The possible pre-antepenultimate days of Damian The Banjo

Way way back in the late 80's I sat down with a friend's banjo and pretty quickly sussed out how it worked, and by the end of the afternoon of a visit, I could manage, with only a slight amount of fumbly, to finger enough chords to play a song on it. This impressed them alot, and being (at the time) a supportive friend of my blossoming musical acumen, they lent me that banjo and in short order, my repertoire expanded to being able to accompany myself singing (or playing chords to) about 4 songs, two of them well enough to perform. I actually did perform one at an open mic, much to the surprise of all who had never seen me in the company of a banjo before.

But just when it really started to click, the friend wanted the banjo back.

Then I started checking out how much banjos cost. And I sighed. They were P-ricey, even used.

So I resigned myself to "someday" and went about my business.

Until one day, in the early/mid 90's, I chanced to be in a thrift store and found... A BANJO!
I couldn't find a price on it, and asked a clerk, who showed me the red grease pencil marking (against the black background) and said "It's marked $40, but I'll let you have it for $30 because some of the strings be broke!" For one of the very few times in my life, I kept what was called a "poker face". I handed it back to the guy and and reached for my pouch. (By then, I was, in fact busking for my living) Patches (who was with me) helped me count out what I needed. Knowing very well how well banjos carried when played by buskers (I had a competition/colleague in Old Town who made excellent use of a banjo) I very quickly reasoned that banjo would be a very useful and lucrative addition to my arsenal, especially when I remembered how quickly I picked up on it before. For thirty dollars, I'd put almost any instrument into the collection, but *this* would be much more than that. This would be a really wise INVESTMENT. A minute or so later, $30 in mostly change was on the counter and I went home with "Damian"

I remembered quickly how to tune it, figured out good string sizes, and within a couple of weeks, I had started performing those two songs that I'd learned before, and had a growing cache "in the pipeline". At first I would just flat pick the chords, but then, as I got them sounding smoother, I started fingerpicking- not quite bluegrass style, but very close. Over the course of about a year, I found a bunch of songs that really "fit" my style and sounded good on the banjo, and by the end of that year, on my days out busking, it became more and more common that playing Damian in the afternoon, would make me back what I'd spent on him.

Sometime, a few years later, I learned what Damian was. His brand is "Kay" and he was sold by Montgomery Ward in the 40's and 50's (possibly later). I learned this when someone brought a 1940's Montgomery Ward catalog to a WWII themed party. There was _my_ banjo- priced at $30! From that point on, I got to jokingly state that Damian was the first instrument I ever owned that actually held its value.

So, since then, I and Damian have played together pretty much exclusively outside, in all kinds of weather. Over the years, I've broken a zillion strings I've had to replace 4 out of the 5 tuners, several drum heads, up to seven frets several times and done all kinds of other work too. Considering the abuse this instrument goes through and keeps coming back from, over almost 20 years,
I. Got. My. Money's. Worth.
Now before you go and cry or chide me over the mistreatment of a "valuable" antique, consider this: As I said, I made *back* what I payed for Damian most days I played him. So if you count out the 12 years I spent busking for 1-3 days a week... Now look at what Kays go for on E-Bay, even in good condition. I could have babied Damian into being a decent investment as an antique, but not like this. Okay? I have NOTHING to feel guilty for.

And now, as you know, if you've heard me play, there are entire sections of my repertoire that are dedicated to playing on the banjo. I can play for 7-8 hours straight just on the banjo. And I'm no Earl Scruggs, but what I do sounds great (if I do say so myself). I've even had three different students to whom I've taught a useful amount of banjo. (And each banjo lesson I've given has paid me what I payed for Damian too!)

But Damian has always proven a bit tempramental. (hence his name!) He gets cranky, stuff gets loose, things warp and pull out of alignment, parts wear out, (and sometimes just break!) etc, and eventually he just doesn't play or respond right. All instruments need maintainence, so that's not an issue. What is, is that I have to do it more and more often, and now each time I put him back together it takes a little longer, is a little more difficult, and the results are a little less stable. This last time, it really felt very little like maintainance and very much like resuscitation. But I succeeded, for now. But I can tell that this is not presently a instrument on which the full range of my playing abilities are available and that the tone and sound are becoming a liability.

It's *possible* that I could do a much more extensive rebuild/restoration, but I'm not *certain* that it will work, or how long it will last before it deteriorates again, or how long it will take. And I'm entering the season where it's unnacceptable that this now essential part of my arsenal can be out of commission. And here's the other thing: I have backup guitars, but I have never had a backup banjo because up until recently I could *always* make Damian work if I had to and just fiddled and (when necessary) banged and bashed on him for a few hours. Also, banjos can be EXPENSIVE! Damian's $30 price tag was a once in a lifetime miracle.

So, I plan on _attempting_ that Big Rebuild, but given the uncertainty, I'm also now expediting the search for Damian's successor. I'm hoping that St Patty's Day weekend will be Damian's "retirement" party. It will be nice (while he's functional now, for whoknowshowlong) to have him play one more time for his friends (who happen to also be mine).

But after that, it's time. I've had a GREAT run with this instrument and learned so much from him. I have my sights set on something very cool and pretty and astonishingly affordable, if previous E-Bay listings are to be trusted (keep your fingers crossed for me), but I can also default to a model from Rogue that will be an almost exact replacement, save for colour. So, a successor will be acquired this month sometime.

And then, the Great Rebuild can proceed at leisure, which, if successful, will give me back my "outside/busking" instrument, and keep the new one nicer longer.

I'm okay with this now. I wasn't for awhile, especially in light of how bloody expensive a decent banjo can cost. And dammit, I LIKED Damian. For most of these years, he really was the strongest link in my chain. Not the star of my arsenal, but just about the most reliable and durable. And he really expanded my sound and textural pallet into some cool dimensions.
Getting him was The very best investment I have ever made.

But I can see him go without too many tears, and I'm very relieved to find functional options in my price range, and a few extra busking days before my season picks up will help too. And yes, Damian is up to that at the present. He's promised to see me through to his retirement, and possibly beyond. THAT is as good and loyal as a friend can get, and for an instrument, a theoretically inanimate object of limited durability, the best I could EVER hope for.

Thank you Damian, and here's hoping your retirement is not the End of your career.