Tip Jar Jam #38: Is That Somebody You Know?

And thank you, Beulah Land Bob, for today's title. Bob was singing John Henry at the Wednesday jam and was doing what we had talked about in his lesson which was to hold his head and chin up higher so his voice would project more. At the lesson this had put him looking directly at…

Jam Session #1 and Jam Session #2

Folks, I recently participated in couple of picking sessions that showed something about what to do--and what not to do-- in a jam. Let's call them Jam Session #1 and Jam Session #2. Jam Session #1 was the good old Thursday evening session at Linda's Mercantile fruit stand, run by David and Linda Lay on…

Tuesday Jam: Lost Without Kasey!

  Alternate titles suggested by the group: Flying Solo Alone and Forsaken     Love Don't Forsake Me   What is this all about? Ben was at the jam last night, but Kasey was not. (The excitement at the Bristol Motor Speedway and meeting Trevor Bayne for the third time and getting her picture in…

Tip Jar Jam #37: She’s Gonna Shut This Thing Down! [not the jam!]

Today's title comes courtesy of Bobby (formerly know as Bob Van). Kathy Hanson, who was back in the fold this week along with her son Chip, was asking about the idea of taking that "extra break" when you are the Boss of the Song. (Inspired by Kasey!) The "extra break" rule applies only to singing…

Tuesday Jam: Puff The Magic Dragon!

Okay, I'll 'splain that right off the bat. We only had four people at the jam last night: Janet, Ellen, and Mark on guitars and Kenney on bass. I was the ONLY banjo player! Bliss! (Ben and Kasey are at the races at Bristol. Go, Danica Patrick!) So, instead of me being the boss of…

Tip Jar Jam #36: Zac Is Heading For Nashville!

Zac, with his dad Todd in tow, came by the Tip Jar Jam last night to say goodbye. This coming Sunday, after he gets off of work at 3 pm, he will head for Nashville where, for the next 13 months, he will be going to Diesel Mechanic School. He will, of course, be taking…

Tuesday Jam: It’s So Good To Hear The Banjo Again!

(Subtitle, as you will find out, "It's All About Kasey!")   Tuesday jam, you may be saying. Tuesday jam? Well, yes, a Tuesday jam--in addition to the Wednesday jam! The Wednesday jam was getting so big that I finally decided to split it into two jams, so last night was our first Tuesday jam. In…

Custom Lesson Update

Hi, Everyone! I'm popping in for an all-too-infrequent update on what I've been adding to my custom lesson list lately. You can see the entire list (which is close to 250 songs now) and order these from my website. Some very cool, fast banjo tunes in this batch! Recent Additions The Bluebirds Are Singing For…

Tip Jar Jam #35: Guest Starring Nancy Pate

You might have noticed I didn't blog last week. (Thanks for noticing!) That was because Red and I were deep into babysitting Dalton while his mama, Casey, was teaching banjo at Bluegrass Week at Augusta Heritage in Elkins, WV. I didn't even have time to do a catch-up blog that weekend because I was at…