RELCOLLECT

I hate to admit it, but the first thing I did when I got my Jackie was sit down and figure out "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple....still one of the classic bass riffs of all time, in my opinion!

I thought that there would be a common denominator that could be identified...it seems now like concertinas are just stinky!

Actually, if you want a real thrill, you should try my Harley Sportster 1200...bored to 1275, 43mm carb bigger exhaust, and somewhat lightened. It'll eat the old Bonnie alive, and keeps up nicely with just about any cruiser or standard type bike around. Crotch rockets are a different story....I'm too old to be ridiing around in that position, anyway... We now return you to your regularly scheduled topic thread!

This was so far off the topic I thought we should start a new thread... when I recieved my Jackie (and still today) it smells strongly of something....is it cedar? It rather reminds me of a cedar chest my parents had....or perhaps that was just mothballs? Anyway, it was quite pleasant, but I can't place what it is! Any thoughts? Greg

Mine has never had a rebuild (It's on the list) and it leaks about 1 Tbsp of oil a month. Less, actually if I ride it often. It's a solid, rideable 2-kick bike. I still keep a modern bike, and newer cars in addition to my TR6 and my '66 Imperial convertible....if I had to give any up, I would definitely keep the modern gear.

Keep the concertina and sign me up for that Packard!!! As for the old BSA's and Triumphs, send me those , too.. can't ever have too many, I say! Greg

To my way of thinking, Jeff has a fine point...I own both modern (1 year old) and vintage (1970's) vehicles....as Jim Lucas suggest they ALL require maintanence, but the older ones are frankly, money pits, regardless of brand and quality. Also: at 2am, in a rainstorm, and running late...which would YOU take you wife to the hospital in? Sometimes vintage just isn't practical (an me an antiques dealer!) Greg

It was definitely a prop in that sequence. At one point he only had one hand on it, but with the manic routine he was doing, I don't see how anyone could have been really playing. I couldn't tell what sort it was, but he DID have his hands in the correct position....coming from his Vaudeville background, I wouldn't surprised if he did play. Really, I was thinking more about how many times I had seen a "subliminal" concertina. I don't remember many pop-culture instances, but now that my awareness has been expanded, I'm seeing more and more.

Perhaps the dizzying number of possible explanations left him in a spin....

The wife and I just re-watched "Mary Poppins" last night! I had never noticed before that Dick Van Dyke plays concertina during his "one man band" scene in the opening minutes of the movie....I guess I've never noticed how many times I saw a concertina until I bought one. Strange phenomena, isn't it? Greg

Congrats!!! Here's just a few thoughts on the subject: re: business cards; I had some rather classy ones done by www.vistaprint.com. They are $9.95/500 mailed to your door if you let them put a small and unobtrusive webaddress on the back. They also offer postcards (which we have used to announce our craft show schedule to our mailing list members) that can be made to match your business cards for a "signature look". re: demo CD's...if you plan to burn your own cd's there is a label - making program that will print a decal that fits onto the actual CD... they CAN'T lose your name and address unless they lose the disk! I forget the name of the program ( I never use it) but it's loaded on my PC at home. If interested, write and I'll give you all the pertinent info. Good luck!! Greg

I see a "sea chanties" workshop on Sat, tent #1, 3 pm....you might pick soething up there.... I'll probably pass until you can review it for us, given the distance and lack of info. PLus, so far the summer has been ungodly busy.

Actually, I had never even heard of it! I'll cruise the website tonight (I'm at work and have to be sneaky right now). Greg

There's another phrase that translates badly....in the US a "bag man" is the term for the robber who carries the money during a getaway. I won't tell you how badly I was surprised the first time I was in the UK and someone asked me to give them a fag..... Greg

mine is the sunroom on the back of our house. When you open the windows the breeze floats through, and you have a lovely view of the yard, bird feeders, and the little woods beyond. I have been out there noodling around with chords recently, and it just seems peaceful. Greg edited for spelling

So, if I'm storing my Jackie in the gig bag provided, and standing it on one end, that's pretty much as wrong as it can get....what can I expect as a result? Should I at least store it on a side? If so, does which side make any difference? I guess I never considered any of this before.... Greg

You can count on me to enter my plans for an eco-friendly conterina cleaning and waxing machine powered by a flywheel driven by the rodent of your choice. (Larger instruments may require larger rodents. Mileage may vary.) Greg

Don't tempt me! I've been searching the 'net for concertina events in Indy, and have come up with Contra dancing as the closest thing I can find. I'll have to see if they know of other events not listed electronically....wouldn't it be cool to have a Midwestern event???? Heck, we could have it at MY HOUSE! Plenty of on-street parking, and the neighbors already hate me!!! Greg

If people would just work as hard at having a real job as they are willing to work at being dishonest, they'd already be rich.... Greg

I don't think I made myself clear....in fact, I'm sure. Yes, I think that hoarders help drive prices higher, as do "professional" players. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with that ! You just have to know whether you can run with the big dogs or not. I can't, I don't, no sale...if enough people feel the same, eventually the market will stratify into junk, and overpriced nice pieces.... IMHO!

I once put a chisel throught the side of my hand by failing to reverse the thing while deburring on a metal lathe.... it's been years ago now, but the memory is vivid! Take care and don't over do! Greg

I can't speak for the "collectors here, and I do subscribe to the "every little bit counts" theory; however, in practice I literally HAVE stopped recycling, as there is no longer anywhere convenient to recycle for free. I simply refuse to pay someone to resell my trash at a profit! Concertinas (and most things) are the same story; if they are inexpensive, I'll play.. If they continue to rise in price, I'll find another game. Passion (at least for me) must be tempered with economic logic. Example: I'd love to own a Ferrari, but a Triumph will have to do. I know there will always be a core following of wealthy concertina collectors or professional players who want or need thes high-end instruments sufficiently to pay for them....I just have to realize I can't play in their leagues. That means I keep my Jackie (no pain there!) and NOT upgrade....thereby lowering overall demand, and eventually affecting prices and profitability overall.... Just my.02!

Spam - it's not just for breakfast any more! Actually, it's not just for e:mail either, as I get unsolicited stock tips, low interest mortgage offers and Viagra discounts every morning via my work-issued Nextell.

Sorry to take so long to respond! We've been busy as one-armed paperhangers these days! I have actually been playing for 2 days.... Perhaps after I improve enough to be fit for human consumption, we can get together sometime. I have family in Dayton, and I'm over there pretty regularly anyway. I actually get over to Columbus about once or twice a year, as you have the AMA motorcycle hall of fame and museum... Greg

Actually, I'm pretty centered over the buttons...it's all in trying to play a progression of notes and re-hit a previous key once the finger leaves "home"...D on the right hand, for example is fine to start a tune, then I hit an A with the same finger, and miss D on my way back....it probably all comes down to practice! As for the bellows, I find I get a lot more notes on a pull than I can fit into a push. Am I probably pushing too hard/fast? I was trying to be quiet, as the wife was trying to sleep, so perhaps that influenced things. Meanwhile, I was out on my porch doing honking, beginner scale excercises when I looked up and realized that my neighbors were having a showing of their house to a couple of prospective buyers! There goes the neighborhood! (They asked me not to fire up the motorcycles, but didn't say anything about concertina!!) Greg