6 replies to this topic

[Johanna]

This is my band, Shenandoah Run:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=6u8YWEpdmH4

[Anglo-Irishman]

Very nice, Johanna!

The voices work well together, and concertina and banjo good additions to the ubiquitous guitar/bass mix. I'd like to try that some time, but unfortunately I'm the only person I know who plays the concertina, and also the only one who plays the 5-string banjo!

Cheers,
John

[Johanna]

Thanks, John. We actually have two banjo players on that song. Would you like one?

There's a mandolin in the mix, too. But (1) it's hard to hear, because it's playing almost the same thing as I am, and (2) the mandolin player was the one who posted the video, and she's too modest to mention herself in the video description.

[Anglo-Irishman]

Thanks, John. We actually have two banjo players on that song. Would you like one?

Johanna,
Don't lead me into temptation! What size of a transfer fee are you looking for?

Actually, the problem may go away soon. I recently started giving the 18-year-old son of friends of mine lessons on the 5-string banjo. Sooner or later, I'll have to get him acclimatised to stage lighting, and playing a 3-chord trick to back up my concertina at our open mic evening would be very educational for him ...

Cheers,
John

[Johanna]

What size of a transfer fee are you looking for?

I can't speak for the rest of the band...but I think we might be willing to pay quite a lot.

[Anglo-Irishman]

I can't speak for the rest of the band...but I think we might be willing to pay quite a lot.

Johanna,

So he's that bad, is he?

Anyway, as a result of this exchange, I altered the format of the youngster's lesson. Instead of both of us playing the banjo in unison with me singing, I played our practice tunes on the concertina, and had him play the accompaniment by himself. It was fun and sounded not too bad, so I said, if he practised hard, we could perhaps do an open mic slot together - the next open mic will be in July.

Well, his eyes just lit up, and he said, "Oh, great! That really gives me something to practise for!"

So perhaps we can both make our dreams come true - he gets to be a performing banjoist, and I get to play the concertina with a banjo accompaniment.

So let's put the transfer negotiations on the backburner for a while.

Cheers,
John

[Johanna]

Sounds like a great opportunity for both of you. What songs are you preparing?