Minstrel Banjo

For enthusiasts of early banjo

Greg Adams's Comments

Comment Wall (30 comments)

At 3:19pm on December 4, 2008, Carl Anderton said…
Santa Claus needs to bring you a nice video camera for Christmas this year. Then you could make youtube videos that we could all enjoy! (Assuming you've been good).
At 5:20pm on December 19, 2008, razyn said…
Just befriending the guys I know, from AEBG or the old forum --
At 1:26pm on December 20, 2008, Robert Winans said…
Thanks, Greg. I will try to add material to the site over time, maybe even a more up-to-date photo and a better picture of that banjo.
At 3:54pm on December 20, 2008, razyn said…
If the Add as Friend button worked, I'd add you. It's blue on my screen -- only the green buttons work. (Well, some of the red ones do.) I assume Bill Gates owns Ning, and makes life here hard for Mac users.
At 10:43pm on January 4, 2009, John Masciale said…
Greg, Thanks for posting those videos, I thoroughly enjoyed them. They are lessons in this art, and are worth studying.
At 5:18pm on January 22, 2009, George Wunderlich said…
I may be slow, but I am , ......well......slow!

I am in a meeting until 7, I saw I missed a call from you. The people in my meeting think I am writing down notes :) Talk to you soon
At 9:52am on February 13, 2009, John Peterson said…
Thanks - I'm a hack but I don't stop trying. You guys keep me going!
John
At 11:09am on June 11, 2009, Lucas Bowman said…
Hey! I joined up! Whatchu been up too? Im trying to swing some thesis work outta these banjos, and Im trying to narrow it down. Its a bitch! What you been working on?
At 2:03pm on November 6, 2009, Len Entrabartolo said…
Greg,

Will do. Right now we're back in the studio and hoping to have the CD out by February. We'll be back out on the road soon and we'll see you then.
At 9:57am on January 26, 2010, Carson Hudson said…
Hey Greg... No, problem... I knew I would see you somewhere, sometime. I'd appreciate any feedback, and also I'd like to talk about akontings. I saw the vid of you in Florida last March and had lots of questions.
At 8:37pm on April 3, 2010, Bob Sayers said…
Hi Greg,

I've been interested in minstrel banjo for many years (though not yet as a player). I'm glad to see that people are getting very serious about the early banjo repertoire. Since I saw you at the Banjo Collectors Gathering a couple of years ago, I've built up a small collection of paper ephemera related to minstrelsy. My main interest is still early Japanese entertainers in America (circa 1860-1880), but there's a lot of crossover. Anyway, thanks for the welcome!

Bob
At 3:25pm on September 6, 2010, Rob Morrison said…
Thank you, Greg. It took my wife Mary and I only about an hour to get one decent picture of me. I guess I'll have to give up my life-long dream of being a male model. It was a pleasure to meet you, as well, Greg and all the other banjoistas. I've played minstrel banjo for a fairly long time, and except for Dave Kirchner, the people at the EABG III were the first others of my kind I've actually come into contact with.


Rob
At 8:30pm on September 12, 2010, Rob Morrison said…
Thanks, Greg. I've spent the last 20 minutes trying to get the captions straight, and I'm still not sure they're right. I'm still getting the hang of this.

Rob
At 6:22pm on October 19, 2010, Jeff Trace said…
Hey Greg:

Great to hear from you. I really enjoyed the EBG this summer!! Gave me lots to work on. Keep me up to date on what you're up to.

Thanks,
JTrace
At 6:24am on December 26, 2010, Tom Fuller said…
Hello! I'm in the Lansing, MI area. I see you're from Maryland. I get as far as Winchester, VA twice a year.
At 6:25pm on December 26, 2010, Tom Fuller said…
Whoa! I'm on it. I will check him out this week. Thanks.
At 9:56pm on February 4, 2011, Jack Gellerstedt said…

Hi Greg.  Thanks for the welcome.  I am currently building two minstrel banjos.  One is made with a Paulonia neck (light, soft, but strong) and a thin (0.21" thick laminated 13inch rim, and boxwood fingerboard.  It will have a tack head.  Total weight - about 2 pounds.   Any suggestions on tack head installation?  i.e, when wet should it be very tight, snug, or a little loose?  The other banjo has a mahogany neck w/ boxwood f.b., 1/4" thick, 12" rim, and conventional head tension system.

     I enjoy playing the tune very much (for now mostly from Briggs and Converse 1865.  I am still benefitting from all I learned at the Early American Banjo Gathering in 2010.

 

At 10:30am on February 5, 2011, Jack Gellerstedt said…

Thanks Greg.  I just posted a forum discussion item on tack head installation, and I will appreciate any information. 

 I hope to make it to the next Early American banjo gathering in  June.

 

 

At 4:46pm on July 22, 2011, Al Smitley said…
Greg:  There are only three 'tunes' (polkas).  All the rest are songs, and I'm not much of a singer.  Three are from 1867, and six other songs I wrote about either my team or vintage base ball in general and put to period melodies.  I don't know how to send audio/video online.  Tim evidently does but I don't know that he would want to clog up the site with two more base ball polkas.  I could send you a CD if you want to give your postal address.  Perhaps directly would be better (alsmitley@gmail.com) than over the banjo site. Up to you.
At 10:22pm on August 3, 2011, Guy de Chalus said…

Hello Greg. I've been looking through Buckley's manual. The minstrel stuff isn't "speaking" to me just yet. I am interested in the expanded use of my hands and some of the notated syncopation found among his literature. Let's link up in cyberland at some point. Perhaps what I need (what I always feel I need) is a guide. Are there any indicators in the literature on minstrel playing about how fast to play, or how slow? And I have another question about these syncopated melodies. Are these songs intended to be danced to? Or, are they parlor pieces meant for listening? Your thoughts?

 

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