Huber Banjo Update

Jim Mills and his Huber on the Grand Ole Opry stage.

I was speaking to Sam Calveard of Huber Banjos once again; this time just two days ago. Sam told me my new banjo was 13 days away from coming out of the 28-day finish factory cycle. After the finishing process is complete it will probably take a week to assemble and tweak the banjo, then it will be shipped to me.

I'm getting real excited to play (make noise with) this banjo. For those of you that don't know, it's a Huber - Jim Mills signature series model. I've ordered it stock so as to keep it as authentic as possible. What's special (to me) about this banjo is that it's an exact replica of Jim Mills' one-of-a-kind 1939 Gibson RB-75. It's detailed right down to the type of glue that was used in 1939 and Steve Huber even had special screws made to attach the resonator L-brackets just like the ones used in 1939.

It turns out there is something else that will be special about this banjo. It's one of the last Huber banjos to feature the double cut peghead shape - all new Huber banjos will have the Huber peghead shape. As I understand it, approximately 40 Jim Mills signature series banjos have been produced. I'm not sure if my banjo will be "the last one" or just "one of the last ones" to feature the double cut peghead, but in any event, it may very well make these banjos worth more money to collectors in the future, as the new models won't be an exact replica any longer.

The reason for the change is because of threats from Gibson Guitar Corporation to sue companies that use what Gibson is claiming as theirs; in this case it's the peghead shape. Huber's lawyers claim no infringements are being made by Huber Banjos, but Steve Huber says as a small company, his pockets simply aren't deep enough to warrant a fight, even if the law is on his side. Isn't the legal system great!? If you are interested, you can read A Personal Message From Steve Huber on the Huber Banjos web site where Steve explains his position on the matter.

I've already made arrangements to meet "Jimmy" (Jim Mills) and have him autograph the banjo for me at the Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder concert on May 19, 2007 at the Moncton High School.

Harvey Arbo, if you're reading this post, I want you to know you'll be the first one to play this banjo - even before me. Now, if I just pluck a string or two would that be considered playing? It's been a long wait - 9 months and 12 days so far, not that I'm keeping track or anything. It's going to be hard to resist not playing it, so you'd better be in the country! Once Harvey performs the official christening of the banjo, it's fair game!

The Worst of Bluegrass

Would you agree that nearly all of the Bluegrass CD's with titles along the lines of Best of Bluegrass, 50 Years of Bluegrass, Bluegrass Greats, Bluegrass Hall of Fame and many of the Bluegrass sampler CD's put out by the big record labels are actually the absolute worst of Bluegrass? Or is it just my narrow way of thinking?

I've purchased a few of these CD's, listened to them once and thrown them in my pile of never to be listened to again CD's. I've also had a few given to me by people that came to the same conclusion as me. I'm actually quite happy when people give me these CD's because it tells they know the difference as well.

A lot of the CD's I'm talking about contain material that has little to no harmony in it, they often include instruments that would make any hardcore traditionalist cringe, such as drums, pedal steel guitar and electric guitar, and generally speaking they don't have any Bluegrass drive whatsoever! I have nothing against any of the above mentioned instruments in other genres of music. In fact, I have always loved pedal steel guitar - but not in Bluegrass. In my opinion, if you want to kill the Bluegrass drive in a real big hurry, just add some of these instruments to your Bluegrass mix - instant non-Bluegrass music. There's more to Bluegrass music than the instruments played, but there are also some definite no nos.

This is precisely why I insist only the six traditional Bluegrass instruments are allowed at the Bluegrass Friends weekly jam sessions. These include 5-string banjo, 6-string acoustic guitar, upright bass, fiddle, mandolin and resophonic guitar (commonly referred to as Dobro®, after the Gibson registered brand name).

If my mission was to convert people to Bluegrass music I would definitely not suggest one of these CD's. As far as I can tell they only serve to confuse people about what is and what is not Bluegrass music. I do realize the range of Bluegrass goes a little to the left and a little to the right of what I would call ideal, but once you get outside the left and right boundaries you've gone too far to keep calling it Bluegrass.

That's my take on the Worst of Bluegrass. If you've got an opinion on this topic feel free to post a comment.

No Excuse For Not Learning Proper Bluegrass Techniques

I was just on the Banjo Hangout web site a few moments ago. Somebody asked for a review of the Jim Mills instructional DVD for 5-string banjo which I willingly chimed in with my 2 cents worth. That's what prompted me to post this blog entry.

For quite some time I've been telling people that there is no excuse for not learning some proper Bluegrass techniques as applied to their instrument of choice. We're living in a time when there is a record-breaking amount of instructional material available through books, CD's, DVD's and internet lessons. Many of the internet lessons are free.

I'm not advocating that people stop taking lessons from local music teachers in favour of alternate methods of learning, but I am saying there is one pile of good material to be had these days which can be used to supplememt lessons from your local teacher or even replace them in some cases. I own several instructional DVD's for 5-string banjo. Some are better than others, but each one offers something different and I don't regret buying any of them.

I'd like to take a minute to talk about finances. Almost every week through the Banjo Hangout discussion forums, and face-to-face when talking to people at the Bluegrass Friends weekly jam sessions, I hear people say how they don't know if spending the money for a DVD would be worth it to them, especially if at the time, they only want to learn one song from the DVD.

Look people, I realize not everyone is wealthy and I also realize not every one of us is so passionate about learning Bluegrass music that they are willing to spend hundreds of dollars in learning materials as I have, but let me throw this at you. If you were to take lessons from a local teacher you would typically take a lesson at least once a week, yes? How much would you spend on that weekly lesson? and how long would the lesson be? a half hour? full hour? And how much would a single lesson cost? Twenty-five dollars? Thirty dollars? More?

There are a few great things about learning from a DVD. First, most DVD's contain several lessons, not just one. Let's use the Jim Mills DVD as an example. On this DVD Jim Mills teaches you how to play 12 of his tunes. That's twelve people, twelve! Not one, but twelve! The DVD is 110 minutes long and includes a tablature booklet with of course, the tablature for each song on the DVD. The DVD has close-up views of Jim's hands in action and Jim explains many facets of each tune. You're being taught by one of the absolute best banjo players in the business and you get all of this for $35.00 US. You tell me if all of that isn't worth thirty-five dollars? On top of that, you can rewind a DVD and watch the same lesson a hundred times if need be.

If you don't play banjo, not to worry, there are several great videos for other Bluegrass instruments. Chris Jones' The Art of Bluegrass Rhythm Guitar is fantastic. I hightly recommend this video to anyone wanting to improve their rhythm guitar playing in a Bluegrass environment. I think this video can be had for 29 dollars. It's a steal. If you're an advanced player looking to learn some great Bluegrass guitar solos you might check out Kenny Smith's double DVD set available from Acutab Publications. This one's a little more pricey at $60.00, but I bet it's worth every penny!

There are some good DVD's for mandolin, dobro, fiddle and bass as well. Besides Acutab Publications, Homespun Tapes has a very large selection of videos as does Musician's Workshop. Absolute beginners might enjoy The Murphy Method series produced by Murphy Henry.

I get tired of people telling me they don't have access to Bluegrass CD's or DVD's, apparently one of the reasons they feel justified in making copies of their friends materials. Exactly what does "I don't have access" mean? I wonder where they think I obtained my copies? Do they think I manufactured them in my back yard? I'll be very blunt and to the point. Stop being so cheap and go purchase a DVD or two.

Of course, before any of us decide to take lessons or purchase DVD's, we have to want to get better at playing Bluegrass music the way it's supposed to be played, don't we? For some people, the reason for not seeking a teacher or other learning methods could simply be that they just don't care what kind of noise they are making. Still for others, they may be too lazy to put the required effort forth. What's your reason?

Bluegrass Happenings

New Banjo
I had another conversation with Sam Calveard at Huber banjos about a week ago. He tells me a neck, resonator and rim have been matched up for my Huber Jim Mills signature series banjo. It is supposed to go to the finish shop within a week (that sounds familiar, doesn’t it? - it's basically what I was told a month ago) and will be there for 28 days. I’m expecting delivery of my new banjo approximately six weeks from now.

Jim Mills
In the meantime, I’ve conversed with Jim Mills via e-mail about meeting him at the upcoming Ricky Skaggs concert in Moncton, NB on May 19, 2007. For those of you that don’t know, Jim Mills is the banjo player in Ricky Skaggs’ hot Bluegrass band, Kentucky Thunder. I’m looking forward to meeting Mr. Mills in person and he says likewise. Just from reading about Jim, e-mailing him and seeing him on some DVDs, especially his instructional DVD from Acutab Publications which is titled Jim Mills - A Winning Banjo Style, I feel like I’ve known him for a long time.

For anyone interested, the May 19 Ricky Skaggs concert is sold out but there are still some tickets available for the second show on Sunday, May 20, 2007. If you want tickets, please contact me - I've still got a few for sale.

Fund Raiser Concert
I’m playing in a fund raiser event at Harbour View High School for the HVHS Alumni tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. A few of my fellow Bluegrass Friends (Angela Curran, Tom Mason, Murray Sheils, Matthew Hayes, Larry Walsh and Clay Johnson) are performing an 8 to 10 song Bluegrass set. Actually, one of the songs is going to be Travelling Soldier by the Dixie Chicks, but other than that it's all Bluegrass.

Honestly, I don’t know why I let myself get roped into these things. You want to help people out and be cooperative, yet, at the same time you know you’re in over your head. It’s a dilemma for sure. Do you get up in front of a 400 plus crowd and make a fool of yourself again? or just say no? I feel I have no business playing in this event, yet, here I am in the middle of it. All I can hope for is that I don’t mess up all night long, which is exactly what I do whenever I play in front of people - it’s what I do. It really comes down to lack of experience and ability.

And speaking of lacking experience and ability, I need to get practicing right now! Until next time, you all take care.