The Glory-Beaming Banjo

As the third quarter of the year comes to a close, it's time to move on to the next tune on my list for this Second Year of Ward Jarvis . But first, let's reflect on the progress made over the last three months. This quarter included a month off for a family vacation . While I was gone, I missed three great local festivals . And of course, I have fallen a bit behind the pace for my fiddle playing time goal for the year. However, I got to see some traditional Greek folk music at a village festival on the Island of Rhodes. It was difficult to knock off the rust that accumulated in my absence, but I'm back to my routine and making up for lost time. General Highlights Vacation ended my daily playing streak at 89 days on fiddle and 86 days on banjo. As soon as I returned, I launched a new streak that now stands at 27 days on both instruments. I've got my sights set on 100. It was nice to get another opportunity to write another review for the forthcoming issue o...

Yesterday marked 20 days of consecutive playing for me on both banjo and fiddle. That's about how long since I've been back from vacation. That first week was rough in terms of remembering the tunes I know. Little by little, playing has become easier as I've returned each day to try again. Before my monthlong hiatus, I had embarked on a daily streak that lasted almost three months. Now I'm wondering if I can do it again. Some researchers say it takes 21 days (that's today!) to form a new habit, while others argue it takes more like 66 days (that's not today at all). Of course, nothing I've read says anything about getting back into a habit. Regardless of how long it might take, having a lofty benchmark has provided some strong motivation as I seek to re-establish my daily habit. I have my sights set on 90 days and beyond. I'm also trying to catch up to my hourly goal for fiddle playing time this year. As you might expect, taking most of ...

Earlier this month, an old friend re-emerged from the ashes of oblivion. County Sales was once the foremost vendor of old-time and bluegrass music. The Floyd, Virginia-based store was where I purchased most of my CDs when I first latched onto this music. My copies of the Clawhammer Banjo Vols. 1-3 , the Killer Grits' Midnight on the Run, Christian Wig's Gate to Go Through and pretty much the rest of my Mark Olitsky album collection  were all ordered through the County Sales website . Unfortunately, longtime owner David Freeman closed the store in January this year upon his retirement. Freeman started the business in New York City in 1965 and then moved it to Floyd in 1974. He also launched two record labels to provide musicians a broader avenue for releasing their music. His son Mark Freeman now runs County Records (old-time) and Rebel Records (bluegrass) from Charlottesville, Virginia. For nine, sad, long months, old-time and bluegrass fans has to scrounge the depths o...

Look who's back! It is I, your glory-beaming blogger, returned from my travels abroad. I hope you enjoyed the posts that I scheduled for you  during my absence. After almost a full month of vacationing in Rhodes, Greece, it's time to get back to business — and music! As I mentioned last month, I had to leave my fiddle and banjo at home while I was traveling. The closest I got to an instrument was listening to a traditional Greek dance band at a festival in the village of Psinthos, where I ate delicious chickpea and goat stew. The band was comprised of a lyra , bouzouki , guitar and what looked like a cajon that the vocalist played. It was a great time. I had hoped to find a record store so I could provide you with a Greek-flavored " Vinyl Hunter " post, but I struck out. The only time I saw any LPs was at a shop in Old Town that had huge selection of Greek music for sale on CD. Above the floor-to-ceiling shelves, I spied old album covers. But when I asked if t...