# General Mandolin Topics > Mandolin Cafe News Discussions >  Chris Thile in London Interview

## NewsFetcher

The Mandolin Cafe has posted the following news release:
Chris Thile in London Interview

Dan Beimborn sat down with Chris Thile while in London on Tour with Punch Brothers and produced this exclusive interview for the Mandolin Cafe.



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Bluejay

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## Brandon Flynn

That's why I love the interviews here. Gives me a chance to hear tech and gear talk from top players. And hearing stuff from my favorite player is awesome. Thanks for the interview.

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## Scott Tichenor

I'd like to thank Dan Beimborn for putting this together. Not a lot of full-feature interviews with Chris out there. He's so busy he's hard to pin down for an interview.

Also a huge thanks to Joe Spann who made some great contributions to the article as well and is still doing some research on the original owner. 

I placed a call (went to voicemail) to the one great grandchild of orchestra leader Howard D. Fisher that Joe found (that had an associated phone number--there are actually several). She lives in Wichita which is just a few miles down the road from El Dorado, Kansas. Didn't get a return call but it was likely a pretty strange experience and all of this information may very well be totally new to them. For those not aware, I'm based in Kansas about 90 minutes from El Dorado.

Interesting side note: in the orchestra photo bottom left is a young boy holding what appears to be a Fern F5. There was a Loar signed Fern that turned up in the area a few years ago which would be about 100 miles from where this photo was taken and it would not be unusual for someone to migrate from south central Kansas to the suburbs of Kansas City where the mandolin ended up. I'm in the process of contacting the family that owned that instrument. Thinking there's a real possibility the young man in the photo was the grandfather of the elderly owners of this instrument. Very interesting stuff. Of all of the orchestra photos I've ever seen, this one haunts me most, and I'm determined to uncover the names of these musicians. Thinking a trip to El Dorado for the day or more to look into the archives of the local newspaper may be in my future.

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## Kirk Albrecht

Great interview!  Once again, the Mandolin Cafe shines its stuff as the BEST instrument site on the web!

As a (former) journalist, great questions from Dan, and terrific work from you guys on the historical data about Chris' mandolin. Fascinating.

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## BradKlein

Yes, nice job Dan and Scott.

Having listened to an advance copy of the CD, I can confirm that the production does indeed mark a very big change for the P-Bros.  As Chris points out, the first recordings were about capturing the well-honed acoustic sound of the band. The new disc is unlike anything I've heard before, and very unlike the experience of hearing the band live in recent years. It took me a few listenings just to adjust my expectations, but I'm diggin' it now.

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## Mike Black

> Interesting side note: in the orchestra photo bottom left is a young boy holding what appears to be a Fern F5. There was a Loar signed Fern that turned up in the area a few years ago which would be about 100 miles from where this photo was taken and it would not be unusual for someone to migrate from south central Kansas to the suburbs of Kansas City where the mandolin ended up. I'm in the process of contacting the family that owned that instrument. Thinking there's a real possibility the young man in the photo was the grandfather of the elderly owners of this instrument. Very interesting stuff. Of all of the orchestra photos I've ever seen, this one haunts me most, and I'm determined to uncover the names of these musicians. Thinking a trip to El Dorado for the day or more to look into the archives of the local newspaper may be in my future.


I thought the same thing Scott.

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## JeffD

I have stared and stared at pictures of old mandolin orchestras and players, with the wild idea of finding my '23 A2 snakehead.  I can't imagine the possability of not just seeing the same model or year, but seeing the very instrument. And then to be able to document the history from original purchase to my eventual ownership.  Its just amazing, over the top amazing.

I side with Chris on playing the darn things.They weren't made to be seen as much as to be heard. It needs to be said, and and said by Chris, because coming from me would be ridiculously lame. I don't have a reasonable expectation of ever being in a position to have to make those decisions.

Dan good job. I know I would not be able to do it. I am too much of a fanboy, I would probably start to stutter.

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## BradKlein

It's true that Chris' opinion carries some real weight, and what he says about replacing fingerboards is true for thousands of old Gibsons.  If they don't play in tune, there is no reason to hesitate in replacing a fingerboard (and luckily, the inlay patterns aren't too elaborate, so preserving pearl isn't usually an issue).  This should increase the value of a vintage mandolin, not decrease it. (although I can't honestly say if that is the current state of the market)  The market for classical instruments is more 'mature', and I don't think a replaced fingerboard is considered a problem at all there.

If you place a modern fingerboard by a good maker up against a vintage Gibson, sometimes you will see a shocking variation in the fret placement.  It's easiest to do this with a modern fretboard blank that hasn't been fretted.

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## bjshear

cool interview. And I am very excited for this new punch brothers album now, the video previews are really good. Also, I use the same ATM-35 mic! It really is very nice, I use it sometimes to mic a harp player and it is unreal how good of sound comes from a live performance with it. I just need to figure out how to use it with my weber bridger....

Thanks for the interview! Oh, one more thing, we are all big boys and girls here, why did you **** out a few words of profanity? I mean, if he said it, let it be printed. I am not one to swear myself, but it seems very Jr. High-ish to censor out a few words in an interview, just my opinion.

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## danb

I thought Chris's comments were spot-on. I'm as guilty as the rest of us (heck, more so... I'm the "cheif purveyor of mando porn" really) with originality concerns etc. As I've been doing this longer, my own tastes are venturing toward mandolins with repairs, serious maintenance, neck-sets, replaced parts etc. The original parts are really quite gorgeous when you see all the original intent and look of a piece, but then it's distracting from seeing these are musical instruments. 

Having it _playable_ really trumps everything else, though obviously the respect for it as a musical instrument does encourage you to be conservative and always keep it's true purpose to hand.

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## Caleb

Really enjoyed this - thank you. (That pic of the mandolin orchestra is my new desktop background.)

Thile is one of the most interesting people in the music business right now. Maybe one of the most interesting ever.  Can't wait to see how his career unfolds over the years. And I'm REALLY looking forward to the Bach project.

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## Fretbear

Norman Blake has also declared the fret placement on many Gibson mandolins as "lousy", and the Loar-era one's amongst the worst of them. He has also said that he has had "frets moved" on many Gibson mandolins that he owns or has owned.

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## Ivan Kelsall

A really good interview by Dan B. I'm pleased that CT agrees with my point of view that 'Loar' Mandolins are not 'Museum pieces'.Maybe 'somebody' will bring Bill Monroe's Loar out of it's case some time,& who better than Mr C.Thile to give it a new airing - i wish !!!,
             Ivan

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## Chris Newland

Notice in the picture that many are fretting an open G.  Can you hear it?

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## Matt Hutchinson

Great interview - cheers Dan. I kept an eye out for you at the gig but didn't spot you.

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## Scott Tichenor

To quote Chris Thile if I may... BAM!

Here's a bit of news.

Just off the phone with Jim at Mass. Street Music who had the Fern in question that I spoke of in my opening post. This is in reference to the boy in the orchestra sitting on the ground, bottom left, who appears to be holding a Fern F-5. Jim tells me the owners of that Fern he had for some time had family from that part of the state going back that far, so while he hasn't spoken to them yet, at this point he thinks it's without question that this is the same family. If that's the case, in the next day or so we should have a second name in the orchestra and a positive ID of the original owner of a #76782, a March 31, 1924 Fern with virzi.

Here's an article Bill Graham did for us on the mandolin back in 2009:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/news/pub...s_001016.shtml

Gets better... Just now re-reading Bill's article and found this:

Victor and Lena Semisch of rural Butler County, Kan., east of Wichita, acquired this Gibson F5 that he played and a Gibson archtop guitar that she played. Victor was a country school teacher who later operated a small general store and gas station.

Daughter Phyllis Shanline, 80, of Manhattan, Kan., remembers her father teaching her how to sing harmonies as he she rode with him to make gas deliveries to farmers. But she only has vague memories of the mandolin and him playing "Redwing" on it.

Her sister, Jody Kennedy, 73, of Olathe, Kan., in the Kansas City suburbs, remembers seeing the mandolin surface when she was young. Kennedy asked him about it and he took it out and played it a bit, but that's all she remembers.

Friends tell them her parents played with other musicians at community gatherings at the school or in homes. The girls didn't pay close attention.

"I thought, why on earth can't they play something up-to-date," Shanline said.

Their parents apparently didn't play much at all after World War II, Kennedy said. Victor Semisch died in 1961 at age 59. Lena Semisch held onto the instruments.

Both the mandolin and the guitar survived a fire at the family business and later an explosion next to a closet where they were stored. Kennedy acquired the mandolin in 2001 after her mother died, and another relative has the guitar.

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## BradKlein

Kansas is proving an important state in Mandolin  History.  Also the home of innovative mandolin luthier, Albert Shutt!

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## JonZ

The description of the tone on that Loar is just how I would describe my mandolin.

Just lucky, I guess.

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## Scott Tichenor

This IS a great time waster, at least for me.

Based on some new information Joe Spann just sent I think the orchestra leader Fisher is seated in the middle, bottom row. That would make the Fern owner in question on the far left. According to Joe's information, he would have been 21 at the time. The kid on the ground I think we'd agree is definitely not 21. This is where the family will help us out.

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## JeffD

Scott I hope you are able to make the time. This is some of the most fascinating stuff I have read in a long time.

I have photographs of me holding each of my mandolins, with a brief description of when, where, and how I bought it and what I play, written on the back. I keep these pictures in the case. 

I started this several years ago, and the idea is to give future owners a head start, at least as far back as me.

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## mandolino maximus

About his mandolin not being played and kept with the original fingerboard, maybe that's OK too.  I can think of worse things to do to a Loar.   -  Like if I had got one from under a grandparent's bed at the age of 14.  At least this way, it made it to where it needed to go.  Not bad that it waited for Gilchrist to set it up, either.  

I am now for sure waiting to buy the new recording until I first see some of it performed live on March 1.  Based on this interview, live may be much different / less full sounding in comparison to the recording.  Maybe a topic for future discussion?

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## Cheryl Watson

Thanks to Dan Beimborn for this great interview with so much interesting information!  I enjoyed reading it very much.

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## Albee Tellone

I agree with Thile that all instruments were designed to be played, not admired on a wall like a painting. Especially not hidden in a case. Replacing a fingerboard makes sense, but I think painting one the way Frank Wakefield did is getting a little carried away.  :Smile:

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## Anglocelt

There is an extended interview with Thile about the Punch Brothers, together with a video of their performance of one of the new album tracks in today's Observer newspaper. The group are attracting a lot of media attention in the UK from the 'quality press'. You can find the article here: https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...oung-interview

Kevin, Yorkshire

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## ISU Trout Bum

Excellent interview! Thile is my hero. And this is also an absolutely fascinating thread. Scott, I hope you can get all of the history sorted!

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## Scott Tichenor

Here's a not-so-great scan of another image of the orchestra that was apparently part of one of the early Gibson catalogs. From it I don't think we learn anything. Most interesting part of this is that there is someone in the Loar community that thinks their instrument also came out of this orchestra which would then account for all three Loars in the other photo that was a part of this interview. This is supported by someone well known to the community that has similar information separate from this interview. Over the weekend I had conversations with the granddaughter of the Semisch Loar owner and after showing the photo to her elderly mother I'm afraid we didn't get a firm identification, but are now following a couple of other names of people in the photo, a married couple. All interesting. No telling where this ends but I'm having fun with it. Also beginning to pick up the possibility there was an orchestra in Augusta, Kansas, which is maybe 15 miles from there. This being an area that had (and still has) a fairly major oil industry it's not surprising that some of the best instruments Gibson had available at the time might have ended up here. And then there's Wichita just down the road. No telling what the mandolin/guitar orchestra scene there may have held.

If only we could find the original sales logs of the instruments from this period, but it's doubtful they still exist.

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## jasona

Great interview for sure--thanks for asking the questions we mandoholics would appreciate!

Also I am fascinated by this historical turn of events and am looking forward to leaning more as Scott digs it up!

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## mtm

> Yes, nice job Dan and Scott.
> 
> Having listened to an advance copy of the CD, I can confirm that the production does indeed mark a very big change for the P-Bros.  As Chris points out, the first recordings were about capturing the well-honed acoustic sound of the band. The new disc is unlike anything I've heard before, and very unlike the experience of hearing the band live in recent years. It took me a few listenings just to adjust my expectations, but I'm diggin' it now.


I got the vinyl at the first show of this tour in Milwaukee ... stunning production values.....

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## Scott Tichenor

His name is Virgil Bisagno.

He's pictured above in this news article holding the mandolin now owned by Chris Thile. The photo on the left is the original photo Chris provided for this interview. The photo on the right is from the 1925 El Dorado yearbook. I have several pictures of him from 1925 and one from 1924. I first noticed him in the 1924 yearbook and was pretty convinced I'd found him but once I saw the Senior pictures, no doubt.

I'm in El Dorado, Kansas at a coffee shop after spending a good part of the afternoon at the Butler County Historical Society researching Fisher's Gibson Mandolin Orchestra of El Dorado. I have a gig here tonight at a small concert hall so took the opportunity to come down early to do this research. Special thanks to the two ladies at the museum who spent a couple of hours assisting me. Pretty exciting to put a name to a face that'd been haunting me for some time. I probably won't post more pix today as the coffee shop is about to close. El Dorado isn't New York City or L.A. 5:00 p.m. in this town is closing time.

A bit about Virgil: president of the Library Club his senior year, Treasure of the French Club his junior year. Apparently did not partake in any sports or other clubs at school. He married Zelda Emma Crommet, November 5, 1927, also a senior the same year. She appears to be in the Library club as well his senior year. Interestingly, in scanning the orchestra picture, there's one young girl that looks strikingly like her and she's seated directly in front of him. More on her but not now. He was born November 27, 1907 and died March 6, 2006 in Siskiyou, California (Siskiyou is a county I've now been told).

Found advertisements for Howard Fisher in some phone books, various addresses for his studio and home, none of which exist now. The address for his Gibson studio is now a vacant lot, not surprisingly.

More on this later. Dug up a bunch of other information about Virgil, his wife and the Fisher orchestra but don't have time to share it right this moment. Too much to process.

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Annette Siegel, 

Beanzy, 

GKWilson, 

hank, 

jasona, 

Jordan Ramsey, 

kmiller1610, 

Mandomusic, 

Marty Jacobson, 

Mike Black, 

MLT, 

Tom Coletti

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## Scott Tichenor

This is an advertisement for Fisher's studio from a town directory. Found two different home addresses for him and the studio address but those locations had all been demolished and replaced by pretty modern newer structures clearly not from the same time period for the residences. The studio was an empty lot. Was hoping of course to find the home the orchestra picture was taken in front of but assumed it to be long gone and it was.

Like the "Threaded Instruments" reference. Interesting.

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hank

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## Scott Tichenor

Another picture of Virgil as President of the Library Club. He's in the center with light sweater and tie. Believe the girl top right in the back row may be his future wife. There's a better photo I have of her from the yearbook and as already stated I believe she may be in the orchestra seated in front of her. Inconclusive though, speculation.

Also found reference today to the Semisch family, owners of the Loar recently discovered near where I live and in the possession of Mass Street Music in Lawrence, KS for awhile before being sold. Something on my to-do list to pursue further at a later time.

The museum is in the process of getting a new microfilm reader so won't be available for another two weeks so that's a future project and where I think I'll ultimately find the original photo and hopefully the names of all members of the orchestra which is my ultimate goal.

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Tom Coletti

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## BradKlein

What a great project, Scott!  I can almost feel the unique eye-strain of a day at the microfilm reader!

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## Scott Tichenor

> What a great project, Scott!  I can almost feel the unique eye-strain of a day at the microfilm reader!


Brad, didn't spend a single moment looking over microfilm. The museum doesn't have a reader at the moment but has new ones arriving in two weeks. Got lucky on my own finding him in the yearbook. All of the dots connected on this one. I'll head back down in a few weeks once the new tools are in place. I'd bet good money right now that photo of the orchestra appeared in the paper and I'm hoping the names of the members were included. Still have quite a bit of information but may hold onto it for awhile.

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## jasona

Well done Scott!

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## William Smith

> Well done Scott!


Man I really do love this kind of history,well done and keep it up because with a little knowledge  these instruments can do even more talking.and well who don't like that!

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## Scott Tichenor

Here's the Senior photo of Zelda Crommet, Virgil's wife to be. The yearbook had small quotes about each senior, hers was:

Zelda Crommett, the lucky girl,
Has hair she doesn't have to curl.

It was 1925 mind you...

I think there's a possibility she is in the orchestra sitting just in front of Virgil but I'm far less certain of that. Also have another photo I think is her in the Library Club of which he was the president. No surprise if they married they were following each other around the school activities.

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## Scott Tichenor

A photo of the local town directory showing Fisher's entry which doesn't particularly tell us anything new.

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## Jim Garber

Wonderful, Scott. It is very exciting to attach the people and their history to the instruments we love. I have been lucky to have that experience with a few of mine. Keep up the good work.

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## JeffD

Oh man, this stuff is great.

I hated history in school. It was all just this stuff that happened in books. No connection to me.

In school I used to work on my math homework during history class, or read other small books held inside the huge history book. The ARRL license manual was a regular.

But if this kind of history were alluded to, if I played mandolin at the time and got into where it came from and who owned it, I might never have become an engineer.

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## Fretbear

There was a mando-maniac named Tichenor
Whose website all the eight-string pickers did adore
Thile scored a Feb. 18, not one but two, now that’s a scene
Mandolin Café’s the place if you are into Loar!

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## Scott Tichenor

Still one of our favorite interviews for the "surprise" that happened ultimately after the article was published and I discovered the name of Thile's original mandolin owner with new photos I got to show him that course he (and no one else) had seen since the 1920s.

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Jim Garber

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## JeffD

So cool.

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## Mandolin Cafe

Noting today's anniversary of this 2012 interview with Chris that Dan Beimborn made happen. Still enjoying the memory of digging through the 1920s El Dorado, KS high school yearbook looking for the name of the original owner of his Loar and seeing pictures of this young guy that looked an awful lot like the picture that came with the mandolin when he purchased it. And then, the Senior picture that sealed the deal.

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BradKlein, 

guidoStow

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## Mandolin Cafe

Noting today's anniversary of this interview that ultimately led to us discovering the name of the original owner of Chris Thile's Gibson mandolin.

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BradKlein

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## Mandolin Cafe

Another anniversary for a very special favorite interview that ended up revealing the original owner of Chris Thile's Loar. Thanks to Dan Beimborn for his work on this one.

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seankeegan

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## Mandolin Cafe

Observing the anniversary of this interview. I still have all my notes on this project and plans some day to research the individuals in the El Dorado orchestra. In particular, I want to identify the leader of the orchestra who I believe is the older man in the picture. I know the small town he graduated from in Kansas and the approximate year so should be able to find his senior photo, though it will be in the 1800s.

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BradKlein, 

Chris Cantergiani

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## Mandolin Cafe

Noting the anniversary of this interview ten years ago today.

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Kirk Higgins

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