Men with Banjos Who Know How to Use Them
Posted by brianS on Saturday, February 16th, 2008 at 12:01 am
twayn sez: This one's just for fun. From Late Night with David Letterman, it's Men with Banjos and Know How to Use Them, featuring Earl Scruggs and Steve Martin, playing Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Pick 'em, boys.
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Q: How do you silence a banjo player?
A: Put sheet music in front of him.
Ha! Love a good instrumental joke.
Q: What's the difference between a violin and a viola?
A: A viola burns longer.
Q: What do you call people who hang around musicians?
A: Drummers.
+40 shots of vodka.
Or, who is Herman Melville?
Or, perhaps something not 30 year old to make the point? The Dillinger Escape Plan's Chris Pennie and some math rock excellence:
OK, smart guy. Crunch this number from the present century: Dave King and the Bad Plus.
Nice chops.
You like Waits, Kyle. That immediately spells a broad appreciation of music (as ol' Tom is all over the spectrum...) That's what we 40-something DJ's ('wig, maybe a decade younger) are trying to provide the Nation. A broad spectrum.
And for the record, never (ever) diss the boss on his Zep/Stones fetish... (He's our gravy-train, pally!)
I saw the Tom Waits show at the new Guthrie earlier this month (not Tom Waits playing a show but local musicians doing his songs). Man, I completely remembered why I avoid the theatre; the theatre crowd. Bunch of NPR listening boomers (the women with that short midwestern haircut that makes them look like geriatric 12-year old boys, the men in ill-fitting dress shirts) who all know people in the cast and won't shut up about it inbetween songs (it didn't help I wound up attending on patrons night), who force laughter at anything remotely funny and also at things that aren't punchlines at all...
I've got no idea where this rant is going, but it's therapeutic. I don't think my urge to kill has ever been higher than it was that night. Oh, and they clapped along with every freakin' song. The person behind me really couldn't keep time. And the obese woman infront of me kept doing the eyes-closed-sway-arms-in-the-air thing I haven't seen since I wasted an evening using the free Who tickets I got the last time half the band was in town. Painful.
LOL. I read about that gig and briefly thought of checking it out before deciding it offered great potential to disappoint. You've confirmed that I made the right decision.
Plus, I've seen the real Tom twice -- at the Orpheum in '87 and the State in '99. Great gigs both, though I liked the '87 show better.
Q: How do you know if a drummer is at your door?
A: The knocking keeps getting faster and faster.
Q: Why did God give drummers one more brain cell than horses?
A: To keep them from crapping in the streets during parades.
What do you have to say for yourself, Banjo??
Very solid.
You would think I (of all people) would have motivation to at least learn the Banjo, and I do. Scratch that, did. My business partner and I have been told by some, with much more credibility and knowledge about such things that it, is probably too late for us.
Don't listen to them. There is no reason you can't still learn to play if you really want to. I'm not saying you'll be able to play the way these guys can, but if you truly want to learn how to do play, there is no way you're too old to do it.
The Target Demographic says YEAH!
Here's a blog-type entry that describes their experience in NYC:
http://drbanjo.com/news-stories-current/news-9-22-05-letterman.htm
Credit Mrs. Moss with tracking that one down. Her dad is a big banjo fan.
Yee Haw! Them boys can play.
Q: What's the difference between a banjo and an onion?
A: Nobody cries when you chop up a banjo.
Q: What do call a guitar player without a girlfriend?
A: Homeless.