Have you ever been sitting in the backyard with the banjo on one knee and a fresh mohito on the other frailing a lonely song because all your picking buddies are out of town or they have a job? A job that doesn't allow for mohitos in the middle of the day let alone any banjo picking.
Or, maybe it's the middle of the night and it's humid and the sheets are clammy and you just had that dream. You know, the one about a mountain sized lizard with sub-prime teeth and budget-cut eyes chasing you through the school's hallways and all you have on is a pair of underwear. That embarrassing pair hidden in the back of your sock drawer because they're bikini briefs, pure silk and have "hot papa" stenciled in pink right across the fanny. And, and in your dream, all the children are laughing and screaming "Run hot poppa, run." while your principal is standing there saying, "Can't you control your classroom Mr. Gunn?"
That dream.
It wakes you up and drives you out of bed to the refrigerator looking for pickles and salami. On the way to the ice box, you grab the banjo with the idea of playing the night heebi-jeebies away and wish that you had a picking buddy to play with you there in your dark kitchen. But your picking buddies all frown on being called in the middle of the night to come over and play. Their wives already disapprove of you because of your mohito habit.
What's a picker to do?
Go to Mando Jam! This website comes out of Maine where the proprietor, Adam, records songs and lists the chord progressions of each song. You can pick along. It lets you play with someone else anytime you want.
Patrick Costello over at Tangier Sound pointed his readers to this site. If you have the time, visit his blog and take a look at the new line of banjos he and his "Dear Old Dad" are creating. He demoed the Somerset S-2 recently. Impressive.
[Image: "Al in a field": Feel free to use this picture if you ever need a shot of a man sitting in a field playing a banjo.]
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