Minstrel Banjo

For enthusiasts of early banjo

I've been slowly amazing a few looks. It's comic con here on San Diego so I will be playing around the gaslamp district :)

Views: 171

Comment by Chris Prieto on July 22, 2016 at 10:46pm
I made four dollars and twenty six cents!!!
Comment by Sonny Bryan on July 23, 2016 at 8:30am

Looks good Chris! Period glasses would top it off!

Comment by Paul Draper on July 23, 2016 at 8:47am
Tens of dollars to be made in this business!
Comment by Chris Prieto on July 23, 2016 at 10:36am
Yeah still missing a legit watch chain too. I actually also have a pair from like 1850 or something but my real glasses are very thick and would never work on the smaller glasses of way back when. I think am gonna get contacts that way I don't have to mess with the lil glasses at all. Was also looking at frames from historical eyewear which look like old glasses but are of modern proportions.

It was a fun endeavor tho. Wasn't cheap and took forever. I got lots of input from David Swarens on men's fashion of the period. I got legit antique glasses, watch and pipe. I obsessed for a few months over it.

Never played for a giant mob of people or even in public like that before. While it was just a few bucks there's something really magical about the whole thing. I am a very socially awkward quiet guy but with the outfit on its eye contact and a goofy grin for all. It seems folks just wanna gawk at something. I found the more exaggerated movements and more ridiculous I behaved the more they hung around haha a few folks were also rude pricks. Some guy began thrusting his hips at me and I stopped playing till he went away.

Won't be quitting my gig as a web developer but will be playing around the gaslamp more since I work there. I actually work in the old city hall building so it's rife with history from the late 1800's
Comment by Andy Chase on July 23, 2016 at 11:30am

Nicely done! It's super-empowering the first time you play in public and realize that nobody's going to throw vegetables at you!

RE: glasses, these certainly aren't historical reproductions but they're on the old-fashioned, "good enough for many occasions" spectrum and the price can't be beat: http://www.zennioptical.com/450014-metal-alloy-full-rim-frame-with-...

Comment by Chris Prieto on July 23, 2016 at 11:48am
Oh wow, thanks. My wife has many frames from that site. I never thought to go that route and will deff give that a go till I figure out what I'm gonna do.
Comment by Andy Chase on July 23, 2016 at 1:16pm

Glad it's helpful!  I'm always proselytizing for cheap online glasses.  Storebought frames are such a crooked racket: http://www.forbes.com/sites/anaswanson/2014/09/10/meet-the-four-eye...

The only catch buying online is that you need your pupillary distance along with your prescription, and some eye doctors have gotten grouchy about giving that out.   But most of the online places like Zenni have a guide for figuring it out on your own if necessary.

Comment by Paul Draper on July 23, 2016 at 4:07pm
Since I don't have period specs (yet) I usually take mine off in a "concert" situation. The negative side to this is I can't see a thing; the positive side to this is I can't see a thing...
Comment by Paul Draper on July 23, 2016 at 6:02pm
Fortunately I can still see my left hand
Comment by Strumelia on July 23, 2016 at 6:37pm

Brian and I have a little gig to play for our small village's first farmer's market next friday onthe village green.  There'sa gazebo where we'll be playing (not plugged in).  Anyway, we went there this afternoon when no one much was around and sat and played there to test the acoustics and the heat/sun situation etc.   We played pretty much all alone there for an hour or so, and then this young man with wild hair came by.  He looked pretty burnt out, his hands were shaking, and he had trouble putting sentences together.  He made us uneasy, cause we weren't sure what he was going to do next.  But then he asked if we had a tip jar (which we didn't).  He laboriously went through his pocket and gave us each two nickels and then wandered away.  !    So, Paul, it's more like "there's tens of cents to be made in this business!"   lol

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