This is my first post, although I’ve been following the site for a couple of months. My banjo history is probably not that unusual. It began in the late 60s during the folk music revival in Albany-Saratoga, NY area. My wife and I frequented coffee houses, especially the Eighth Step (Albany) and Caffe Lena (Saratoga), attending the Fox Hollow Folk Festival, meetings of the Pickin’ and Singin’ Gathering, listening to the likes of Ray Andrews, Don McLean, Pete Seeger, Michael Cooney, Bill Vanaver, and Mike Quick (I wonder what happened to him), and figuring out tunes from home-made tapes of these pickers, records of The New Lost City Ramblers and John Burke’s book of tabs. I played guitar and banjo (mostly clawhammer), though I was never very good at either, but I had a lot of fun with them. Then I got married, had kids and put my Gibson long-neck and Leonard Glenn fretless away. In December of 2012, I went with my wife to the Banjo Summit here in Ithaca and was inspired, especially by Richie Stearns, to pick my banjos up again. It was amazing how much my fingers had forgotten. But I’ve stayed with it, and for my 70th birthday I even bought another banjo, a 1926 Vega Senator with a repro neck that sounds real sweet and plays well. I’ve been learning new tunes from Mike Iverson’s site, from BHO archives, and from John Burke’s old book mostly. I’ve also joined the Old Time Jam site. I’m having a blast. And I really enjoy following this website. It helps me feel connected and I’ve gotten helpful tips. I just wonder if I’ve run across any BHO banjoists in my travels.
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