The Glory-Beaming Banjo

H ere we have a my new coffee mug from Tyson Graham Pottery , a birthday gift from my sister last month. As you can see, the mug has a banjo on one side and a fiddle on the other. It holds 12 ounces and is more tall and slender than short and squat, but overall it's very solid. I love drinking my morning cuppa'joe from this handsome vessel.

M y final banjo/old-time music related purchase from my July 5 record hunting trip was the Cool Hand Luke soundtrack ( Dot Records DLP 25833 ), released in 1967. The album is the original score from the movie, along with Paul Newman playing "Plastic Jesus." At $8 plus tax, it was the most expensive used album I purchased that day, but I couldn't resist.

G oing along with last week's post, here's another couple records from my recording hunting tour on July 5. Here we have Mac Benford's "Backwoods Banjo" ( Rounder 0115 ), released in 1979, and Josh White "Sings Ballads - Blues" ( Elektra EKL 114 ), released in 1957. Found at my local shop, Square Records in Akron, Ohio, together they my back $8 plus tax. The Benford album had been there for a few weeks, and I finally decided to take it home. Like I said, it was a good trip.

T uesday was a perfect day for a short driving tour to scour record stores for some vinyl. At my third stop, The Vinyl Groove in Bedford, Ohio, I came upon these two albums. The top one is Ed Haley, "Parkersburg Landing" ( Rounder 1010 ), a selection of home recordings made in 1946 and released in 1976. The other is "Galax Va. Old Fiddlers' Convention" ( Folkways FA 2435 ), released in 1964. Together they set me back $11 plus tax. It was a good day.

T he inaugural Lake Erie Folk Festival was Feb. 27. Here my instruments are by the door ready to go jam. My wife and I brought our two-year-old son along. He made it long enough for me to participate in the old-time jam led by Mark Olitsky , Susie Goehring and Christina Tanczos . As one friend described it, the slow jam was more like an orchestra because of the tiered seating. I'm looking forward to next year and hopefully experiencing more of the event.

T ypical. I post about how I'm going to do this weekly photo thing and then only make it as far as two weeks. Not very weekly, is it? Well, it's back for whatever that's worth. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for around here. There are a few more images posted at the Facebook page . I'll try to get back into a weekly thing.

S o another thing I got for Christmas was a new lens for my camera. And as a way to get myself to actually use it, I decided I would challenge myself to a weekly photo project related to banjos, fiddles and old-time music. This is the second installment.

H appy New Year, banjo nerds! We’re back with a few quick topics as we kick off 2016 and another exciting year of the Glory-Beaming Banjo. Let’s get right to it. Year in Review The New Year marked my third year playing fiddle. I’m playing with a little more confidence, but realize I have a long way to go. I accomplished a number of goals in 2015. I got out more to play with others, which has helped improve my ear, rhythm and speed. I completed the Brad Leftwich “Learn to Play Old-Time Fiddle” videos, which gave me a good foundation to build on, with a strong focus on rhythmic bowing. I also exceeded my annual practice goal.