Oan from
Bangkok,Thailand asks:
Q: Please recommend any banjo for beginner 4 or 5 strings.
A. I think those Deering Good Time banjos work pretty well. Cheap and
they work.
You can find them on the internet of course, from various sources.
Here's a good strategy. Try to pay as little as possible!
ha! I'd snag a used one.
Any cheap banjo with a fairly straight neck and will hold tune, can suffice.
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Cheryl Rumohr from the
SF Bay area asks:
Q: I don't have a question, but I want to comment on Oft Mend Raiment.
IT'S GREAT!!! I just wish my car's sound system could handle the bass
w/out distorting. Oh yeah, there is something I'd like to ask, who
where the 2 guys that played w/you on the little stage at Hardly
Strickly?
A: There is one hefty shot of bass on OMR. Try some good headphones.
Glad you liked that one. That cd was one of those things where you
feel like you already won the game by recording it. You might also
like my free ep, freep, available on my site for.....free. I have more
of that side of things coming out in 07.
At the Hardly Strictly thingy, that was Mike Stone and Jeremy
Lightfoot, two friends of mine from Seattle that can play up a storm.
Thank you for paying attention! I met Mike through Wayne Horvitz.
Mike played with Wayne in Ponga. I believe he played with Wayne in a
Torture Garden project also. Mike and Jeremy produce and engineer
records in Seattle and play in bands and things of that nature.
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Brad from
san francisco,ca asks:
Q: Was very pleased to hear your set w/ Tim O'Brien at Hardly
Strickly...no question, just loved your banjo playing & then that
great fender sound...was that a Jaguar or a mustang you twanged so
well?
A: Good eye. That was a Jaguar.
I love those guitars. All those switches. I got hip to them through
Bill Frisell. On the cd of his Ghost Town, he used one quite a bit.
He told me how to tweak them where they will work better and loaned me
one to see if it was diggable. At one time the Jag was considered the
top of the Fender line I believe, over a Strat. With all those
switches you can get more bottom end than a Strat and more top end
than a Tele. It's really cool. And the scale length is a little bit
shorter so it fits in the overhead better. Plus you can do wild
stretches cuz the frets are closer. And the whammy bar works.
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Cory from
New York asks:
Q: I just started to learn how to play the banjo, and I came across
The Bad Livers while looking music up. I love it. Great Music!!!! Can
you do me a favor? One night when your home and bored can you send me
the banjo tab for "Pretty Daughter" I love that song but cant figure
it out.
A: I have the music for that song in my book available on my site.
You can learn all the music from that cd out of that book.
Also you can play that song with one finger on the left hand if you
just get your banjo into Sawmill tuning. A little more research and
you'll have it. Check out Reed Martin and Dan Gellert for great banjo
players that are contemporary. And Walt Koken.
I don't really get bored.
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eric from
vermont asks:
Q: Will you be coming into New england anytime soon?
Do you ever release recording tracks? (just the vocals or just the banjer)
A: I was there several times this year, where in the heck were you?
haha! And I'll be back next year also, keep checking that site please.
For the love of Pete I can't figger out what you mean in the second
part of that question.
Write me back and explain we may be using different terms or somesuch.
i thought they were all "recording tracks."
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Sean Sullivan from
Cumming IA asks:
Q:I have heard you say a few times that Blood and Mood was a bad
experience and a very slow selling CD. I do not understand that. I
think that it is a classic. When you came out at Hardly Strictly with
three songs from that CD, I was jumping for joy. I must say though,
that I was one of the only ones in the crowd who knew the songs.
A: Oh I'm just joking around with that. That wasn't really a bad
experience or anything, and I must desist from that type of humor.
That cd, was really important for me and I felt like it was a real
"statement."
It turned out really good from an artistic view. It was sort of a
musical curve ball, but it was so from it's inception.
I still get letters from folks saying they dug that. It sure sounds
good in the jeep. It's very much appreciated that you felt it was
worthwhile.
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Leftover Sammy from
Lake Forest Park, WA asks:
Q: When was the last time you performed with the "Bad Livers"?
PS - I am also a local taper, do you allow SBD feeds?
A: It's been a long time Sammy. If you missed any of that, there's
tons of free live recordings available from various sources.
And I don't know what an SBD feed is, but my guess is my answer would
be "yes. tape away and have fun."
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Chris Dulaney from
Fort Worth and Fort Davis, TX asks:
Q: Howdy Barnes, I been follerin' you since about 1993 or so... I
heard a snip of a Frissell / Barnes set on XM 'cross country' one
day... Is that available anywhere in digital format?
A: I don't believe that is available commercially though my guess is
that you can find it, if that makes any sense. Do a little research
and you might be juking upon that quicker than you can say Jackie
Robinson.
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Will from
Truckee, CA asks:
Q:1) While cruising the Information Super-Highway, I found a beautiful
version of you playing Glad and Sorry (from the Grey Fox workshop).
Will you please play that more often?
2) I've heard you joke onstage with regularity about how few fans you
have/records you sell. I see you whenever you're within four hours
drive, buy all your albums, spread the good word, etc., yet feel like
I'm not doing my job! What will it take for you to acknowledge that
you do have fans?
A: Okey doke, I will play that more, I love that song. (See what I
mean Mr. Dulaney, just about every note I've played in public is
available for download somewhere.)
To the second part of your question, I have been thinking quite a bit
about what you say here, and want you to know that I think you are
right, and I have been wrong in speaking along those lines. I will
endeavor to correct this, and appreciate your letting me know how you
feel. Forgive me for casting a negative vibe upon the waters, even in
jest.
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Sean McVey from
Indianapolis, IN asks:
Q: Barnes,
You played at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fest. Gillian Welch and
David Rawlings were there too. Did you meet them or get a chance to
play wtih them?
A: No and no. They are really good, however I've never hung with them
and we haven't been introduced.
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Luke from
Chicago asks:
Q: You rip on the acoustic guitar. What guitar do you play?
Can you teach me how to play Ooh La La?
A: Different ones. I like an old L7 that fell into my lap a few years
ago. It's used on Shine On on Get Myself Together, if you ever want
to hear it. I don't travel with it, it's not a collectable guitar but
it means a lot to me. Live I use a Tacoma guitar.
You can play ooh la la by just going back and forth between D and E
minus. If you come to a show, and make yourself known to me and bring
me a peanut butter sandwich, I will teach you this song. Oh yes and
a baseball card of the Texas Ranger shortstop Michael Young. 103 RBI
this year.
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Scott S. from
Chicago asks:
Q: How'd you become such a big dude? Do you workout?
A: Heavens no, not unless you count pushing my luck and jumping to
conclusions.
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Pastor Tim from
Great Falls, MT asks:
Q: What do you listen to when you're just sitting around on a Sunday afternoon?
A: I'm into this composer Morton Feldman. Sometimes Black Rebel
Motorcycle Club. Bartok's Microcosmos is always cool.
Albert Ayler. The banjo player Walt Koken. Different things.
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Barbara Haas from
Northern California asks:
Q: What exactly are you saying when you're testing the mic? It
sounds like you're saying something like "San Antonio and bread balls."
A: My old friend Lunchmeat is the only one that is in on this joke but
it's "Check 'em up, bread ball, china clipper calling alameda, san
antonio. Tasting one shoe."
It's an amalgem of soundbite soundcheck soundoffs. You're probably
sorry you asked now!
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Scott Cardwell from
Cambridge, MA asks:
Q: First when are you coming back to Massachusetts?
Now that we have settled that I would like to ask about the influence
that East Texas Bluegrass has had on you? I have a book and disk
called by the Angelina with stories and songs from east Texas. Steve
Hartz is the main musician on this recording. I was surprised by how
much this cd reminded me of you. It's a different style than the
mountain bluegrass (Ralph Stanley), or Kentucky bluegrass (Bill
Monroe). I was surprised one to find that there is also a Texas style
of bluegrass, and that your style really seams to have a lot of that
Texas Bluegrass flavor. Do you agree? If so could you elaborate on
this connection, your influences?
Also have you heard Steve Hartz and the book By the Muddy Angelina?
A: I will be in Mass. in 2007 promoting a new cd of mine. My hope is
that you will attend and tell me more about this.
I'm a little weak in the musicology department, mainly I just do my
thing and then folks can write or talk about it after the fact.
You probably have a better vantage point than I. Certainly where you
grow up molds your Art. In the time it would take me to bone up on
this and keep up with you in this discussion I could have this new
song finished, so I'll stick with that. I appreciate you for pointing
out this reference to me and I will endeavor to dig upon it at another
point in the space/time continuum. It's an interesting point that you
bring up.
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Luke from
Chicago asks:
Q: Do you have an archive of your recorded shows?
Any possibilities of opening up the archives to the public?
A: There's tons of stuff already available. Join the Yahoo trading
group that swaps my shows if you want to get started. If you research
this you will find what you are looking for. It's there.
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Jon Vaughn asks:
Q:
1. what composition of yours are you most proud of? (my personal fave
barnes tune: Water Wagon and just about anything off "things i done
wrong")
2. what gauge and brand strings do you use on your acoustic guitars?
3. are you and sprout gonna make a full length
CD, or even an EP? boney fingers is an awesome tune, love the
instrumentation too...she's got a great voice, compliments yours well!
4. is an all gospel record in the future? i love your gospel tunes,
from livers on out...
5. this is just a FYI my opinion type thing, but it would be so
awesome if you and Larry Sparks did a record together....the best
living banjo picker with the best living bluegrass front man (in my
opinion), may never happen, but i can dream can't i?
A:
1. it depends on the day. I think the song Everything Fades is pretty
good. It depends on when you ask, sometimes none of it sounds good to
me, sometimes...various ones.
2. usually any medium gauge plain acoustic string.
3. I hope so, I love playing with her. She has a cd in the can of
her songs and it's really good! She's one of the best musicians I've
had the pleasure of playing with and she's really fun to travel with
too, and a great spirit. She doesn't get hung up on some of the
things other folks get hung up about.
4. There are none right now, I have about three new cds all written
and none of the three is all gospel, though it would be a good thing
for me to do at some point.
5. Man, I would dig upon that quite heartily, though the odds are
probably better that you would win the lotto. The odds are greater
that I would play baseball with Steve Sparks the knuckleball guy.
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Jeff Greenlee from
Seattle, WA asks:
Q: I hung out at your workshop at the Pickathon... and you mentioned a
string of numbers corresponding to the picking pattern you recommended
for newbies (like me!) to master... But alas, it was hot, I had no pen
and my memory sucks! could you briefly repeat them?
A:
52152152, the short dew claw string is the fifth string, so count from
that direction, and use Thumb Index Middle, or TIMTIMTI of the right
hand.
it's a forward roll that shall begat the banjoistic tonality fromest
thine banjo with all due haste.
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Leyland Cheney from
Vernon, TX asks:
Q: I get into these discussions with my friends about whether music
was better in the old days or not. What do you think about this?
A: Well, personally, I think music is always good. There was plenty
of dubious stuff recorded in the twenties and sixties and so on.
We've always looked to the past to build things anew. But build we
must, and shall.
This is an exciting time to be a musician and to be an enjoyer of
music. Funny thing is, even with the internet and cable tv et al, you
still have to do research. It's like the same amount of cool stuff
has always been there, though you have a larger pile of offal that one
must dig around in to find the nuggets of gold. There's more chaff,
but there's still plenty of wheat. You have to dig for it as much as
ever. That's paradoxical given the information density. In other
words, I think you are both right. Music was good then and it's good
now.
Also, it's possible to read a few histories of music and sound like a
real expert at the cocktail party. Finding information on the latest
music is harder. Read three or four old jazz biographies and you can
moan all about how it'll never be like that again, or a coupla books
about Bill Monroe. We've had more time to absorb why Bud Powell
was/is important.
I think it's an easy intellectual gambit to appear knowledgeable by
saying something negative.
Things are different, but I don't think they are necessarily worse or
better. There is a LOT of good new music that came out in the last
five years.
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Frank House from
NYC asks:
Q: Is it hard to do what you do?
A: No, I don't think so. It does take a lot of time and effort.
Tim O'Brien told me a story about Charlie Sizemore saying something like,
"People say the music business is hard, but it's not hard. Chopping
cotton, now that's hard. Working in a coal mine, that's hard. Playing
music, that's not hard." (paraphrase)
In my own case I work and study and practice all the time, but it's
fun and you keep learning stuff. I've been at it about thirty five
years.
My dad worked in the iron ore mines, that was hard. My grandad had a
farm during the Depression, that was hard. Working with great
musicians and writing music? I LOVE that!
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