Not long after we moved in to the new headquarters we (by necessity) upgraded most of the drains servicing the house from clay to plastic – except one section of about 12 feet. That’s where tree roots have now broken through the old clay pipes,… Read More
Whenever we go for a long walk over in Sam Smith Park, one of us usually comments about how fortunate we are to live just a short walk away from such an amazing place. Yesterday was a beautiful day for a walk and we took… Read More
I know the Säkkijärven Polka as a Finnish accordion polka but I stumbled upon a banjo version performed by Cathy Moore. Kind of a best of both worlds situation. She has a number of really interesting videos up on YouTube. Highly recommended.
Merlefest is an Old Time music festival that takes place each year at the end of April at Wilkes College campus in Wilkesboro North Carolina. It was named for ace guitar picker Merle Watson who died in a tragic farm accident in 1985. The festival… Read More
This is me trying to play Boatin’ up Sandy on my oil can banjo. For Steve B’s benefit, the hat is an Algoma Central Railway engineer’s cap.
As I grew up I somehow or other absorbed the lyrics to many Stompin Tom tunes. I don’t know where I heard them. They never played his music on the radio. The songs were just always there. You just had to reach out and grab… Read More
All banjos were fretless once upon a time. Then everything went to hell. This is what I’m talkin’ about. I’ve been asked, hey how come you’re so interested in all this traditional old time music, banjo music, fiddle music, squeezebox music. Give these performers a… Read More
The dogs started barking, the kind of bark that says something’s going on out here. I looked out onto the deck and saw our cat Jacques, waiting for someone to come along and let him in. As I’m explaining to the dogs it’s a false… Read More
27th Street 