Gibson Granada Banjo
'Way back in 1962, when I was far, far away in the tiny kingdom of Denmark on an LDS Church mission, the "folk scare" (as Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead called it) was just taking off and folk music was getting popular. Groups like the Kingston Trio, The New Christy Minstrels, The Limelighters, Brothers Four and many, many others were bringing a new style of music to the public. Lots of people were learning to play musical instruments and the one I wanted to play was the banjo. I thought the banjo sounded COOL!
One of my missionary buddies played the tenor guitar (only four strings) and began teaching me a few chord patterns and strumming techniques. He knew many of the old time favorite songs, like "East Side, West Side", "When You and I Were Young, Maggie", etc., as well as some of the popular folk songs.
We would often get together with other missionaries and have songfests and my friend would play his guitar. Well, I wanted to get in on the act, so I would sometimes borrow it and play along. This whetted my appetite for performing and increased my self-confidence to the point that I wrote a letter to Pete Seeger, ordering his "How to Play the 5-String Banjo" book. He wrote me back, quite a nice letter, and told me that "anybody can play the banjo". Thus encouraged, I found and bought a Harmony 5-string banjo.
Now Harmony banjos, as anyone of a musical bent will tell you, can barely be called a musical instrument. In fact, there are those who could persuasively argue whether banjo music is even "music" at all. We'll leave THAT discussion for another time. However, I was still excited to have my own banjo, even if it was a cheap piece of plastic junk!
In my "spare" time, I practiced diligently and learned how to "frail" on that old Harmony and would join right in with the singalongs that started popping up whenever the we got together. Eventually, I achieved a degree of "fame" as a good banjo and guitar player among the Danish missionaries. Looking back, I can only attribute that to the fact that I had no clue what I was doing, so I joined in with gusto! Maybe that's all it takes, after all ... look at Kris Kristofferson ... he can't sing, can't act, and can't play the guitar and he's made tons of money doing all three. It's a mystery to me.
When I returned to Idaho after my mission, I sold my banjo (the Harmony had been replaced with a German-built Hohner, bought in Copenhagen) and bought a long-neck Gibson folk banjo. I gave banjo lessons for awhile and sang with two other returned missionaries (we called ourselves "The Three Guys" or some such appellation... how original!) for a few months. I sang and played in a couple of pizza joints in Pocatello, the Mason Jar, Bimbo's Pizza and another, whose name escapes me. After a while, though, I gave it all up in frustration. I could find NO ONE who could help me learn BLUEGRASS!! Plus, being back in college, I just didn't have time or interest any more. I'd also met my wife, Pat, by that time and was deeply in love....
(Almost thirty years passes...)
One day, I dug out some of my old Flatt & Scruggs records (remember records??, if so, you are OLD!!) and listened to them. The bug bit me again! I bought an Aida archtop banjo, took a few lessons from an instructor at college (who happened to play), bought some books and tablature from Janet Davis (EXCELLENT!) and I was off and running! Took my wife to a Bluegrass Festival at Grand Targhee Ski Resort in August of 1992 and got even more excited about it. Played for awhile, got a little better. This time around I am interested more in traditional 3-finger picking, they call it Scruggs-style.
After several banjo trades and upgrades, including a Gibson RB1, I finally got the banjo that banjo players dream of ... a Gibson Earl Scruggs Special with Keith/Scruggs tuners. It is soooo sweet sounding!! The action is sooo nice! As Ferris Beuller says about the Ferrari he hijacked for the day, "It is so choice! If you have the means, I would highly recommend picking one up". It (the Gibson), not the BMW, is the ultimate driving machine!!
Some of my favorite songs are: Earl's Breakdown, Home Sweet Home, Groundspeed, Foggy Mtn. Breakdown, Beverly Hillbillies and Fireball Mail. The song I dislike most: Dueling Banjos (I call it Drooling Banjos). Why is it everyone wants to hear Dueling Banjos when there are no other banjos around? Don't they realize it is a DUET? "God grant me the serenity...."
Anyway, I play a little bit now and then and am still having fun with it. I could stand to be lots better, but that would take lots of playing time and I just don't have time right now. The music is a stress-reliever for me and when I get to the point that I want to get BETTER, it becomes a STRESS-MAKER.
PS - After playing "The Gibson" for a year or two, I began to hear about a new company from the Czech Republic that was making hand-made banjos with KILLER tone! The name was Pruchka (pronounced PROO-ka). When I had the opportunity to play one, I was hooked and ended up trading my Gibson away. At this time (2010), I've probably had 5 or 6 Pruchkas over the years, constantly upgrading and modifying until my present unit. It's called a Custom Legend ES (Earl Scruggs) model. I ordered it with the fancy wood, radiused fingerboard, extra Mother-of-Pearl inlays, special darker stain (looks very rich) and I really love it. It sounds and plays like a dream! It is so choice! If you have the means, I would highly recommend picking one up". ss
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Thanks for visiting ... Steve Streeper