Started off with Omie Wise and kept on going with some of Wayfaring Stranger. I was lamenting over how my voice would be perfect if I was a little old man living in the mountains - a friend pointed out that folk music's gotta sound like it's sung by folk. Go figure.

I changed the key of Omie Wise to E-minor. I guess it's easier

Cross-Posted from my Live Journal.

http://fabricari.com/music/rock-out-banjo.mp3

The other day I learned a new tuning. (gCGCF) I'm gonna call it the Devil's tuning. Sure as sin, it tastes sweet like the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge. But if you're not careful, it'll bite you back with strings all snappin' in your face 'n' shit!

What makes it so sexy is dropping that 4th string to a deep sounding C. But at the same time you're winding up the 1st and 2nd string up into dangerous territory. I've never heard such a wide range of sound from one banjo. I was all smug with my low-gauge strings thinkin' I was clear and free. Nope. Snapped just as I started to lower it again.

But not before I squeaked out this little tune.

http://www.fabricari.com/music/banjo-harp-blues.mp3

Patrick started a series of harmonica lessons over at Tangier Sound. It's really quite convenient when you've found one really good teacher. I'm sure, at some point I'll have to move on, but until then he never stops to throw new stuff out there to consume.

And speakin' of which, I picked up a copy of his DVD "Frailing the Blues." (The first lesson's on YouTube.) I told myself that I'd only watch a few minutes yesterday, but ended up flying through the whole thing in one sitting. There's such great stuff on that disk, if you like frailing blues at all I can't recommend it enough. Now I only wish he made a second disk - I hunger for more!

This one's gonna be a bit tough to swallow - song's way out of my vocal range. You've been warned.

This was a bit of a struggle to figure out a rythm that worked on the banjo. While doing the research I've heard several dozen versions of this song, and just love the long history.

Lyrics:
[Dm] I went down to [A] St. James [Dm] Infirmary.
[Dm] I saw my [Gm] baby [A7] there.
[Dm] Lying on a [A] long white [Dm]table,
[Dm] So sweet, [A] so cold, [Dm] so fair.

I went up to see the doctor.
'She's very low,' he said.
I went back to see my baby
And great god she was lying there dead.

I went down to Old Joe's Bar-room.
Down on the corner by the square.
They were serving drinks as usual.
And the usual crowd was there.

On my left stood Joe MacKennedy.
His eyes were blood-shot red.
He turned to the crowd around him
And these are the words that he said.

Let her go, let her go, God bless her.
Wherever she may be.
She may search this wide world over
But she'll never find another man like me.

When I die please bury me
In a high top stetson hat.
Put a gold piece on my watch chain.
So the boys will know I died standing pat.

Get six gamblers to carry my coffin.
Six chorus girls to sing my song.
Put a jazz band on my tailgate
To raise hell as we roll along.

This is the end of my story.
So let's have another round of booze.
And if any one should ask you just tell them
I've got the St. James Infirmary Blues.

Cross posted from my journal...



And by request from my Jeremy:

I was gonna draw a banjo, but guitars are easier to draw. :P

I tore my banjo apart over the weekend, and thought I'd post a video for my friends that I did, indeed, bring it back to life.

I also applied some of the lessons in today's The Daily Frail on Tangier Sound. (Even if I'm not making any sense in the video, that's what I'm talking about.)

http://tangiersound.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/the-daily-frail-31008/

In case you missed my posts in my LiveJournal over the weekend:

I'm warmin' up to some ideas that were sent my way today. This is more of a warm-up, any way.

My new banjo's on its way. Should arrive here sometime next week. Sooner, I hope.

Last night, I shoveled bricks of ice. It's not that light fluffy snow - there was a 6 inch layer of solid rock-ice on my drive way. Banged up my tires trying to make it into the driveway. Meili and I chipped and chiseled away so that we could make it to work today. Back's sore, and I'm hating Cleveland Winter. What else, is new, right? I'll have to post lots of pretty pictures of Spring when it finally gets here... in August.

Now to sneak in a half hour of studying - still determined to pass that .NET certification.

A journal comic?

Needless to say, I'm pretty damned proud of Jeremy's latest comic, "Bionicle Man 3."

Took me a while to learn this one despite some fairly easy lyrics and just one chord, open G. I suppose it's all in how you feel it.

Learned how to play from:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gjMsMb0seyU