The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Everyone seems to be doing these "best of the decade" posts, so I might as well too. It seems like a good way to close out the year. This blog started in 2011, so there's not a full 10 years to choose from. Regardless, it was interesting to take a stroll through the archives and revisit these stories from the last eight years. Without further ado, here are the most visited Glory-Beaming Banjo stories of the 2010s. No. 10 Postcards: Vinyl Hunting Tour From July 8, 2016, this is the post that kicked off the " Vinyl Hunter " series. On that maiden voyage, I picked up Ed Haley, Parkersburg Landing , and the Galax Va. Old Fiddlers' Convention compilation from 1964. No. 9 The Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes From March 3, 2011, my review of this wonderful and large collection of tunes, compiled by Clare Milliner and Walt Koken. They released a second edition of this 888-page tome earlier this year. You can buy the book at the Mudthum...

During these waning days of 2019, I figured I'd give you one last look back at the year that was. The following are the five most viewed posts of 2019.  Review: Mike Seeger's Just Around the Bend . I'm cheating a bit with this one because this Smithsonian release occupied two of the most popular posts of the year. The actual top post by a couple hundred views was my post announcing that Seeger's final project would be released in August . My review of said CD/DVD/booklet set came in a few slots down the list. Remembering the Kent State Folk Festival . A love letter to a once-popular event for old-time musicians like Tommy Jarrell, Melvin Wine, the Highwoods String Band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops and more. And it all happened in my hometown. Remember when I said I was going to write multiple posts on the festival? Me neither.  Review: Anna & Elizabeth, "Hop High"/"Here in the Vineyard." Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrel...

After a couple years focusing on the playing of Ward Jarvis and struggling with rhythm, this year's goals were aimed at righting the ship and learning some old chestnuts on fiddle. I also tried my hand at learning to sing while playing banjo, and enjoyed it so much that I decided to focus on songs for the entire year. For the final quarter of 2019, I was working on "Old Joe Clark" on fiddle and "Down in the Willow Garden" on banjo. As my main source for "Old Joe Clark," I used the playing of Brad Leftwich from his book, Old-Time Fiddle: Round Peak Style , which I got way back in 2014 . What I discovered is that his syncopated bowing style is beyond me, at least for right now. I tried to keep some of the elements I enjoyed from his playing, including some of the slides, but I have been working on playing it perhaps a bit more straight ahead. It's still a work in progress. Up until I found Iron Mountain String Band's Walkin' in the ...

Ordering my banjo felt like a back-alley deal. I had driven almost an hour to a travel plaza just off the interstate. I was looking for a guy in a minivan and a small arsenal of banjos. Were these some kind of contraband goods? All I knew is that I wanted one. I met Bill Van Horn in a gas station parking lot off I-76 in Lodi, Ohio, on a steamy summer day. We first corresponded through the Banjo Hangout, an online forum for players. He had compared the banjos he built to the Enoch Tradesman, only way cheaper and with a Dobson tone ring. His banjos felt solid in my hand, and I loved the sound. After the meeting, I devised a savings plan and placed my order in mid-September. The banjo would have a thin 12-inch maple rim, a Fiberskyn head, no-knot tail piece, 24.25-inch scale walnut neck with Chechen wood fingerboard, a frailing scoop and a paddle-shaped peg head. Van Horn said it would be ready by the New Year. Being unmarried and having relatively few financial responsibilities at...

Here are a couple vinyl pickups from October that I forgot to post. While digging through the stacks at my local shop, where I've been surprisingly lucky to find decent old-time records over the years , I was shocked to find these two albums. It's not like old-time records are a big seller at this shop, but every so often I find one or two LPs to add to the collection. I couldn't pass these up. The first was a record I've been searching for for a long time, featuring one of my early old-time gateways . Lo and behold! The Iron Mountain String Band, Walkin' in the Parlor , released in 1975 on Folkways Records. Their version of "Sugar Hill," which I first heard on the wonderful compilation Classic Old-Time Music from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings , put a charge in me that helped put me on the musical path I'm on today. This album also features "Down in the Willow Garden," which I've been learning to play and sing on banjo. This i...