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Good times

DE

Hope you have a great opening day TF.

My new knee (7 weeks old) and I took one of my kayaks out yesterday for a short float on a local stream.  Water was a little high and stained, visibility about 6" and temp around 46 degrees F.  I didn't get a single hit in about 2 hours of fishing.  However, with warmer weather on the way, stream temps should hit the magic 55 degree mark in another week or so,  waking up the smallies.

DE

I had my right hand done 30 years ago followed by the left hand one month later.  I had full use of both hands fairly quickly but it took several months before I felt like I had full strength in my hands.  30 years later I still have not had any problems since I had the the operation performed.

DE

I've owned a Hondo mandolin but none of their guitars.  As I recall the older ones were actually made by Samick in Korea.  I've played a few Samicks and have always been impressed by the sound and build for the price. As the world's largest guitar maker, they build a lot of entry level guitars for several big names.

DE

The Byrds are one of my all-time favorite bands.  Back in the late 60's they came to our town as part of a swing through three Ohio towns in one evening.  They borrowed instruments from the opening act, spent ten minutes tuning and then played for about 20-25 minutes before rushing off again.  I was pretty disappointed but still loved their sound.

I went to see Dylan a few years ago with my youngest daughter.  The band playing with him had a blue-grass sound and Dylan's vocals were hard to hear.  It wasn't what I was expecting but I have to admit I really enjoyed it.

My all-time favorite concert was Joan Baez.  She walked out on the stage with just a guitar, sat on a chair and kept the audience spell-bound for two hours.  It was at that moment that I realized that well-written songs performed by a talented  solo singer trumped loud music, light shows and stage theatrics.

DE

I was never a big concert goer as I really don't like crowds and loud music. Still, I saw several of the acts that were big in the late 60's and early 70's.   Groups/soloists I would have liked to seen live:

Beatles when they were starting out and played at small venues
Buddy Holly and the Crickets
Doors
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Simon & Garfunkel
Carter Family
Jim Croce
Monroe Brothers
Woody Guthrie
Flatt & Scruggs
Kris Kristofferson
Staple Singers
Doobie Brothers

Pure Prairie League was a band that had its roots in nearby Waverly, Ohio.  Craig Fuller (songwriter, guitar and vocals) and John David Call (pedal steel) were both from Waverly.  I met Craig when we were taking some of the same classes at Ohio University in 1968 and John when we both hired in on the same day as Instrumentation and Control apprentices at a local uranium enrichment facility in 1969.  John quit within a year as the band he was playing with (PPL) got signed to a record contract and the boys hit the road. Call had to quit touring after a couple years because of back issues and moved back home to Ohio.  In the early 70's PPL was my favorite band and I collected all their albums and learned to play some of their songs.  Although "Amie" is more popular, "Tears" has always been my favorite. Over the years the band had changed members often and at times no original members were touring. As mentioned, Vince Gill was a member at one time.

John Call was well-known for his innovative steel guitar licks and I even heard him referred to as the Jimi Hendrix of pedal steel once. I spoke to him last fall (he is a member of our Foothill Folk Society group) and he is doing some gigs with the band again and his wife Andrea (also a musician) plays at a venue in WV.

DE

Thanks everyone, I got back home last night.  I had a great visit with my buddy Steve, talking about the old high school days, our freshman year in college, the road trips we took to California, Florida, etc and about our families and new grandkids. Picking up the Fishman went smoothly and I've been playing around with it all morning while Jen took the dogs to the groomer - allowing me to crank it up check everything out at higher volumes.  It should work great for the solo gigs I generally am asked to play.

Tomorrow night I'll be playing at Bennet Hall at Ohio University as part of a fund raiser for out Foothill Folk Society group.  In past years we've bought and donated guitars and free lessons to kids who otherwise would not get a chance to learn how to play. (If they attend the lessons faithfully for 6 months and progress, they get to keep the guitars.)  We had several students last year and with a couple of them "graduating"  we have room for 2-3 more this spring.  We are also expanding our efforts and have contacted local schools to see if there is some way we can assist in their music programs.  Every year we have a different theme for our shows.  This year it will be a "living room jam" theme.  We are setting the stage with couches, chairs, lamps, etc like in someone's home.  The show will start with me and two other performers sitting on a couch and playing a few songs.  Other "folks" will be phoned and asked to come over to join the jam or some will "just drop by", each act arriving by knocking at the door, entering the living room and being asked to join the jam and sit down and play a few songs. There will be a dozen acts in total. We haven't had much time to prepare for the event, haven't had any rehearsals, but just plan to ad lib the whole thing.  It'll probably drive the sound man crazy, but it should be fun.  We were contacted by a public TV station who wants to film the event.  I'm not sure of the status of the talks with the film crew, as I missed Tuesday's planning meeting because I was in Michigan buying the Fishman.

DE

The difference in acoustic guitar tonewoods, body shapes and scale lengths have always fascinated me.  I have a sitka top/ solid mahogany back & sides 14-fret dreadnaught, a sitka top/solid mahogany back/laminated sides 12 fret 000 (aka auditorium size) a cedar top/solid mahogany back and sides 14 fret dreadnaught, a sitka top/solid rosewood back and sides 12-fret 000 and an adirondack top/solid rosewood back,/laminated sides 14 fret 000. Each has its own unique sound.

Thanks for posting the article TF.

DE

I'm with ya on that one TF.  I get a new knee in two weeks and have plans not only to fish for smallies in a lot of Ohio's streams but have made tentative plans for fishing trips to Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas and Quetico Provincial Park in western Ontario.

DE