Fretboard Journal Blog

Posts filed under 'Banjo'

Happy 103rd Birthday, Huey Long

Guitarist Huey Long is planning to celebrate his 103rd birthday by performing a concert, just like he celebrated his 102nd birthday last year. That makes banjo picker Wade Mainer, who just turned 100, seem like a young whippersnapper. -MJS

Add comment April 24th, 2007

Update for Issue 4: Danny Barnes (again)

Danny Barnes, who interviewed Bill Frisell in issue 4, will be teaching at the Midwest Banjo Camp this June. The lineup of other teachers is pretty amazing and includes, among others, bluegrass pickers Alan Munde and Bill Evans, old-time players Mike Seeger and Ken Perlman and classical banjo player Clark Buehling. The schedule is still being updated, so you should keep checking in at the camp site to see who’s been added to the roster.-MJS

2 comments March 5th, 2007

How Many Banjos are too Many Banjos?

Dodge’s Sundodgers perform on, from the left, a bass banjo, a banjo-mandolin, a banjo-uke, a tenor banjo and a guitar banjo. And no, five banjos are not too many banjos.-MJS

Add comment February 26th, 2007

Living La Vida Banjo

Here’s an excellent article from Forbes about Jim Bollman, the banjo collector and co-author of America’s Instrument, which is a wonderful book about the history of the banjo in the 19th century.-MJS

Add comment February 21st, 2007

Banjo in Popular Culture Update

I have no idea what this book is about, but the cover sure is striking. If you want to learm more about it, you can buy a copy for a penny at Amazon.-MJS

Add comment February 21st, 2007

Charlie Poole Honored

Charlie Poole’s 1925 recording of “Don’t let Your Deal Go Down” has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He joins other legends like Django Reinhardt, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Bob Wills and the Beatles. -MJS

Add comment February 20th, 2007

What the Heck is the Thing Eddie Peabody is Playing in this Video?

My guess is that it’s a custom Vega Tenor Lute with a plectrum neck set up with six strings in which two of the pairs are tuned in courses and played as a four string. (Peabody had Rickenbacker make him an electric version in the 1960s which he dubbed the Banjoline.) Anyway, if anyone out there has better info, I’d love to know about it. Also, there are a couple of other interesting things to note in the video. One, there is a Gibson Style U Harp Guitar that doesn’t get played. Two, back in those days, ladies seemed to really, really like plectrum banjo players.-MJS UPDATE: Barney notes in the comments that the complete Eddie Peabody clip, with the missing harp guitar footage intact, was on YouTube all the time but the guy who posted it misspelled Eddie’s name, which is why I didn’t find it. Anyway, here’s the link to it. Thanks, Barney!

3 comments December 22nd, 2006

‘Tis the Season…

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the musician in your life, you might consider getting them a guitar that used to belong to Jimi Hendrix, a guitar that used to belong to George Harrison, a banjo that belongs to Wade Mainer, a guitar that belonged to Lefty Frizzell, a mandola that belonged to Dave Appolon or a mando-bass that beloned to Tut Taylor.-MJS

Add comment November 22nd, 2006

Update for Issue 4: Danny Barnes

In our 4th issue, banjo picker Danny Barnes conducted a great interview with Bill Frisell. Well, imagine my surprise when I checked out his webpage and found out that not only is Barnes a fan of John Hartford, who graces the cover, but that Barnes used the banjo Hartford is holding on the cover to record a tune called “Waterways Journal.” Perhaps Barnes should work out an arrangement of “It’s a Small World.”-MJS

Add comment November 19th, 2006

“I thought he would banjo me”

I have no idea what “I thought he would banjo me” means, but apparently it can happen in a soccer game in Scotland and it’s not nice.-MJS

Add comment November 9th, 2006

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