Due to an extremely busy schedule today I am posting a bit early and dipping into the archives- although I had planned to reshoot this picture so it could be current. Oh well!
Gampy's banjo is one of our greatest treasures. It is not only a piece of musical artistry and construction it is a piece of our family history. My grandfather was an accomplished player. My father heard him sit in with a group of musicians one time and had told me he could very well have been a professional Dixieland jazz player if he'd wanted to be. Sadly, I never heard him play. After his death, my mother kept the banjo but missed him so much when she saw it, the beautiful instrument was relegated to storage- and unfortunately not always in a place which was good for instruments. When the banjo finally came to our house the neck was terribly warped and it was very difficult to play but nonetheless Jeff learned one song on it and played it for my mother when she and Dad were in town visiting one time. It was not up to Jeff's standards- he plays Blluegrass and not Dixie- and he felt really bad that the song was so choppy but my mom loved it. Three weeks later she was gone. Timing is everything.
The banjo as it was remained in its case for another 10 years. We kept it in a better climate, but Jeff's forte was Bluegrass and Gampy's banjo was a Dixie banjo. But an idea was brewing in Jeff's mind- change the neck so he could play this wonderful instrument. It didn't deserve to be silent for so long. I was concerned about damaging the value of it by doing so, but after some research and a visit to experts in NYC, we found out that changing the neck would actually increase the value of the banjo. Another 2 years went by as we saved up for the project and finally, a pilot friend got Jeff a stand-by flight to Nashville and in one day he flew down, dropped the instrument off at Gibson and flew back home. Six months later we drove down to Nashville to pick it up. We didn't trust mailing or shipping it- it was as simple as that!
Gampy's banjo now sings again. The men who restored it did an amazing job- fitting vintage parts to modern pieces, keeping the integrity of the design and even finding some special inlay for the back of the neck that would have been used when Gampy's banjo was originally built in 1927.
To say this instrument is a treasure is an understatement! We just hope one of our grandchildren eventually shows interest in playing it because it would be a shame for it to fall silent again after such an amazing history so far.
Thank you so much to each and every one of you- and a special thanks for all your favs! I was adventurous today and went out to shoot a frozen waterfall. When I returned home my joints clearly stated I'd bitten off more than I could chew! So I'm quickly popping in tonight and will be back full force tomorrow- pictures, comments and all!
@njmom3@grammyn Sitting with the heating pad on my back by the wood stove right now and looking for a sappy Hallmark movie to watch! Nice and toasty and my joints have mostly stopped complaining. (o;
( Starlings are only tempory in our country.)
fav
Thank you so much to each and every one of you- and a special thanks for all your favs! I was adventurous today and went out to shoot a frozen waterfall. When I returned home my joints clearly stated I'd bitten off more than I could chew! So I'm quickly popping in tonight and will be back full force tomorrow- pictures, comments and all!
Thank you Katy, Kerri, Sally, Bri and Yolanda!
Thank you Junko and Caroline!