NickP - Posted - 04/13/2007:  10:29:37

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Just got one made by Jeff Menzies which I won't get my hands on till May. Does anyone have any tips / pointers / recommended recordings or books to suggest?

Thanks

Nick

RCCOOK - Posted - 04/13/2007:  10:47:12

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Just hang around here. You will have plenty of material, just on this site. Jeff is a good fellow and I have sent him some Tabs and things. I am sure it will sound great. The others may have more info on the gourd banjo, I am afraid I don't own one(Jeff and I have been talking though) and really cannot comment on tunes that are appropriate, but I am guessing most Old Time tunes will be acceptable.........Rod

Even the blind squirrel finds an occasional nut, I found a banjo!!!

bassman - Posted - 04/13/2007:  11:12:57

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Good work, Nick. I sure do love my Menzies gourd and you couldn't have picked a better guy to work with than Jeff.
Yeah, you can play just about anything on a gourd. I found myself getting into more stroke-style when I got mine, but oldtime sounds great on them, too.
For recordings, I'd recommend checking out Chris Wig/Whitt Mead recording Lost Indian: Fiddling on the Old Frontier. Whitt plays one of Jeff's gourdies on most of that recording. Songs from the Mountain also has good dose of gourd banjo played by John Herrmann and it's a fantastic cd to boot. Two Mules from Adam Tanner and Frank Lee also has quite a bit of gourd on it.
Good luck with the wait!

Chris
http://www.nowhereradio.com/ptasnik/discography

haiku - Posted - 04/13/2007:  11:23:33

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There's a bunch of nice gourd banjo tunes on David Hyatt site:
http://www.dhyatt.com/music.html

(the whole site is great, with everything one wants to know about gour banjos!)

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http://www.myspace.com/hobohaiku

jbalch - Posted - 04/13/2007:  11:37:32

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I bet you'll really like the gourd from Jeff Menzies. I've got a couple of his instruments. They are both top-notch.



http://www.johnbalchmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/johnbalch

vrteach - Posted - 04/13/2007:  11:48:54

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Yup, you'll have fun. I don't have one (yet) but I know that they are particularly fun to play for people who have not seen them. They are amazed at the sound coming from such a rustic-looking object.

As others have said, you can play whatever you want on the gourd and there are not any special differences in playing compared with any other fretless banjo. I don't think there are any books on the playing. Many gourd players prefer lower tunings than modern pitch, but you don't have to. You don't hear much bluegrass played on gourds.

Michael J Miles has some nice tunes played on a gourd on his Magic Banjo CD. That is available on emusic also, if you are a subscriber.


Erich
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http://vrteach.freepgs.com/banjo/

banjogud - Posted - 04/13/2007:  16:51:29

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Gourd banjos can be tuned and played like early minstrel banjos,...they would have a similar deep and tubby sound. You can hear somples of tunes that were played back in the mid 1800`s by visiting banjosnappers website,..the "banjo clubhouse" :

http://www.milfordmusic.com/Banjo%20Audio.htm


Life is like a banjo,..ya never know whatcha gonna get.

maryzcox - Posted - 04/13/2007:  17:19:55

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Hello,
Just put up an MP3 of "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" from our "Banjo Dreamin' Suwannee Nights" CD.
It is a banjo duet on a custom Deering White Shell Laydie and a Jeff Menzies gourd banjo. :)
Go to my homepage here on BHO and click on the music to hear it.
Best wishes,
Mary Z. Cox


www.maryzcox.com

If you suspect you need a new banjo--you do. Trust your musical instincts. If a banjo calls to you to buy it, don't fight destiny. It was meant to be. :)

jeffsbanjer - Posted - 04/13/2007:  18:36:26

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Howdy Nick.. Your banjo is a jem.. I will be sad to see it leave.. its a great player. I was just playing Clinch Mountain Backstep on it three finger style.. anything is possibe:)

I have a customer that just received a 14.5" tackhead of mine in oak.. he tunes it right up to open D and loves it there..

These banjos are what you make of them.

I am just about to get busy here with my new minstrel hardware banjos.

Jeff Menzies

www.jeffreymenzies.com

NickP - Posted - 04/14/2007:  08:13:40

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Thanks Jeff of course and everyone else. Good to see such passion.

I've keep hunting around for stuff here in London.

In the meantime, counting the days till I get the banjo.

Cheers all

Brian G - Posted - 04/14/2007:  16:14:30

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One thing I've wondered about, over here in the uk, as these gourd banjo's are quite sturdy, just what gourd seed is used, that would be hard enough to make a banjo, over here the only large gourd is a pumkin, they make an odd pie!!! (some folk like it) ugh!

brian g

u k sandra - Posted - 04/14/2007:  17:12:06

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Brian, Why didn`t you ask last time you were visiting?. I grew a few last year and I`ve been drying them out. They arn`t really big enough but if you want to take a couple to make a mini banjo, you are more that welcome. I`ll fetch a few up next time we come.

s donnelly

banjogud - Posted - 04/16/2007:  08:28:36

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quote:

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Originally posted by Brian G

One thing I've wondered about, over here in the uk, as these gourd banjo's are quite sturdy, just what gourd seed is used, that would be hard enough to make a banjo, over here the only large gourd is a pumkin, they make an odd pie!!! (some folk like it) ugh!

brian g

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When I decided to make some gourd banjos I did some research on the internet and saw several referenceds to "Wellburn Farms". They are located in California, and produce some quite excellent gourds for banjo making. I use the "canteen gourd" variety, as they are nice and round, and come in the large sizes that are needed. The gourds you need to use are of a hardshell variety,...(pumpkin just won`t do,..except for eating ) Of course, growing conditions,..climate, sunlight are very important,..so even if you got the proper seed, you might not have luck growing them. I cast off the scraped out guts of my banjo gourds onto my compost pile, and the following year got some pretty strange vines up to 30 feet long eminating from that pile,...I got flowers and a few small fruit, but they didn`t grow beyond about 2" across (looked like small figs).....this despite record rainfall in this region of the Adirondacks. Mebbe if we had warm growing weather into January we could`ve got some proper gourds,...but that ain`t gonna happen in this part of the country!

Life is like a banjo,..ya never know whatcha gonna get.

MrSrubas - Posted - 04/16/2007:  09:05:54

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quote:

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... saw several references to "Wellburn Farms".

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That's where I got mine. I used A bottle gourd. It was a fun little project.
Nothing like what Jeff is making though. Menzies' Banjos are world class.

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Edited by - MrSrubas on 04/16/2007 09:36:17

Kevan - Posted - 04/16/2007:  09:41:48

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Frank Lee plays gourd at http://greatsmokymountains.tv/lee.htm

He'll be pretty good if he keeps practicing.



Kevan
"Don't sheetrock a patio, don't sheetrock a patio"