Friday, July 5, 2013
Hello Banjoists !
I'd like to take a moment to tell you about a dream come true! I believe we all have that "dream banjo" floating around in our minds; the one that would feel just right, sound like an Earl Scruggs cloned Granada, and have the design of what really describes you as a musician, or what may represent you as a person, or what is really important to you.
For me, I have had that dream come true. About a year ago I saw the Arizona banjo on a Youtube clip, I was fascinated by the neck inlay. It was not symmetric like most inlays, is was off center and I could not figure out the design. Upon further insight, I realized the neck portrayed an entire scene of the Roadrunner being chased by the infamous Coyote. I did more research and found the artist that made this work of art, a luthier in Mesa, Arizona, Mark Hickler, and that this banjo was on display at the Musical Instrument Museum ("MIM") in Arizona. So we took a road trip from our home in Mesquite,NV to visit the MIM in Scottsdale, which is a world class museum. It is a must for any music fan. As we toured the museum, we finally came into the American area, and the display celebrating the State of Arizona's Centennial, and there it was: the Roadrunner Banjo featured in a separate display case and a video presentation about it and it's builder, Mark Hickler. To to try to describe the banjo would be fruitless. You have to see it to appreciate the work and design. And one very fortunate player has the only other, rather the original Roadrunner banjo. Think about that , to have a custom made work of art, the only other, being in the permanent collection of the MIM. So now I had to meet the luthier who made this banjo.
I traveled to Mesa to meet Mark and see his shop. What a great guy! We sat down and talked of banjos, themes, ideas and concepts .I left with his agreement to look at a rough drawing, and make suggestions on a possible banjo build. About a month later the idea of the "Little Kate Mine Banjo" was born, a tribute to my Grandfathers, both coal miners in the Appalachia area of Southern Ohio. Mark took the rough drawing from me,(and I mean " rough"- there is no artistry in me), and came up with a depiction of Ohio coal mining in the 1910 era which was perfect. Slowly the project began to take shape. First the resonator was done with the Byesville name, in MOP inlay, and an outline of the State of Ohio set into Cucumber wood- which came from the exact area of the original Little Kate mine. The State of Ohio was made from bituminous coal, mined from the same area. The neck was shaped from Hickory; the wood used for bracing and timbering in the old mines. with the neck shaped, MOP ordered, and the build was on it's way. Prucha parts were used on this build, my heritage is Slovak, so Prucha was the only logical selection, and are we glad we made this choice, the parts are fabulous. The pre- war style ring was fitted flawlessly by Mark, to the old growth wood rim. And slowly it was taking shape... Mark would send progress photos and the excitement grew weekly. Finally the date was set to pick up the banjo. To try to put into words what that day was like is fruitless, but I would put it up there with the day I met my wife, my kids were born, and I retired. What a work of art. The neck inlays are perfect, the sound is second to none, and most of all now I have my dream banjo, with the reflections and influences of a quiet artist in Mesa, Arizona by the name of Mark Hickler. If you have a dream like I did, and you want a great banjo, and if you're lucky enough to get on Mark's list for builds, go for it, you won't be disappointed.
I am grateful to Mark and those who made my dream come true.
Watch for photos of the Little Kate Mine Banjo
I'm at yardmastermodels@aol.com
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