, who was working at the WWVU television station in Morgantown, West Virginia, took Dwight to Athens, Ohio, where Fleischhauer introduced Dwight to his friends Kix Stewart and Bill McDonald who had just started their banjo business, and to Dan Dagget, a skilled luthier, who was working for Stewart and McDonald at the time.



Sometime after meeting him, Dwight asked Dagget to build a neck to go with the Lange banjo rim. Dagget and Ron Chacey, who did the inlay work on the neck, took about two years to finish the job.



In 1973, Dwight received the neck built for the Lange banjo pot by Dan Dagget bearing Ron Chacey’s exceptional inlay and engraving work. Dwight recalled that Dagget put on a scalloped brass rim on top of the old tone ring, recreating the Fairbanks Electric set up.



That’s the banjo Dwight was armed with at the 1973 festival when he played alongside Lee Triplett. There’s a photo of that banjo's headstock inlay on the cover of my book on Dwight, alongside a blowup of the 1973 photo that zeros in on Dwight.  Dwight is playing that banjo in the photo of him sitting on the ground, hound by his side - photo is from the early 1980s, I believe.  



In 2014/2015, Dwight told me, several times – emphasizing the importance to him of this story – that in 1972 and 1973, John and Dave Morris, and Glen Smith, and Lee Triplett “would invite me on stage with him even when I usually did not know many [of the tunes] and often did not have a clue of any the melody notes. But they let me charge on.”



He added this:



“John and Dave Morris [. . .] were powerhouses. Incredible. [. . .] We were all in our late 20s. John and I are two weeks apart in age. We are still brothers. I am right sure that the main thing we had in common was a Central West Virginia ‘Way.’ The Hammons welcomed me in in 1969 and because of my background locally, I fit in as family so much they basically adopted me as grandson. But the Morris Brothers, Glen Smith, Lee Triplett fed coal to my boiler and turned the heat up. It's still there. I just have to try to do it at a far different pace [now, after] these many years.”

Edited by - Brooklynbanjoboy on 03/02/2023 03:23:56

frailin - Posted - 03/02/2023:  04:02:03

Great stories. Thanks, Lew!

And that Cedar Mountain in the pic you posted IS the banjo I learned on! Not only did its voice convince me to attend Dwight's camp for instruction, but when Dwight realized I'd brought a bluegrass banjo to the camp (the only one I owned) he firmly place the Gordon in my lap and said "Har, you play this. We don't play bluegrass banjos 'round here." I always wondered what happened to it. 

Edited by - frailin on 03/02/2023 04:07:15

Brooklynbanjoboy - Posted - 03/02/2023:  04:17:30

Thanks, Craig. I found my photo files from the book. The first pic, of DD and Triplett, is captioned this way:



Dwight Diller and Lee Triplett at a festival in Chloe, West Virginia, 8 September 1973. Performers seated in the background include Wilson Douglas (far left), Jenes Cottrell (with hat, between Diller and Triplett), Sylvia O'Brien (Cottrell's sister, just to the right of Triplett). (Photograph by Carl Fleischhauer).



I also found the photo of the inlay - by Ron Chacey - on the headstock of that banjo:

 

OldPappy - Posted - 03/02/2023:  06:16:03

A lot of banjos went through Dwight's hands. Some were sold, some were given away, and some were destroyed by his ceaseless tinkering.



Back around 2015 Dwight wanted me to build a banjo based on the Washburn Improved tone ring as was on the banjo called "Snotty".



I built a banjo for him with a 12" maple rim with the tone ring floated on top of 3/8" brass posts. It was the loudest banjo I ever built or played, and "Snotty" is an appropriate description of the tone it produced. 

Edited by - OldPappy on 03/02/2023 06:22:29

 

Brooklynbanjoboy - Posted - 03/02/2023:  08:20:24

Dwight really liked your banjos, Andy. He talked about them a good deal. They brought him back to some of the very first five-strings he played.

mandobanjolibrarian - Posted - 03/02/2023:  08:48:31

quote:

---

Originally posted by OldPappy

I built a banjo for him with a 12" maple rim with the tone ring floated on top of 3/8" brass posts. It was the loudest banjo I ever built or played, and "Snotty" is an appropriate description of the tone it produced. 

 

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The tone ring floated on the posts is a really interesting design that I haven't seen before.  I'd love to hear what that banjo sounds like if you can identify any recordings he made with it.

OldPappy - Posted - 03/02/2023:  13:25:59

I have upgraded several banjos which only had a brass hoop to start with by cutting the rim down about 1/4" and drilling the rim to accept brass posts with about 1/4" rising above the rim on which the hoop is suspended. This keeps the height of the head at the same place, and really improves the sound.



This Washburn experiment is the only one I have done with 3/8" suspension, which is about what a Washburn has. There are no recordings of that banjo, because it was destroyed before a recording could be made.



Here is a picture of a Washburn Improved:

 

Edited by - OldPappy on 03/02/2023 13:27:42

 

R.D. Lunceford - Posted - 03/02/2023:  15:45:54

I always admired that peghead inlay by Ron Chacey.

I have a little Langestile II tenor banjo with 11-7/16" dia x 5/8" thick rim with rolled steel(?) tonering.  17 fret neck.  Same peghead shape and inlay as on the banjo Dwight is pictured playing on pg. 142 of Lew's book.  I bought it from McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, CA  in the eatly-'80's.

OldPappy - Posted - 03/05/2023:  16:37:33

Just got home from a trip to Marlinton for Dwight's wake. There were a lot of people there. A group set up and played some tunes in the hall, then folks gathered in a circle to speak about Dwight. A lot of heartfelt stories were told, and John Morris stood in front of Dwight's coffin and sang an old hymn that was one of Dwight's favorites.  John's voice got shaky at one point, but he sang with power, loud and clear. It brought tears to my eyes thinking of how he too has lost a brother.



This man touched a lot of people, and made a lot of difference in many of our lives which went far beyond music. He was one of the few who truly believed that music was something which must come from the spirit to be real, and that is what he taught me.



If anyone has a story they would like to share here I would appreciate it.

Edited by - OldPappy on 03/05/2023 16:40:10

262robertd - Posted - 03/12/2023:  15:15:55

Back from the visitation in Marlinton for a week now. In the week after he died, some of the things he had said to me individually on my visits there, or things he said on "Just Rhythm", that I hadn't really fully understood, started floating through my mind but with new understanding. And in the last week, after two days of just a heaviness and fatigued feeling, I've started playing a lot better than ever. It's like he's still around, still teaching. More than just memories, something ongoing, hope it continues.

OldPappy - Posted - 03/15/2023:  18:43:19

Dwight influenced so many of us, in more ways that one.



I was up at Dwight's place a few years ago when another student of his, Darin Gentry, showed up, and that young man sure can play some music, on fiddle or banjo. Darin had just returned from mission work in Haiti, and he and Dwight played together a lot over that weekend. There are a number of youtube videos out there from that visit.



I always have loved Dwight's rendition of Cumberland Gap, I think Darin must have liked it too.



I just found this one, I do not know when it was recorded, but I really like it. I like to think that Dwight lives on through those of us he inspired and taught.

Take a listen to this.

youtube.com/watch?v=YIAJAZiTG4s