My Musical Journey

I’m on the right, my brother Vince left, singer Larry Agan, & Dave McNeely on bass.

The Gentlemen

I was very lucky to play the guitar in a band with my brother at the University of Texas. Tuition was $50 a semester, and we each made $25 for playing four hours at fraternity and sorority parties. Yes, we wore coats and ties.

Too Many Instruments, Too Little Time

My first musical instrument was the piano when I was a kid. I took lessons from Mrs. Grizzard, who lived an easy bicycle ride away. Then I learned to play the guitar at McCord’s music store in downtown Dallas.

Years later, I grew interested in the violin. I bought one from somebody who said it had been sitting in their closet for years and originally belonged to a relative in the early 20^th century. It’s a keeper with a good tone. A book about the violin I recommend is Fiddle by Vivian Wagner – “One Woman, Four Strings, and 8,000 Miles of Music”.

This was followed by acquiring a bass, banjo, and lap steel guitar. I’ve fooled around with a mandolin, but the opportunities for playing one are more limited, and I’m not that good. I also rented a cello and took some lessons, and I may try this again. I also bought a clarinet, which didn’t work out – wind instruments really aren’t for me.

Pete Seeger

My interest in banjos probably started when I saw Pete Seeger on the TV show “Playboy Penthouse Party” around 1960:

Then in 1962 I got to see Seeger in person at the University of Texas at the old Y building on the drag. People outside on the sidewalk were distributing pamphlets accusing him of being a communist, because he had appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Music Reviews

At UT, I wrote music reviews for the Daily Texan. I got to review the Kingston Trio, Dave Brubeck, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Joan Baez.

As a fledging member of the press, I gathered with reporters backstage with Joan Baez before her performance. I was too shy to ask questions. But I’ll always remember when a reporter had trouble with his tape recorder and Baez offered to get hers from the car. How many famous musicians would do that?

The Banjo

About 10+ years ago I bought a Kansas banjo from a woman online and discovered nobody had heard of that brand. It has a resonator on the back, which makes it heavier than the open back but projects the sound better. I’ve been thinking an open back banjo would be lighter and easier to play. I’m a true novice at the banjo.

I first saw Steve Martin on TV with an arrow through his head, as one does, while playing the banjo. Who wouldn’t want to do that, with or without the arrow?

This image comes from the Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection at the UCLA Library

Here’s Steve Martin playing a recent song he wrote, “5 Days Out, 2 Days Back” along with these great musicians: Tim O’Brien (mandolin), Alison Brown (low banjo), Bryan Sutton (guitar), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Todd Phillips (bass) and Vickie Vaughn (harmony vocals).

This video reminds me of when I met with other musicians on the porch of a local music store. The only rule was to play acoustic instruments. There were mostly guitar players, but also some playing a mandolin, banjo, and one guy with stand-up bass. I would bring my acoustic Gibson and violin. I can’t sing, but the others could.

Playing music is like being in a family, like the several groups I play with at our UU church. All I know is that I’ve been very lucky to be with so many musical families in my life.

More Instruments?

Is it possible to have too many musical instruments? Of course not. Maybe it’s time for me to get a theremin:

… which the Beach Boys used to great effect in “Good Vibrations”:

So many instruments, so little time.