Here's the band I used to be in until recently - Skipper's Alley, at StanFest 2016. Me on tenor banjo. There was actually another 4 members out of this shot but this makes us look really cool :-P
Larry Hunsberger
2013 J Bovier A5 Special w/ToneGard
D'Addario FW-74 flatwound strings
1909 Weymann&Sons bowlback
1919 Weymann&Sons mandolute
Ibanez PF5
1993 Oriente HO-20 hybrid double bass
3/4 guitar converted to octave mandolin
Larry Hunsberger
2013 J Bovier A5 Special w/ToneGard
D'Addario FW-74 flatwound strings
1909 Weymann&Sons bowlback
1919 Weymann&Sons mandolute
Ibanez PF5
1993 Oriente HO-20 hybrid double bass
3/4 guitar converted to octave mandolin
Mandolins: The Loar LM-220; Lyon & Healy Special A #103; Epiphone Mandobird VIII
Violins: 19th century German Steiner copy; NS Design WAV 4; NS Design WAV 5; Reiter Alien II 7-string
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ausdoerrt
Band 1 is Swing Rendezvous that primarily plays around Houston. www.swingrendezvous.net
Band 2 is The Sieker Band. This band is bluegrass and old country and plays around Austin.
Bill Gorby & the Musical Mercenaries playing the Spot Bar in Dean Martin's home town of Steubenville.
Old Hometown, Cabin Fever String Band
Every now and then someone says it's time to bump this thread. I wonder. It's been 3 1/2 years since the last post in this awfully fun thread. One would think it wouldn't have to be resuscitated so often. And yet, here we are.
Before I get to recent events, I have a bit of catching up to do myself, which involves a little 'splainin', as well as use of the Wayback Machine. I see where way back in Post #271 I said this:
As luck would have it, a week or two after posting that, Clementine bumped into someone who had been at the event and shot a video. It took a bit of doing but I was able to connect with that angel and acquire the video, which I now present to you in all its ragged glory:
This is a thoroughly silly song replete with nautical imagery and wacky wordplay she'd written while living on her sailboat. I played what was more or less a bass line/counterpoint on the conch. She really won the prize; I was there to fulfill the contest's requirements. BTW, her dress was her work costume. She was working at the shipwreck museum, the same place I worked at off and on - though not at the time. She literally biked over on her lunch break, did the do, and scooted back. Remarkable presence of mind. Oh, and the audio track got included in a compilation CD of local musicians. Partly because there was just a bit of time left that needed to be filled, partly because, well, it's so goshdarned cute!
We reprised this victory in similar fashion five years later, that is, last year, ten days before the lockdown. (The contest is always held on the first Saturday of March, unless something happens, like this year.) We went with "Blue Moon," one of our favorite busking numbers. We used to have lots of fun with it, slowing it down, speeding it up, turning it into a psychedelic tour de force. We played it straight for this. And this time I was working at the shipwreck museum again, so I was wearing my work costume. I kind of milked the ending a bit, which cracked her up. Somehow, as if by magic, the photographer from the local daily newspaper captured that moment, and it ran in the paper. Yes, Key West likes to think of itself as being sophisticated, a cultural mecca, a destination for the jet set worldwide - and it is - but it also is a small town in America, and that character, which I find so charming, peeks through now and then.
And finally (yes, there's still more, but I'm almost done), the reason I started posting here in the first place ... a couple of photos from the wedding gig we did on Tuesday. The happy couple wanted to get married at 4:20 on 4/20, for some reason. The special song they requested was "Africa" by Toto. I'm not sure why. And though I have never cared for the song very much - in fact, parts of the lyrics seem terribly stupid to me - I put in the time to learn it, even the synthesizer solo, which is tricky and fast. It's their special day, of course, and my druthers ain't no part of nothin'. The bride actually wanted a wandering ukulele mariachi band but somehow went with us - a ukulele was promised, after all. And since somehow we kept getting asked to move this way and that, ending up standing in about a dozen different places during this event, we did fulfill the wandering mariachi band requirement as well.
I should point out a couple of things. The happy couple are locals, and somehow had it in their minds to get married at the Southernmost Point, which is marked by a large concrete "buoy," and is a very popular tourist photo op. It's public property, maintained by the public works dept. There's no renting this for a private function. But they had their hearts set on this, and planned to do something like a flash mob. I thought for sure we would get run off by the cops. But one of their friends acted as de facto wedding planner, and asked the tourists waiting in line for their turn at posing for pictures if they wouldn't mind waiting for a few minutes while they did their thing. So that was fine. It was overcast, so there wasn't an enormous line of tourists.
But then it began to rain a bit. Just a few sprinkles, but enough for a little concern for my instrument. I actually think sometimes a little rain at a special event is a kind of blessing. And also, there is that line in the refrain, "I bless the rains down in Africa." Very appropriate. We entertained the assembled attendees with a few songs, until it got to be about time. The bride appeared, walking down the street in her finery, about five minutes before "showtime." We launched into "Africa," which served as the processional. Everything went as smoothly as it could amidst the chaos. A few people even sang along, as I'd hoped. When the ceremony was completed, a great cheer erupted, from the wedding party and the tourists alike. I blew three loud blasts on the conch shell for good luck, which made it official, by Key West tradition. A cop car did drive by during all this, but kept going. Someone snapped some photos of us and sent them along. So finally, after all of the preceding, there is some mandolin content.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
First wedding I've ever seen attended by a bare-chested guest.
Also, I like the guy in the Hawaiian shirt and red tutu.
At my wedding (many years ago), the groom and groomsmen wore blue jeans, dress requirements were " be comfortable", and I thought that was pretty casual.
No wandering mando-ukulele-mariachi band either. That would've been cool, though, if I'd thought of it
Tutus were worn by many in the wedding party - mostly males. That might have been the father of the bride. And wristlets/anklets with bells were offered to all.
You're a bit far away, but we are willing to travel for an anniversary party or some such. If the price is right.
But please don't ask for "Africa!" Not a deal-breaker, as you must have surmised, but oh, would I ever like to get it out of my head! It was more or less OK while I was learning it, but now that it's over ...
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
That will happen. Much better choice for song. I've no idea why they wanted "Africa."
BTW, in the discussion among band mates as to what to play during this event, I completely spaced out on "Ripple" and "Friend Of The Devil." We know both of those, and they would have gone over great with people from all generations there. I still can't believe at one point, with our minds kind of blanking out amid the chaos, we went with "These Boots Are Made For Walking." Not exactly a happy lovey-dovey song. I nixed it the first time it came up, but the second I said the hell with it, we needed to keep the music going. I wonder whether anyone picked up on it. I'm pretty sure it's mostly just musicians who pay attention to what song lyrics' meaning actually is, in general.
PS: I may never get all of the confetti out of my mandolin case!
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
I love hearing stories of your escapades down there! We all need to find ways to play with people even through the social distancing. Last week a friend I met on the internet was in town visiting some relatives, and I discovered she plays the guitar. So, we met up and jammed together for about two hours. Both of us are new enough to our instruments that we probably didn't sound very good (and consider yourselves lucky you didn't have to hear our singing), but we still had a great time.
There's something really magical about playing with other people, and it doesn't even seem to matter if what you're playing sounds any good! If mandolin keeps dragging me into social interactions, maybe someday I'll end up on a stage somewhere playing backup to a ukulelist.
The Loar LM 310f
Vangoa A Acoustic
I enjoy walking barefoot and playing my mandolin, and if I can do both at once, you'd be hard pressed to find a happier soul.
1980:
(Gippsland, Victoria, Australia)
2015:
(Aberdeen, Scotland)
See that chair next to me?
Shortly after the photo, I sat down, the chair fell off the stage with me in it and I was lying on my back wondering what I'd broken. Not my mandolin, cos I held it in the air rather than save myself.
Luckily, it was a gig for hospital staff - doctors , nurses, surgeons etc.
A bunch of them ran over to me.
And proceeded to take shots and videos on their phone.
I got back onstage to great applause and carried on.
Bren
@bren - sounds like something you might have to incorporate into your routine, to keep the audience engaged!
The Loar LM 310f
Vangoa A Acoustic
I enjoy walking barefoot and playing my mandolin, and if I can do both at once, you'd be hard pressed to find a happier soul.
Thanks. Yes, necessity is the mother of innovation. Honestly, I think out the whole hundred or so people there, just a handful were wearing masks. Not even us'n's. We started with them, but it soon became darned near impossible. I was a few days past two weeks after my second shot, so I figure I'm OK. But my buddies ... I worry. And everyone else there ... I just don't know. There are a lot of people here who don't practice even that modicum of safety. It's worrisome. But that's more than I want to say about that.
Yes, there is. But no, it does matter - to us doing the playing, anyway. Yes, everyone seems to have a good time, most of the time, no matter what. And yes, there are worse career paths to take than playing with a ukulelist. She and I have produced some of my favorite music - not necessarily best, but because it's our songs and our unique sound and approach to music, even the covers sound fresh and new. That is indeed worth working toward achieving.There's something really magical about playing with other people, and it doesn't even seem to matter if what you're playing sounds any good! If mandolin keeps dragging me into social interactions, maybe someday I'll end up on a stage somewhere playing backup to a ukulelist.
You did the right thing! A bruise here, a scrape there, you'll be fine. You'll mend on your own, and be right as rain soon enough. The mandolin, on the other hand, doesn't have the capability of healing itself. Always, ALWAYS, sacrifice yourself for the good of the mandolin!
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
I then attempted to sing "Pleeeease help me I'm faaaallling ..."
Bren
BTW & FWIW, Sawyers are a well-established family here, going back several generations. There's “General” Abe Sawyer (1862-1939), a famous 40-inch tall midget who toured with carnivals and when his time came, requested burial in the grave of a full-size man. The Key West Armory, an imposing structure with twin wooden spires, was designed by architect John T. Sawyer. There was a Mayor Tom Sawyer (different one) elected in 1985. You may want to see if you're related to any of these or others somehow. It could be you have an "in" here.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
Always possible, though the fact that Sawyer is my first name sadly decreases the likelihood that I am a descendant of General Abe. People make some jokes about Florida men, but I don't think I could convince them to give me the key to the city with just my given name.
The Loar LM 310f
Vangoa A Acoustic
I enjoy walking barefoot and playing my mandolin, and if I can do both at once, you'd be hard pressed to find a happier soul.
Ah, no, I guess not. No special treatment for you. Yes, it's tough for Florida men. They get a bad rap from the news media and stand-up comics, too. Much of it, sadly is deserved.
On the other hand, the guy Tom Sawyer defeated in that mayoral race, Capt. Tony Tarracino, was quite a character. He said he cheated some mobsters in NJ out of some horse racing money and hd to skip town. Landed here, where he started a charter boat business. Saved up his money and bought the bar that Hemingway actually drank in, originally known as Sloppy Joe's. Sometime after Hemingway left town, Joe's landlord raised the rent $1. In protest, one night in the dead of night, he and a bunch of his friends moved the bar down the street to its current location. Sloppy Joes's promotes the hell out of that association, but Hemingway's favorite watering hole is actually Capt. Tony's Saloon. Tony ran for mayor again in 1995, and this time he won. One reason is his campaign manager was a musician he had helped out early in his career, I don't know if you've heard of him - Jimmy Buffett. When I got here in 2002 I got a gig with a country singer working there 2-3 times a week. That was good for 2 1/2 years. It had a reputation as a songwriter's bar, and some of the people working there were among the best in town, and some are still my friends. Yeah, it's a funny town, for sure.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
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