Spicebush

The fruit of the spicebush (Lindera benzoin) are as distinctive in flavor and aroma as they are in appearance.  Photo by Jenna Crovo, used with permission.

      A little over a week ago, I was doing some fish collecting on the Paint Rock River (North of Huntsville, AL).  Fortunately, we found some rare blotchside log perch, but that is not the topic of this post.  Instead I would like to focus on the not-so-rare, but very useful, spicebush (Lindera benzoin).  I didn't notice it on my previous trips to the area, but now that the bush is fruiting it is very easy to spot.  Before you go out searching riverbanks and creek edges, you probably want to know what you can use spicebush for*.  Well, read on, because it has multiple uses.

Barn Bash

      One of my professors at Florida State University (Mark Ziegler) always says the best way to improve at something is by upward social comparison; that is, associating with people better than yourself so you will be challenged and eventually improve.  That is a theory I have been embracing over the summer with my banjo playing.  I have been trying to play with as many people as possible, whenever possible.  Fortunately, the local musicians are very talented and pretty accommodating.  The other night I had the opportunity to jam with Phil Mc, Ross Wall, and Lindsey Lester, all of whom are very talented on multiple musical instruments.  It was an awesome night.  The jam took place near a barn in a farm field, the perfect setting for grassroots music.  The deafening sound of competing katydids and cicadas was drowned out by the soft twang of banjos, the rhythmic chords of guitars, and the lilting melodies of fiddles.  Most of the songs that were played early on were easy enough for me to play.  Later we moved on two songs that I could just follow along with.  Eventually the songs reached a point were I couldn't keep up, but I still enjoyed listening, and that's part of learning too.  I'll have to learn the song above.  It combines two of my favorite things, cast iron cooking and old time music  It's called "Keep my Skillet Good and Greasy,"and Ross and Lindsey have a great rendition.  Anyway, I know I have posted a lot of banjo stuff lately, but I promise I'll get some biology, hiking, paddling and herb posts up soon.  Until then, check out the rest of this post and listen to some great music.

Auburn Jams!

Photo from the Corner News.

      Playing music with others is almost always better than playing music by yourself, but sometimes it can take a little while to find the elusive jams that happen around town.  So, for any other Auburn folks looking to play some music, and for those who just want to hear some grassroots music, I am posting this article that appeared in the Corner News a while ago.  It describes some of the local jams.  So far, I have only been to the Irish Bred Pub jam, which is a lot of fun, but I can't vouch for the other jams.  Anyway, I'll be at the next jam on August 5th, I hope to see you there.

Waterbound

      Here is an old song called "Waterbound."  I'm still not that good at singing and playing yet so there are a few mistakes.  I originally learned this song from Mike Iverson's tabs when I first started banjo.  I have since changed the arrangement a little, but his tabs could get you started.  Constructive criticism is always welcome.

2 Years of Banjo!

      It's hard to believe it, but I have been playing banjo for two years already.  Man, time is flying, but at least I'm enjoying it.  As motivation for me to continue to challenge myself, I looked up a video of me playing when I was a fledgling musician.  I didn't realize I had come so far.  I always write that I have issues to work on (usually tempo and varying the melody), but at least I am improving.  I plan on challenging myself and playing with some musicians around Auburn (most are much better than me).  I hope this video also motivates anybody who is considering taking up the banjo, or any instrument.  Just be careful, it can be addicting.  In the last two years, I have also started learning guitar, ukulele, and the fiddle.

Building a Mountain Banjo: Rough-cutting the Neck

This is a continuation of my series of posts documenting my construction of a mountain banjo.  Earlier posts include Building a Mountain Banjo: The Pot and Building a Mountain Banjo: Marking the Neck.

      I actually did this way back in May, before I moved to Auburn, but I am just now getting a chance to write about.  Compared to marking the neck, rough-cutting the neck was a quick process.  The final shaping will be a different story (especially since I don't currently own a draw-knife, block plane, or rasp).

Happy Fourth of July!

      On America's birthday, plenty of people grill out.  I didn't want to spoil any holiday appetites, so I waited until the end of the day to post this.  Even after watching this, I still think hot dogs are awesome.

Liberty

      Here is another fiddle tune that I played on my banjo.  Duane also recorded this piece, which is why the sound quality is better than most of my videos.  This particular arrangement is by Mike Iverson, and the tabs are available for free.  I know a lot of folks are opposed to tabs, so I'll add my two cents.  I don't believe I could consider myself a good musician if I only used tabs, but they do help me learn.  I use tabs on some songs and then try to incorporate what I learned from the tabs when I work out my own arrangements for songs.  By using the tabs, I can learn from Mike, even through we are geographically separated.  Yes, I also believe that it is up to the individual player to develop their own style, and I'm working on mine. However, I can still be influenced by others including Mike.  His melodic style has definitely influenced me.  I still make my own music, but it would be a shame not to learn from these tabs just for the sake of saying, "I don't use tabs."  By the way, I have been playing for 2 years now!  As you can tell, I still need to work on keeping time, but I'm getting better.  Soon, I'll post a then and now video that anybody considering starting a musical instrument should find inspiring.

Herps at Telogia Creek

A Florida cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti) that I  came face to face with as I climbed some stumps.  I could tell that this one was about to shed because the eye is cloudy blue and the skin is pale.

      In scientific fields it is often important for one to specialize in a certain area of study.  As you probably already know, I am specializing in conservation of endemic fishes.  However, I have rarely met a biologist who hasn't had at least a general understanding of other organisms around them, and based on my personal experience, I think it is safe to say that most are still interested with groups of organisms (biologists call these groups taxa) that aren't within their particular specialization.  For example, I am always noticing the native plant life around my and I also like herps (reptiles and amphibians).  So, even though I didn't catch any of the fish I was looking for on my last collecting trip, I still had a good time because I encountered some cool reptiles and amphibians.

Building a Mountain Banjo: Marking the Neck

This is a continuation of my series of posts that are following my construction of a mountain banjo.  If you missed the first post it is available here, Building a Mountain Banjo: The Pot.

Here are some basic tools that I used to measure out my neck because I couldn't get a hold of full size plans.  

      Before I could begin measuring out the neck, I head to find suitable material for the neck.  If you look at the profile of the neck on the plans (courtesy of bluestem strings) you will notice that the angled headstock makes it necessary to use a large block of wood if you want to cut the neck from a block of wood rather than joining a headstock onto a smaller piece of wood.  Some people get away with joining a headstock (I myself have used the method to construct a cigar box guitar), but a neck cut out of block of wood is stronger and looks nicer.  That does not mean the block of wood has to be solid.  Roughing out this neck from a block (laminated or solid) of wood requires the block to be at least 25 1/4" long x 2"wide (not accounting for the width of the headstock) x 2"deep (accounting for the angled head stock).  These are the bare minimum measurements with no extra room.  I found it easier to use a 3" x 3" block.  However, a neck is best made out of hardwood, and a 3" x 3" block can be expensive.  So, I laminated 3, 1" x 3" pieces of poplar together to form a block that was 26" x 3" x 3".  All I had to do was cut the poplar to length, dampen the sides to be joined, apply gorilla glue and clamp the pieces tight overnight.  I should also point out that I followed some advice I found on both the Banjo Hangout and the Bluestem Strings websites that said to try and book match the grain.  I'm not sure if I did this correctly, but I'll describe what I did.  I had two slab sawn pieces (quarter sawn would be better but this is a homemade banjo that I'm not investing much money in it) with curves in the grain (when viewed from the end of the board) and one without curves.  I put the one without curves in the middle and laminated the others on the side so their curves were convex to the middle piece.  Hopefully these crude drawings will clarify things.