Changed the key from E to E-minor and the time to 4/4. Also starting to really appreciate the awesomeness of 7th chords. I actually recorded a very elaborate mix with accordion and banjo, but lost it all when puter crashed. Today, I just played it live and ended up liking it much better that way.

http://fabricari.com/music/captain-jinks.mp3

Chords are
Em - Em - B7 - Em
Em - Em - B7 - Em
A - Em - B7 - Em
A - Em - F#7 - B7
Em - Em - B7 - Em
Em - Em - B7 - Em

CAPTAIN JINKS OF THE HORSE MARINES

I'm Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines
I feed my horse on corn and beans,
And sport young ladies in their teens
Tho' a Captain in the Army.
I teach the ladies how to dance
How to dance, how to dance
I teach the ladies how to dance
For I'm the pet of the Army

cho: I'm Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines
I feed my horse on corn and beans,
And often live beyond my means
Tho' a Captain in the Army.

I joined the Corps when twenty-one
Of course I thought it capital fun
When the enemy comes, of course I run
For I'm not cut out for the Army.
When I left home, mamma she cried
Mamma she cried, mamma she cried,
When I left home, mamma she cried,
"He's not cut out for the Army."

The first time I went out for drill
The bugler sounding made me ill
Of the battlefield I'd had my fill
For I'm not cut out for the Army,
The officers, they all did shout
They all did shout, they all did shout,
The officers, they all did shout,
"Why, kick him out of the Army!"

More screwin' around with banjo and a camera:

I've uploaded the first season of time-lapse videos I started recording back in '05. Back then, you-tube really wasn't what it is today. But now it's all on there. I'll upload season 2 someday soon.

Busted string ain't gonna stop me from playin' them blues.

http://fabricari.com/music/4-string-blues.mp3

Screwin' around with accordion/banjo in C-minor. Funny thing about frailing in c-minor without tuning up the drone sting from G is that it ends up sounding like them olde timey tenor banjos. Kinda works here - but I'll opt for the tuning when my new machine heads get delivered.

http://fabricari.com/music/sketch-c-minor.mp3

williamgeorge threw down a challenge to learn/record this song. It's a Monkey's classic, but I'm proud of the fact that I can butcher even the simplest of songs. Timing's all outta wack, but it's fun:

http://fabricari.com/music/stepping-stone.mp3

Lyrics:
I I I I I'm
Not your stepping stone
I I I I I'm
Not your stepping stone

You're trying to make your mark in society
Using all the tricks that you used on me
You're reading all them high-fashion magazines
The clothes you're wearing lately causing public scenes.

When I first met you, girl, you didn't have no shoes
But now you're walkin' 'round like you're front-page news.
You been awful careful 'bout the friends you choose
But you won't find my name in your book of Who's Who.

Workin' on a lesson out of "A Book of Five Strings." (Page 33) The focus was on transposing music to fit any key. I tried quite a few, A-minor was cool, but ended up recording in the key of G (the easy one). Song's called Hesitation Blues, my first attempt to sing some blues. Warning, it's really rough, timing's off and I'm practicing singing/playing at same time. I'm not even sure if I have the melody right.

http://fabricari.com/music/hesitation-blues-sketch.mp3

Here're the lyrics:

If the river was whiskey and I was a duck
I'd dive to the bottom and I'd never come up.

Chorus:
Oh tell me how long do I have to wait
Oh can I get you now, or must I hesitate?

If the river was whiskey and the branch was wine
you'd see me in bathing just any ole time

I was born in England, raised in France
I bought a suit of clothes and they wouldn't send the pants

I was born in Alabama, raised in Tennessee
If you don't like my peaches don't shake my tree

I looked down the road as far as I can see
A man had my woman and the blues had me

Got the hesitation stockings got the hesitation shoes
Oh my Lord I got the hesitation blues

Man, oh man, I had a lot of fun learning this one.

Lyrics:

I got a gal at the head of the creek,
Goin' up to see her the middle of the week,
Kiss her on the mouth just as sweet as any wine,
She wraps herself around me like a sweet potato vine.

Goin' up to Cripple Creek, goin' on a whirl,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek to see my girl,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek, goin' on a run,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek to have a little fun.

Girls up on Cripple Creek, 'bout half grown,
Jump on a boy like a dog on a bone,
Roll my britches up to my knee,
I'll wade Cripple Creek when I please.

Goin' up to Cripple Creek, goin' on a whirl,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek to see my girl,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek, goin' on a run,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek to have a little fun.

I finally got good enough with the banjo to jam with a friend at work. For the most part, I kept up and added my share of embellishment. Also, found that I raised a few eyebrows at Guitar Center when I started frailing on the one Goodtimes banjo they had in stock. I think that's a first for me.

I gotta say, though, I really loved playing that Goodtimes banjo. Even though it was a low-end model, it was still twice as nice as what I've been playing. I think I'll save up and in a year upgrade.

I started learning the ultimate cliche in banjo songs, second to Dueling Banjos, that is. Poor family had to endure hours of Cripple Creek. I managed to record one round - 20 seconds. Enjoy!

http://fabricari.com/music/20-seconds-cripple-creek.mp3

One problem, though, all the good stuff I play is stuck in the key of G, C, Am, or Em because of the drone string and the hammer off to G. I gotta figure out a way to play beyond that and still maintain the awesome of hammer-ons, hammer-offs, phantom hammers, slides and strums.

Still workin' through The How and the Tao of Old Time Banjo. Made a quicky recording of that song Boil Them Cabbage Down.

http://fabricari.com/music/boil-them-cabbage-down.mp3

Halloween was nice. Jeremy was Harry Potter, and I got to steal candy from his bag afterwards - dad tax. Earlier he showed me a book he's drawing - it's a story board for Spider-Man 4. The protagonist is "Bag-Man", apparently in his copy of Spiderman Encyclopedia, there's a picture where Spider-Man's only wearing a paper bag over his head as a costume - musta left 'em at the cleaners. Jeremy get's a kick out of drawing Bag-Man.