I am easily amused: Revenge at 7-11

Slaperone

I've invented a new word.

The word is "slaperone".

It's a portmanteau of slap...

...and chaperone...

It's my word, so if anybody want's to use it, talk to me first about licensing.

Banjo versus TV week 122: Taj Mahal

A check-in on the Banjo versus TV project — J.R.'s ongoing plan to spend more time on his banjo than on TV. This post covers 6/27/2010 through 7/3/2010.

Do you recall from the other week that I'd been listening to B.B. King's Bluesville on Sirius radio? Of course you do. Just as you recall that I said there's not a lot of banjo there.

Well, I'm still listening and I've been hearing some great blues banjo from Taj Mahal. Here's a YouTube video of Taj Mahal playing Slow Drag to show you what I'm talking about

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Also in the last week:

• More work on setting up that Silent Banjo System that I keep promising to blog about in greater detail. Soon. Soon.

Cross-posted at J.R.'s Banjo Hangout blog

Banjo versus TV week 121: Banjoversary

A check-in on the Banjo versus TV project — J.R.'s ongoing plan to spend more time on his banjo than on TV. This post covers 6/20/2010 through 6/26/2010. He's still 11 weeks behind in blogging, but at least he's not losing ground.

I've already mentioned the big news from this week: my 3rd banjoversary and the Irish tenor banjo that the redhead gave me.

Thanks again, the redhead!

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Also in the last week:

• I poked through Frank Nordberg's Irish Banjo site. It's been a while since it's been updated and some of the graphics don't display but there's a lot of interesting stuff there, even if you're not learning the Irish tenor banjo. He's got stuff for guitar, plectrum banjo, mandolin-banjo, five-string banjo and other instruments. His site map is a good place to start.
• As a banjoversary treat, I dedicated some time to setting up the Silent Banjo System. I know I keep saying this every time I mention this project, but I'm still not done with it yet and I promise to post details when I've completed it.
• I saw Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur perform at the Old Town School, with opening The Barehand Jug Band. What a great show!
  
  The evening's MC was Todd Kwait, the writer and director of Chasin' Gus' Ghost.
  
  The Olympus WS-311M that I use to take notes is acting up so I'm not 100% sure of this list, but here are my notes about the set list:
  
  Bare Hand Jug Band's set:
  1. Tear It Down
  2. Charlie Stone
  3. Cluck Old Hen
  4. You Know It Don't Belong to You
  5. Hotel Yorba
  6. My Rifle, My Pony and Me
  7. Wipe It Off


Kweskin Muldaur's set:
1. Blues In The Bottle
2. Jelly Roll (by Long John someone)
3. Morning Blues
4. Sweet to Mama (from the Texas Sheiks album)
5. Morning Blues
6. (some song by Rogers and Hart)
7. Morning Blues
8. going fishing too
9. Morning Blues
10. "can you tell that's Mary" Mary
11. Morning Blues
12. Mistreated Blues
13. Morning Blues
14. Frankie (Mississippi John Hurt)
15. Morning Blues
16. instrumental while Kweskin tunes banjo
17. Morning Blues
18. Down on Penny's Farm
19. Morning Blues
20. Chicken


Because I could get the artists to autograph my purchases I went a little nuts at the vendor table, purchasing Kwait's DVD Chasin' Gus' Ghost, instructional DVD Learn to Fingerpick with Jim Kweskin, Kweskin's CD Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) and Geoff Muldaur's CD Shiver Me Timbers!.

Cross-posted at J.R.'s Banjo Hangout blog

Banjo versus TV week 120: Addicted to Love

A check-in on the Banjo versus TV project — J.R.'s ongoing plan to spend more time on his banjo than on TV. This post covers 6/13/2010 through 6/19/2010 and is being posted a record 11 weeks late. J.R. has some serious catching up to do.

I heard a Florence + The Machine cover of Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love that made me think the song would make a good bluegrass cover, too.

The chord progression is I-VII-IV-I (repeated) for the verse and rel.minor-IV-I (repeated) for the chorus, so it's pretty bluegrassy right there.

I'm apparently not the first person to think of this, though. Banjoist Tom Hanway and Blue Horizon play Addicted to Love on the album "Tom Hanway & Blue Horizon".

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Also in the last week:

• I heard Patty Loveless singing Pretty Little Miss, her update to the old standby Shady Grove.
  
  
• Spent a chunk of time installing the Silent Banjo System. More on that soon.

Cross-posted at J.R.'s Banjo Hangout blog

Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue

Sorry to the folks whose comments have been languishing in waiting-to-be-moderated limbo. I didn't realize that Blogger had automatically switched me to moderate mode a while back.

I've just approved several comments for publication and have denied about 5 times that many comments because they were from spambots. Why, oh why, do spambots never have anything interesting to say?