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 The Steel Guitar Forum
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 Banjo Players... Come Out of the Closet ! (Page 1)
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Alan F. Brookes Member From: Brummy living in California, USA |
posted 22 September 2006 08:53 AM
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There seems to be a thread of animosity running through the Forum towards the banjo. I've always thought the banjo and the steel guitar to be important constituents of country music. So, come on folks, admit it. How many of us steelers play the banjo ? ....yes, I play the banjo. |
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Jim Cohen Member From: Philadelphia, PA |
posted 22 September 2006 08:57 AM
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(This is gonna get ugly...) |
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Rick Schmidt Member From: Carlsbad, CA. USA |
posted 22 September 2006 09:29 AM
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I personally would prefer a good banjo player to an out of tune fiddler any day. |
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Stephen Gambrell Member From: Ware Shoals, South Carolina, USA |
posted 22 September 2006 09:39 AM
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Gibson RB-250---Proud to be here! |
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Gene Jones Member From: Oklahoma City, OK USA |
posted 22 September 2006 09:45 AM
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I am the owner of a Gibson RB100 Centennial that would be a champion with the proper upgrades. I bought it with the intention of playing banjo when I could no longer transport my steel, but never had the time to learn to play it other than the obligatory two or three banjo classics that I played on a country music show. I would gladly "come out of the closet" if I had anything to offer the venue. ------------------ [This message was edited by Gene Jones on 22 September 2006 at 12:39 PM.] |
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Charles Davidson Member From: Alabama, USA |
posted 22 September 2006 09:48 AM
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Alan,all I can say is you are a brave man to mention the B word here,J,W. will surely have you black balled for committing a felony. |
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Lyle Bradford Member From: Gilbert WV USA |
posted 22 September 2006 10:04 AM
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Earl Scruggs Standard and love it as much as my 3 Emmons guitars. I would not consider myself a player tho plucking on it would be more like it. LOL> |
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John Jeffries Member From: New Brunswick, Canada |
posted 22 September 2006 11:17 AM
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I have a Cox "Kentucky 5" and a '62 Gibson RB-100. Been playing in bluegrass bands and teaching bluegrass banjo now for 25 years or so....also have been playing and teaching dobro, guitar, mandolin, etc.....have been playing lead guitar, dobro, fiddle & steel in local country venues......steel is my "new" instrument - have only been at it less than a year, but have always loved it - now that I'm retired, I have the time to devote to learning this great instument. I love all bluegrass & country instruments...it doesn't matter what you play - if you enjoy sharing your music with others and make as many friends through music as I have over the years, then it's time well spent! I might add that I have found music to be a wonderful form of "therapy" both when playing with others, or just sitting down alone with an instrument. I believe that those of us who have the gift of music are truly blessed! |
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Dave Mudgett Member From: Central Pennsylvania, USA |
posted 22 September 2006 11:24 AM
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'80s Gibson Granada, a pretty old mixed Stew-Mac + Mastertone parts banjo - pretty much an RB-75 - plus a Goldtone EBM electric banjo when I need to be loud. This steel-banjo animosity sorta reminds me of a Harvard-Yale or Army-Navy turf-war rivalry. Don't look now, but they have a lot of similarities. I think most outsiders view them as the "ultimate-twang brothers". |
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Gary Lee Gimble Member From: Gaithersburg, Maryland |
posted 22 September 2006 11:33 AM
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Present and accounted fur...The PIC below is a pre-pre-pre war Mastertone sportin a 30 year old capo |
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Drew Howard Member From: Mason, MI, U.S.A. |
posted 22 September 2006 11:52 AM
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Gold Tone OB-250, love it, gig it, I certainly hain't the best player. Attended the Midwest Banjo Camp this summer at MSU, had my mind blown by Bill Keith, Allan Munde, Butch Robins, etc. cheers, ------------------ |
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Ken Byng Member From: Southampton, England |
posted 22 September 2006 12:04 PM
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'Fraid I have to put my hand up too. Steel guitar is my first instrument, guitar second, dobro third and banjo fourth. I'm a sucker for the chromatic runs that Bobby Thompson played on the Area Code albums. How can anyone not enjoy that?  |
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Jack Therrell Member From: Conroe, Texas, USA |
posted 22 September 2006 12:04 PM
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Isn't the banjo just a mandolin with 4 strings missing? |
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Bo Borland Member From: Cowtown NJ |
posted 22 September 2006 12:05 PM
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I seen a banjer once |
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Greg Simmons Member From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
posted 22 September 2006 12:17 PM
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 ...keep on truckin'! |
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Steve Hitsman Member From: Waterloo, IL |
posted 22 September 2006 12:21 PM
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I've always wondered, do you lose your teeth and THEN start playing the banjo or do you lose them as a result? |
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Mike Perlowin Member From: Los Angeles CA |
posted 22 September 2006 12:31 PM
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I have an open back frailing banjo and mostly play clawhammer style. I also have a 6 stringer, tuned and played like a guitar that I occasionally use to record. Those of you who have my West Soide Story CD can hear the 6 string banjo on the prologue and the songs "Blues" and "Cool." My pathetic attempt to play Scruggs style can be briefly heard on "I Feel pretty." ------------------ |
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Steve Stallings Member From: Bremond, Tx, pop 876, Home of the fighting Bremond Tigers |
posted 22 September 2006 12:37 PM
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Me too... I've got a mid seventies Alvarez Silver Belle. ------------------ Steve Stallings
[This message was edited by Steve Stallings on 22 September 2006 at 01:24 PM.] |
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Larry Behm Member From: Oregon City, Oregon |
posted 22 September 2006 12:44 PM
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1997 Scruggs Mastertone, it is a happy instrument. (For sale). Larry Behm |
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Terry Wood Member From: Marshfield, MO |
posted 22 September 2006 12:51 PM
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I used to play the 5 string; still listen to the Great Earl Scruggs, but gave my banjo to my oldest son. He's ten now and likes the banjo. May GOD bless ya! Terry |
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Bill Hatcher Member From: Atlanta Ga. USA |
posted 22 September 2006 12:52 PM
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I have a six string Goldtone that I use whenever a Broadway show calls for it and also in the studio for single note things and chords. I also have a 5 string that I haul out when a session calls for some banjo roll type blugrass stuff. Next time you want to make fun of banjos just listen to some Eddie Peabody. Incredible virtuoso on the 4 string tenor banjo. Used to work with a player named Skip Devol. Amazing player. [This message was edited by Bill Hatcher on 22 September 2006 at 12:55 PM.] |
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Russ Tkac Member From: Waterford, Michigan, USA |
posted 22 September 2006 01:22 PM
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1980 Liberty Quadrille. For some reason back in the 70s I played with a towel and swim goggles....  [This message was edited by Russ Tkac on 22 September 2006 at 03:33 PM.] |
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Robert Kazee Member From: Kentucky, USA |
posted 22 September 2006 02:56 PM
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Tim Sergent is a great banjo player for those that havn't heard him. |
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Jim Cohen Member From: Philadelphia, PA |
posted 22 September 2006 03:06 PM
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quote:Yeah, well even I am a great banjo player for those who haven't heard me! The trouble is with those who have heard me!  |
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Doug Seymour Member From: Jamestown NY USA |
posted 22 September 2006 03:17 PM
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I played a plectrum banjo tuned like a tenor in a hillbilly band when we did polkas in 1949. We were in Ashtabula OH & Frankie Yankovich (sp?) was hot in our dance playing area. The fiddle man said the plectrum was a little better because it had a longer scale (neck, made it sound better or easier to play??) I used to have some Columbia 78s of Bob Wills that used the tenor banjo for a rhythm instrument! |
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David Nugent Member From: Gum Spring, Va. |
posted 22 September 2006 03:48 PM
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Was a Bluegrass banjo picker for years, toured with one group quite regularly. Still pick banjo on a few tunes in the group I am working with currently. (Several well known steel players started as banjo pickers, Bill Keith and Jack Hicks come immediately to mind.) |
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Ken Williams Member From: Arkansas |
posted 22 September 2006 04:17 PM
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I played 5 string several years before I started playing steel. I took the thing out of the case a couple of weeks ago. That was the first time I had played it in over 15 years. I used to think I did alright but looking back I guess I wasn't that good. I feel that playing the banjo made it much easier to make early progress on steel, as I was already used to the picks and the idea of using my fingers to pick the strings. Ken |
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Frank Estes Member From: Huntsville, AL |
posted 22 September 2006 08:16 PM
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Epiphone MB-250 Do not spend enough time at it. I can fake a few instrumentals. Steel and lead guitar take priority. |
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Bo Borland Member From: Cowtown NJ |
posted 23 September 2006 07:38 AM
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I don't think anyone should make fun of banjos....but Mike Perlowin doing "I Feel Pretty" , now that is funny! |
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Charlie McDonald Member From: Lubbock, Texas, USA |
posted 23 September 2006 08:05 AM
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I had no idea I was listening to banjo on 'West Side Story.' I demand my money back! |
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Mike Shefrin Member From: New York |
posted 23 September 2006 08:32 AM
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Allan, I played the banjo when I was a kid. I make fun of it in my cartoons here on the forum in my Steel Guitar Forum Funnies but the honest truth is I have nothing against banjos or banjo players, and I even enjoy it. Bella Fleck sure does some interesting stuff with it. |
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Mike Ester Member From: New Braunfels, Texas, USA |
posted 23 September 2006 09:18 AM
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Guilty as charged. 1978 Gibson RB250. Bought it brand new in Denver, while going to Air Force tech school. Started out playing bluegrass music, but when I moved back to New Braunfels, I had to change to steel, just to play. By the by, have you noticed that b0b is frightenly quiet about this thread? I admire his magnanimous display of self-control. |
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Jim Cohen Member From: Philadelphia, PA |
posted 23 September 2006 01:06 PM
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He's plotting his next move... |
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Charles Davidson Member From: Alabama, USA |
posted 23 September 2006 01:29 PM
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Bob HAS to be out of town. |
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Pete Young Member From: Quebec, Canada |
posted 23 September 2006 02:45 PM
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Maybe B0B is practicing banjo just to show you guys that he can play it too |
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Gary Lee Gimble Member From: Gaithersburg, Maryland |
posted 23 September 2006 04:10 PM
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Well, since this thread is still alive and b0b may need some inspiration to woodshed some more as Pete has suggested, here ya go... Get this video and more at MySpace.com |
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Dennis Coelho Member From: Wyoming, USA |
posted 23 September 2006 04:20 PM
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Been playing and teaching banjo for more than thirty years: Gibsons, 60's Fenders, Ome, now on my second Stelling. Sold my railing/clawhammer banjos to buy steels. Also play an Ome "Irish" tenor: same scale as regular tenor (21 1/2 inch) but with heavier strings and tuned a whole octave lower (GDAE) than mandolin or fiddle but with the same fingering. 25 years with the same comedy/music group. I've heard every banjo joke there is, even all those transplanted from drummer jokes. Really feel sorry for those guys. Dennis ------------------ |
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J. R. McClung Member From: Oklahoma, USA |
posted 23 September 2006 04:35 PM
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Okay. Since I let the cat out of the bag today at the club meeting, here goes: I own and play a 1980 Gibson RB-250. I play Christian, cajun, country, celtic, and bluegrass, and often use it to accompany my wife who is a harpist. I will even play the banjo, steel, and fiddle tomorrow at a Gospel music show down in Chichasha, Oklahoma. Yep. Like Mike P. says....got one and aint afraid to use it! |
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Alan F. Brookes Member From: Brummy living in California, USA |
posted 23 September 2006 06:17 PM
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There you go, now. That wasn't too difficult, was it ? Truth is I bet most steel guitarists have played banjo at some time in their lives. I've never met anyone who only played steel. It's usually an instrument you take up after already having played other instruments. |
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Don Barnhardt Member From: North Carolina, USA |
posted 23 September 2006 06:58 PM
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Didja hear about the guy at the banjo convention who was so out of tune that the other banjo players even noticed? |
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