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The Curse of the gray haired banjo picker.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

You get to a certain age and people look at you oddly when you say you play an instrument. And sometimes they back-away when you pick one up. As if it was somehow distasteful for an adult "who should know better" to waste his time or worse, their time, playing an instrument. (INSERT VERSIONS OF "Gawd, if he wants music just buy an ipod.")

I can see the words like the news crawl in Times Square on their farheads, "Get past it old man, the 60's are over."

Up their collective theirs! Who are these cableaddicts to judge someone who does, rather then simply pays and watches.

I play banjo a lot. And a bunch of other instruments. I make them. I teach them. And I've long ago figured out why: I like it. Am I yearning for the old days when I had darker hair, more of it and my hearing was better. Sure, to some degree. And so are you.

Except now, I play as well or better than I ever did. And have no ego problems with it. Their are lots of young pickers who I enjoy jamming with and listening to. The smart ones don't turn smug on me. The rest of them will walk in my shoes. If their feet are big enough. And probably fall on their faces. I may not be there to see it. But it will happen. Then I'll be smug.

Look for me at the hoot. I'll be the tall guy with the Vega LN. Easy to recognize me... I have gray hair.

Contact here or at philj200@hotmail.com

4 comments

Howdy!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 2 comments

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Playing Since: 1960
Experience Level: Expert/Professional

Interests:
[Teaching] [Jamming] [Socializing] [Helping]

Occupation: Retired Artist, writer. musician, teacher.

Gender: Male
Age: 81

My Instruments:
Vega LN -- Vega/Goldtone LN AK A "Frankenbanjo" -- Regal tenor -- 1920 Gibson open pot/1960 Vega FS-1 5-string neck, Gibson pot/Goldtone neck 5-string, for the moment Gibson Mastertone tenor. homemade banjolin.
-- Vega Whyte Lydie tenor neck/cookie tin AKA "Banjoreo" --
Scooped Goldtone cloud neck on an Aida head w/resonator -- dulcijo ( a banjo conversion(
....plus nine guitars, two mandolins, autoharp, three fiddles,short and full scale dulcimers, piano and a passel of mouth harps. Bouzouki.

Favorite Bands/Musicians:
Too many to mention. But mostly Doc Watson, who shared a birthday with me.

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Profile Info:
Visible to: Public
Created 6/13/2006
Last Visit 8/30/2022

Banjo and guitar picker for decades. Just built a cookie tin banjo (November 2006). I call it a Banjoreo, It plays pretty good. Added a homemade banjolin in 2012. Added a bandolin from random parts in 2013. I'm active at local open mikes, jams, a rather large contra-dance orchestra and occasionally work as a sideman. Looking for jamming friends in Long Island, NY. Experienced teacher of fretted instruments and American traditional music.

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