a real banjo

thanks to the generosity of friends i have a banjo! travis gave it to me (along with two other instruments). now that i have these parts all in one place i'm going to see if i can put it together.

here it is: banjo pot and neck, nice set of new tuners, bag of hardware and pieces of bone. i had dismantled it before i flew back from SF (many thanks to scrunch for shipping the neck and tuners, after they had a little side-trip to WA)

i've been trying to figure out the details of the instrument. 17-fret (short scale) tenor. the pot is 12" in diameter. if the neck and pot were originally together (and authentic) then it's an old Vega. From this website the serial number inside the pot dates to 1921.

here are some more shots, including two cryptic scrawlings on the neck/dowel, outer pot with a mix of old, replacement and missing J-hooks, and the battered but intact headstock.

so far i have only conservatively cleaned the pot (dry dusted with q-tips) and wiped the neck wood with orange oil. next i'm making a new nut from bone. the old nut consists of two broken pieces (shown below with the new pre-nut bone piece before cleaning/degreasing/shaping).

this is fun.

Lucky 13

Our Street

Today is Hendrix's 1st BD! The 13th is assigned to him since his actual date is not known (J&L are both born on a 13th, so 13 is considered a lucky number around here). This afternoon when I left the house a black cat crossed the street in front of my car, and I had to brake on ice. Luckily the cat survived, and since I creep along like a snail while driving it was only a short skid. More snow this week, but we finally will see some temps above freezing...

Ice-scape Wonderland

the top of my car this afternoon...

(click pic for bigger)

Black Coffee

I've been listening to Peggy Lee's first album, Black Coffee (1953/1956). I never was a fan of Peggy Lee, my earliest exposure to her was probably from Lady and the Tramp, and perhaps a variety show appearance on TV in my childhood. Love this album! What a great voice and delivery. An original singer/songwriter.

Black Coffee (title track)

of course any song with references to nicotine and caffeine always catches my attention.

I got lost online reading about Peggy Lee, following YouTube links. This is the video I stopped at. I love seeing the tracking lines, having a bit of nostalgia for the old VHS.

Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack (1973)!

Annie Lennox

wow...

Halloween Follow-Up

It was a very successful Halloween this year! We had maybe 40 people at the party, not too many trick-or-treaters though (it was raining). Here's some pics of family costumes and props... it was fun making all this stuff but it's good to be done.

The Alchemist's Medallion and Jefferson Twilight's vampire teeth necklace

Dr. Henry Killinger: Magic Murder Bag, mask, slippers, handcuffs

The Sovereign (David Bowie): Gitanes

Orpheus, Twilight, Sovereign, Killinger

(a rare shot of Twilight with facial hair. we realized rather quickly after this that the rubber cement was going to scar Betty if she didn't wash it off soon)

and from the back

The Triad "does their thing"

The Order of the Triad prepare smokie crescent rolls

Venture Bros. Group Shot!

(J's room-mates came as Col. Hunter Gathers and Baron Werner Ünderbheit!)

USEFUL BAGS, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM

"USEFUL BAGS, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM" is an article from the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 561, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 2, 1886. Written in, well, an 1886 flowery kind of style. Very cool. I think it may be of help to us while making Dr. Henry Killinger's Magic Murder Bag (basically a doctor's bag) for Halloween.

a quote from the article regarding the selection of materials:

"... has a good appearance for some time, but, like all articles of imitation, it has only cheapness to recommend it..."

it's a good thing we got authentic naugahyde to make our bag!

we still have several props and costumes to finish, in addition to the bag. finished items will get posted soon!