Monday, December 30, 2019
I know that it has been a very long time since I have made a post on here, and I'm sorry for that....the last time I felt I needed to post was when Pete Seeger died nearly six years ago(and it seems like yesterday), but I didn't, as I was too upset to sit down and type about the loss of an Icon I knew closely... To recap on that, I got a call at 5:45 in the morning as I was getting dressed for work from Jack D, telling me that Pete had died earlier in the morning, we were both distraught...on my way to work, I called Greg J. in KY, to inform of the bad news(he is the second biggest Pete Seeger fan in the world, after the director of the Cininatti Zoo!) We talked for a bit about the great loss we have just suffered, and were both grateful for the length of time we had with him on this earth. Then I drove to work...My full time job is as a welding teacher in a vocational high school in NJ.(I worked at that job for close to 30 years before I started teaching). My trade, and my students, are not soft, but that day they saw a soft side of me that they never thought that they would see(and I hope that they will never see again), but they did see it, and I guess I am not sorry, based on the reason...
We came to the wake, and later in the evening, to avoid the expected crowd(which happened/occurred), and when walking in, we see Tony Trischka talking to a small group of people(I have never met him before, and didn't meet him then, but, I realized, boy, he is TALL!!-Really, he is taller than most of us!!!) He looked like a good guy. (I'm sure he is!) A while later, I saw someone who I thought was Peggy Seeger, and, as it turned out, was! I gave her my sincere condolences, and we chatted for about ten minutes after that, reminiscing about Pete, and her late husband Ewan MaColl...(both Great Men)
and time goes on....
The reason I am posting today is that last week, the Holy Grail of Bacon Tenor Banjo's has come into my life. It is not nearly as significant as losing Pete, seeing Tony T. in person, or meeting Peggy, but, it is significant to me...
I first saw an eight string tenor banjo at Robbie's Music City in Wayne NJ, in 1982. I never saw another until I spied a Bacon FF Professional on ebay in 2004, and it was an 8 string Tenor. I was outbid...I was really annoyed...but, 15 years later, I came upon one on Reverb.com, God Bless them(or, whoever wants to bless them!) They had it shown in parts, as a banjo-mandolin. It wasn't, it was an 8 string tenor banjo. 17 frets, 21 inch scale length. Grand Concert. Meaning it was prior to the Groton Ct. factory, either Vega or Lange made. Doesn't matter, it is a good piece of musical wood! And, I am now the Proud owner/player of this beautiful and beautiful sounding instrument!!!
Happy New Year to One and All!!!!
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