Spike Fiddle
Gourd Instrument
..
Being in great band for going on 13 years.
When I was six, my father presented me with a Stella tenor guitar which he "got off a drunk"
It sat there until Ike Turner inspired me to take up the guitar on Oct. 31, 1969
Building and collecting musical instruments... Started doing restoration and inlay work on flea market banjos, ukes, etc. Built a mandolin. Things got out of hand when Alex Meleshenko took me under his luthiery wing.
I'm intrigued by the fretless banjo and its relationship to West African instruments, as well as the stunning variety of stringed instruments originating in the Middle East and central Asia. That interest has inspired a series of "hybrid" instruments which I began building in the spring of '06. First was the Hybrid Xalam, which led to a CBG featuring Appalachian dulcimer fretting. Next came the Hurdy Gourdy, a hand cranked wheel driven instrument with a gourd body and a fretless fingerboard. There's also the "Anlyre", a harp made of deer antlers and cherry soundbox based on
Pythagorian principles. There's a little animation and sound clip to your right. Most recently, I've been working on some spruce and cedar topped "ngonis", a project that was the subject of much photo-documentation by Randy Jaroz. I'm currently building my first oud. You can monitor the progress via my OUD BLOGS
I've done some recordings of a banjo through a looping device, despite the fact that "electronics" give me the willies. You can hear it on the "Hey Dock!" video on this page.
I'd like to meet:
The Kid from Deliverence. Honeysuckle Devine.
Music:
Ali and Vieux Farka Toure, Charlie Patton, Son House, Dock Boggs, Curtis Eller, Jelly Roll Morton, Gus Cannon, Robert Wilkins, Dick Justice, Frank Hutchinson, Roscoe Holcomb, John Fahey, Otis Taylor, Boubacar Traore, Maybelle Carter, Tinarawin, Jorma Kaukonen, Emmett Miller, Harmonica Frank Floyd, Peg Leg Howell & His Gang, Frank Stokes, Mississippi fife and drum bands, the Master Musicians of Joujouka, RIP Hamsa El Din, Congotronics, the Atlanta 12-string crew, DJ Cheb i Sabbah.
Then there's Jimmy Page, Keith, Hubert Sumlin, Billy Zoom, Poison Ivy, but that's another story entirely.
Movies:
Dancing Outlaw,
Multiple Maniacs,
The Producers (Brooks original!),
Dead Man ("stupid fucking white man"),
any Spaghetti Western
Television:
Various History Channels, National Geographic, Larry King. Recently following Saturday night boxing matches at The Big House.
Books:
Cold Mountain - Frazier
Palm Wine Drinkard - Tutoula
Salvation On Sand Mountain - Covington
Last Mountain Dancer - Kinder
Screaming With The Cannibals - Maynard
Anything by James Welch
