Thanksgiving

What a busy month it has been.

The Rattlers played their first dance and it went swimmingly. I think we have really come along since we first started playing together...the one or two hours that Dawn and I are playing a day probably had something to do with that fact. It still sort of stuns me that it came together as well as it has. We picked as a group three nights in a row this week and had a fine time. HERE is a sample, a great tune called "Red Apple Rag"...less our banjo player Dan. I record everything we play together just because I like to watch it and listen as I work. Seems like you can learn a lot about what you need to work on that way. Our tune list is up somewhere around fifty and rapidly growing...which still sort of stuns me.

Thanksgiving was fantastic--great food and very relaxing. My family isn't perfect...but we have perfected the art of having a good time regardless.

I also picked up yet another mandolin...a Redline Traveler. It's a pancake, based off the Gibson Alrites from way back when. An excellent sound to it, although I will admit to being a little put off when I first got it. The previous owner had seriously dropped the action and it seemed thin. Once I got it back to an acceptable level with some new strings it sounds great. Seriously, I am going to stop anytime. Maybe. I need to change the tailpiece and add a clear pickguard.

Also...as it turns out, Dawn can REALLY sing. As soon as I get a video of it I will be back. I have known her for sixteen years and I had no idea. I don't think she did either. Bizarre.

A New One for me

Coming to my house by Tuesday--very exciting. Early 20's Gibson mandolin-banjo. Ah, the noise I will make.

A Good Start

We had our first practice as a band last night and I am pleased with the result. It will take time to tighten up...but I am confident that it will. Our domain and email has been set up, so now all that remains is to finish the site design and get to playing. The splash page is above...and the inset pics will be links once it is rolling.

Very exciting.

One for the "Win" column

I played in the Hagood Mill Annual Fiddle Convention this weekend, and lo and behold my band took 3rd place in the Old Time Band contest. We were sort of a scratch band, put together a few nights before from my regular picking buddies, and I didn't think we had too much of a chance...a lot of seasoned players there. I was immensely pleased. Made my week. I took a few pics while I was there but was busy picking for the most part.

Our band name..."Ruby Dawn and the Red Hill Rattlers". Hearing the announcer say it was priceless.

A Fine Weekend

It was an excellent weekend, so much so that I hated for it to end. Sometimes you feel ready to land back at the desk on Monday, but this was certainly not one of those times.

I actually set out to attend a family reunion for the Fisher family in Lake Toxaway, NC, but set out late and really directionless and wound up wandering around some old graveyards in the area looking at headstones of long-gone relatives. It was fascinating. One of these men, James Fisher Jr., was the subject of a popular novel of the time and was known in the area as "Long Hunter". His own father explored the territory with Davy Crockett. No kidding.

Most of these men wound up fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War, and some of them died as POWs. My Dad's genealogical work really came in handy. Endlessly fascinating to see where you came from. It was pouring outside, so I was only able to get a couple of good pictures. Posted the snail here, which I thought was decent from a compositional perspective.

The other picture here is my great-great-Grandfather, the son of Thomas Cantrell and Polly Fisher. His name was Francis Marion Cantrell.

The rest of the weekend was spent learning some fiddle tunes. I wondered as I looked around at these graveyards if there were any fiddlers buried there. My personal guess is that there was...but I probably just like the thought of it.

Here's one from the weekend. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed playing it.

Picking and sort of grinning

Had a rough weekend around our house with the teenage girl drama, but I think it has settled down now. It is what it is. I usually find that a banal expression but it seems to fit here. Not much I can do about it, so I might as well feign indifference. Makes me feel better.

The other thing that makes me feel better is the mandolin. I played really well last night with no explanation. I don't know what it is about playing an instrument, but sometimes you just have a stroke of inspiration and coordination...and then it dissolves. There's no accounting for it, but it is the sort of thing that happens from time to time in a jam or small setting. If I could figure THAT formula out I don't think I would ever leave the house. The music is just on fire.

I am thinking that I will purchase a Moleskine notebook to carry along with me. Something appealing about those for reasons I can't understand...and speaking of bags, I want this badly and am maneuvering to get it. It's just cool and there's really no other reason I can offer.

Your stuff

For whatever reason, I have come to LOVE Flickr photostreams, and two of a particular variety: the contents of people's bags (purses, backpacks, wallets, etc.) and what a person has on their desk. I think I could sit and look at these all day. I have no idea why that is, but it just fascinates me to see what people take along with them. Here's a link to the Flickr stream for bags...thousands of pictures.

As for what's in mine...it has already been added to the stream, but I will submit it here for your viewing displeasure (as it turns out, it doesn't fascinate everyone)