Sail Away Ladies is an Old Time string band tune related to another Old Time tune, Sally Ann. There are recordings of the tune dating back to the mid-1920s. Here is the Last Chance Stringband… Here’s Sally Ann so you can hear the relationship.. Here’s… Read More
I’m down to the fine work on the neck I’m building for the new oil can banjo. Once the shaping is just right and the sanding is done, the next step is to make and glue in the nut (I’m using a piece of ebony)… Read More
I’ve been flying solo this last week, as Tuffy P and her friend Suzanne have been in Baltimore and Washington having an adventure. Me and the dogs and cats have done OK on our own, but I miss Tuffy P and I’m glad she’ll be… Read More
The person who sold me the red can on ebay was kind enough to include some machine oil still in the can. Generous yes, but the thing is you need a dry oil-free can for a canjo. I found some of this interesting product at… Read More
I’m learning to play a tune on the oil can banjo called Julie Anne Johnson (various spellings for this one). One day I’ll put up an oil can version, but for now let’s enjoy some performances by far better players. Here’s Tony Spadaro AKA Old… Read More
While most of the western world watched a football game, my friend A and I trundled down to Hugh’s Room for a boys night out – The Banjo Special show, featuring Arnie Naiman, Chris Quinn, Chris Coole and Brian Taheny. The show featured a variety… Read More
There are apparently a number of Miss Liza Jane songs. I came across a tab for this one among the tabs in Tony Spadaro’s Tabonanza and I’ve been working on it on the oil can along with some other songs tabbed out in that group… Read More
I’ve found a couple more oil cans I like on ebay, so I guess I’m going to have to make a couple more banjos. It’s going to cost me more to ship these things to me than to pay for the cans themselves, but c’est… Read More
I thought everyone would be going to Hugh’s Room for the 13th Annual Banjo Special.
I’ve had some requests to post a video here of me playing the oil can banjo. This is a bit of a problem for me. The first problem is that I’m a duffer. I’ve only been hammering away at this machine for a month. The… Read More
27th Street 