Wassail, wassail, wassail.....!

Hi all, it's that time of year again! I hope all you readers have a super holiday season and a happy, healthy new year. I am looking forward to a week or so off. 'Nellie' can have a new set of strings and the neighbours the restbite care they so well deserve!
My old Arthur-rite-us is not getting any better but have now found some pain relief that does not space me out so roll on 2012. I am going to try and make the next twelve months a gig and festival year and hope to see many of you out and about. The only ones I can confirm at the moment are Beverley Festival, Whitby Folk Week and Otley Folk Festival with more to add soon.

A gig to look forward to on Sun 1st April 2012 at Leeds Town Hall is Christy Moor (not to be missed) I'm sure he has many more dates, check out http://www.christymoor.com/ for details. He is well worth a listen.
Come the new year I am going to start a 'player of the month' section. Who better to start with than Barney (Banjo Barney) McKenna of 'Dubliners' fame so looking forward to that. Also, while out wandering the streets during 2012 I will be collecting for 'Hounds for Hero's', a really worthwhile charity, more of which at a later date.
It's time for the off and yet ANOTHER glass of wine, bye for now, Phil
'Talkin Folk Towers' contact details: 075111 25805, Twitter @zoster1953, mail zoster1953@gmail.com.

Right, let's get down to business.....

I hope my posts over the coming months will encourage you to take the plunge and get your hands on a 'Irish' tenor banjo and have many hours of enjoyment learning to play. It will open up your ears to some of the wonderful traditional music we have available to us.
Unless you are lucky enough to know Mr Smith down the road who happens to have an old instrument gathering dust in the attic, it's hand in pocket time! This does not have to be as wallet bashing as you may think. With the aid of the 'interweb' and an hour of your time you can unearth several second hand models. If you need any advice on purchasing second hand, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will try my best to help. If a new instrument takes your fancy, you are spoilt for choice. I have had a look at three music shops in my area (West Yorkshire) and one in Ireland. Prices ranged from £140.00 (how they make one at that price point is beyond me) to around £3000.00 for a custom made model. The quality of decoration does not alter the quality of tone and playability but nine times out of ten you get what you pay for! If it helps (this is a purely personal recommendation), at the cheaper end of the scale I would go for an 'Ashbury' at around £200.00 and is super value for money. For a few bob more, (£500.00 'ish) you can get your hands on a 'Goodtime Special' made by 'Deering' banjos in the US. It is a super piece of kit and worth every penny.
Try and take someone with you on the big day. They do not have to be a banjo specialist but a musician of any discipline will be able to offer a second opinion as to quality of tone etc. Also most of the outlets that I use have a member of staff to give impartial advice and play a tune or two so you get a good idea of the sound quality.
The rest is up to you and your bank manager but I do hope you join the gang!
The following are worth a 'Google'...Hobgoblin Music, The Music Room and Eagle Music...happy shopping. Philip
My details :- 07511 125805, Twitter @zoster1953, email zoster1953@gmail.com

We all like a bargain........

Being from 'up north', I like to save my wallet too much of a bashing! These are hard times so summat for nowt seems too good to be true! Or is it? I have got myself one of these 'smart phones' trying to keep up with the times (it cannot brew tea). So far, so good but I keep calling people while trying to connect to the net! It runs on this thing called Android software(sounds like something you rub cream on). While looking through the free apps market I found one called 'DaTuner Lite', so downloaded it and gave it a go. I am pleased to report, it's great. I did a comparison with my 'Korg' and it was as near as makes no difference, the same, which for a freebie is top value. So, no more excuses, turning up at a gig without you tuner as we all take our phones with us even though we don't always turn them off, do we?

I now have contact details for here at 'Talkin Folk' towers, so if you have anything to get off your chest or advice, I will try my best....Phil
Tel 075111 25805 email zoster1953@gmail.com or Twitter @zoster1953

Will try and get back over the wknd with some tenor banjo tips.

Early Festival News.......

As mentioned in my last post I have festival info hot off the web. From 15th - 17th of June 2012 you can treat yourselves to some fantastic earfulls of folkie goodness at the Beverley Folk, Acoustic, Roots festival over in old East Yorkshire

Many thanks to Laura for putting up with my online 'stalking' while gathering information for you readers.
Contact info :- http://www.beverleyfestival.com/  tel :- 01377217569. The website is well worth a visit and you can sign up for the newsletter, just so you don't miss owt. It has a really good value for money line up inc Peatbog Faeries, Home Service etc, etc. And to top it all off (for me anyway) Mr Martin Carthy (MBE)!
I am getting fussy regarding festivals in my dotage. You have to part with a lot of dosh for your two days then your camping, not to mention food, beer and women (or men). But I can give Beverley' the big thumbs up. A really great family festival which really has something for everyone.

Just a quick 'funny' afore I go....Visited a festival a few years ago which had two main venues over the weekend and two main headliners, and you guessed it. They put them on at the same time!! You know who you are!

"Now go and sit on the naughty step Philip"

Ok, ok, blog has one 'g' unless your 'blogging', then it's two. Grammar nd spellin were never my thing, it were moor mathes nd geografie!
Hi all, hope you are well? Been to Tesco (other hypermarche's exist) and found brass monkey's looking for welders, I guess we have found winter?
This is just a 'shortie' but do have a couple of things to impart. I think it's series four of 'Transatlantic Sessions' is being repeated on BBC 4 on Fri @ 7.30 (first one last night, 09/12/11) Paul Brady was ace)). I mention this as it was the first time that Mr Bain has included an Irish tenor banjo in the line-up. He's a guy called Gerry 'O'Conner (more of him at a later date) a fine player he is too. Any road, five more to go so enjoy yersens.
Going now, but before I do, I had a thought (I know, I know), If my postings are just chitchat and general folkie silliness the heading will be in blue. If it is directly to do with the Irish tenor banjo I will make them red, that you do not need to read drivel if you do not want to...........Also I have found you have to read it from the early posts to now for it to make sense! Oh well, that's the interweb for you! Have a super (and warm) weekend.
ps, have some great festival news for you but will keep you hangin on......such a tease!

Lets get started....

The primary reason for this blog is to promote the playing and appreciation of what we now tend to call the Irish Tenor Banjo. In fact, no such creature exists. It's just a tenor banjo. A banjo with four strings rather than the five you tend to see played by American bluegrass bands and the like. An in depth history of the instrument is not the subject of blogging and is told by far more learned than I! Needless to say is not American but African in origin and owe it's place in our music today to the slave trade (every cloud has a silver lining)! The Irish bit is thanks to the Minstrel Shows popular at the time. Nowadays (quite rightly), a big 'no no' but in the 19th and early 20th century were all the rage. Quite a number came over the water from America and many of them were Irish or of Irish origin. On seeing and hearing the instrument it was only a matter of time before it was included in the ceilidh band line up. It was originally tuned CGDA and still can be (nowt to stop you), to fit in with the jazz bands it was mainly used with. It is now common to tune down to GDAE (with thicker strings, more detail in later bloggs) to fit in with fiddle's, mandolin,s and the like and traditional music in general.
Well, you will be pleased to know that is your history lesson for today and it will soon be play time! Best wishes from me (Phil) here at Talkin Folk towers, till next time, ttfn.......

Just to add a quick note. I do not wish to sound condescending in any way but in this blogg I assume little or no knowledge of the banjo or it's music, so please skip what you don't need. Byeee..........

I have made a decision....
During a breakfast meeting this morning with myself here at Talkin Folk Towers I decided that Tuesday is rant day! And the only thing remotely folkie about this posting is that as I type I have Kate Rusby singing to me from the box in the corner.
"What is your rant " you say? Well it's this 'i' thing. Everything has to have one, iPods, iTunes, iPhones etc etc. It's nowt new. My mum used it every day. "I told you that would happen" or "I told you to take your coat off or you would not feel the benefit when you went out". And the best one of all "I told you, you were a pillock"! So you see Mr Apple, it's all been done before..........now back to Kate.

A first time for everything!!!!!

I am what you could call an 'infant' when it comes to  the interweb and especially the wild world of the blogg. You will (I hope), forgive all the mistakes I make and thank you for sticking with it. You never know it may improve!
At the moment I am in the minefield of legal stuff. What I can and cannot post on here. I should get my head round it and not end up like Private Eye (I have two rabbits to feed) so a spell at HMP is out of the question!
So an introduction to 'Nellie' (my Irish tenor banjo) and all things folking in the next edition of Folk talkin Folk, regards Phil