Keaton’s Drawing of #150
My son Keaton loves to draw. At Kim’s suggestion, I commission him to draw the banjo for the cover of my upcoming release, While I Have Being. He labored for days on the project and ultimately produced the stunning work above. Regretfully, I made the mistake of helping with the coloring. He was just completely drained from days of laboring on the drawing (which he took with his typical seriousness and intensity), and I wanted to free him of the burden. When we were done, I could tell Keaton wished that the final product had been...
read moreAlbum Status — Almost Ready!
I’ve spent the last months diligently working to complete my first album production: While I Have Being. I’m happy to report that the project is almost complete and the album is sounding and looking great. While I Have Being features eleven solo, original banjo compositions. I tracked the pieces both here at CedarSmith studio, and in Salem, Oregon at Spring Hollow Sanctuary, a lovely, peaceful location where I was able to spend a week of uninterrupted tracking. Mixing and editing took place here at CedarSmith, and final mixes and...
read moreThe World’s Most Beautiful Banjo — #150
The New Banjo I promised an update when the new banjo arrived. Well, here it is. These were the words I sent Pat upon inspecting it the day it arrived: Pat, Despite our many detailed discussions, despite my seeing and playing the prototypes for #150, and despite my already seeing the unbelievably beautiful pot, nothing could have prepared me for the intense beauty and artistic mastery of #150. Literally every angle, every proportion, every curve is perfect. I can’t take my eyes off it. This is...
read moreNW Handmade Musical Instrument Exhibit
Patrick Huff of Doc’s Banjos has asked me to perform a selection of my work onstage at the upcoming NW Handmade Musical Instrument Exhibit near Portland, Oregon. I am honored and excited! If you find yourself in the Portland area Saturday April 30th, swing by Marylhurst University and catch my performance at 1:45. Be sure to visit Doc’s exhibit and see the many other craftsman instrument builders. I can’t wait to see all those beautiful...
read moreSolo Banjo Recording Project Update
Well, I’m thrilled to report that in the last few days I’ve written two new tunes. Both are in an A tuning, which is new to me. I love new tunings for sparking creative ideas. I’ve decided not to post any more tunes until the record is complete because I want it to have some freshness and surprise for listeners. I intend to include eleven tunes; the most recent two are numbers six and seven. I’ve also spent considerable effort in the studio working out the engineering details for capturing the banjo tone I’m after...
read moreDocsBanjos.com
Over the last few months I have had the pleasure of working with Patrick “Doc” Huff on a complete redesign of his website at www.DocsBanjos.com. It was a fairly massive project that involved many, many hours on both our parts. Pat built a light box and spent weeks of trial and error learning how to photograph banjos and accessories. He also had to communicate his story to me and share his vision for all aspects of his craft. I collected, edited, and data architected all this information, then designed and built the site. I also...
read moreMy Creative Process
It’s hard to articulate the process of being “creative.” I have noticed recently, however, that when I produce music I seem to follow a basically consistent pattern. Phase one involves stumbling upon a musical fragment, typically a phrase or interesting chord voicing, that I find somehow compelling. Phase two encompasses fleshing out, exploring, developing, and ultimately refining the idea. Phase three entails producing a finished product by polishing off performances, arrangement, mix, and mastering. Phase one is generally a...
read moreThoughts on Instrument Distinctiveness
Sitting in my sons’ piano lessons this week I began thinking about the significant difference between piano, as an instrument, and the fiddles that we are also learning to play. The piano shares a pronounced commonality with fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin, cello, and bass in that tones are produced by vibrating strings. The profound difference is in the method of producing and maintaining the vibration. A piano tone is generated by a hammer striking a string when a key is pressed. The musician controls the volume of the tone by how fast...
read moreAbigail Washburn and Sarah Jarosz
I’ve been listening to a lot of “Old-Time” music these last six or seven months. My interest tends to center on Old-Time banjo music specifically, but I’ve got plenty of “String Band” music in my growing collection. Perhaps one of the most unusual is a record featuring “Masters of Old-time Country Autoharp“. Although there are certainly exceptions, simple arrangements and relatively poor recording quality seem to be hallmarks of the genre. I appreciate that the magic is conjured in the subtleties...
read moreGrado Prestige Series SR80i “Cans”
Years ago I discovered the excellent and inexpensive Sennheiser PX100 headphones. Nearly a year ago, our then-new puppy Stella chewed up my son’s pair and I gave him mine. After borrowing his pair every morning for nearly a year, I finally opted to get myself a new pair, only to find that Sennheiser had revamped these fine headphones to mixed reviews and a much higher price tag. I began a diligent search for the best replacement option. The more I researched, the more I found mixed reviews of just about every product south of $400 and...
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