Neat looking tambourine. Wonder if it's as old as they claim? http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Antique-Tambourine-Brass-Banjo-hardware-All-original-Minstrel-Era-/181046686874?pt=Folk_Art&hash=item2a2739349a 

My buddies buddies Sheesham & Lotus and I were all playing at the Millrace Folk Festival in Cambridge, Ontario on the weekend. We agreed to bring funky banjos to the "Whimsical Songs" workshop and foisted Rumsey's Jig on several hundred members of the unsuspecting public - spendidly accompanied by bones and Sousaphone. It was pretty darned whimsical, and clearly one for our side!

Hey, Greg, Tim et al.

Is there a Harpers Ferry event being planned for anytime in the future?

I'm feeling definite withdrawl symptoms after missing the June weekend.

When do we get the live feed from the Pry Barn in Antietam?

Sure wish I was there!

Just got my paper copy of the Green Converse Book from Elderly - Huzzah. The PDFs were great, (Thanks again Tim and Rob) but there's nothing like a book of henscratches sitting on the table in front of you.  There's some crazy music in this book.

Yikes

Is everybody else seeing all the "Nellies"?

John,  is this something you (or anyone) can fix?

Everybody but me might have known this already, but the Green Frank Converse banjo tutor is available again at Elderly Instruments for 18 bucks. It's one of my favorites but I've only ever had it in PDF form. The line forms to the left.

I heard a great story on the weekend.

I got talking banjo at a gig with Lewis Melville, an old musical acquaintance of mine from Guelph, Ontario. He had recently sponsored a visit to Canada by a musician from Mali who plays one of the many banjo-like traditional instruments in use in Africa these days. (I forget which)

In any case it's one of the ones with a thumb string (or two) and is basically played in what we'd think of in a stroke style.

He took the guy around to…

This looks pretty good if it's as described.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Antique-JAS-A-Morrison-1882-NY-Serial-215-Proffessional-5-String-Banjo-NR-/320757702600?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aaea61fc8#ht_500wt_1156

Ian

Has anyone got this impressive looking tome yet?

The "Milliner Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes" here's a link to the book at Elderley. http://elderly.com/books/items/158-72.htm

Looks like a lot of good playing could be had out of it. I was a big fan of Walt Koken's when he was in the Highwoods Stringband (one of the great hippie stringbands of the 1970s). I'm dying to see what sort of crossovers there might be…

Hey Carl,

Has your part of the State been affected by all the tornado activity in the past week?

I was just put onto another fine service of the Library of Congress - "The National Jukebox" - http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/?loclr=jb_004 lots of banjo stuff from the usual suspects (Van Epps/Ossman)

I haven't really checked it out very thoroughly.  Unfortunately, being an ethical federal government agency they won't let you download - This of course is to ensure that Vess L. Ossman will continue to be able to buy shoes for his…

Yesterday I spent a little time in the "banjo room" at the Twelfth Fret music store in Toronto. I played a few nice banjos including a Menzies tackhead, but mostly steel string.

Listen, If you ever get a chance to play banjo in a small room with a couple of dozen other, mostly pretty high-end banjos hanging, perfectly-tuned on the wall around you....do it!  It was like a playing a giant surround sound instrument with epic sustain. The music of the spheres.  "Peanut Gal" took on…

A seven string - anyone got two extra fingers they don't know what to do with?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Rare-1850-J-Willis-Minstrel-Banjo-7-String-Banjo-/160567369321?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25628f9e69#ht_500wt_1156