Memories are made of this

On December 11, 2009, I had the rare treat of getting invited to spend the day with a legendary group in American entertainment and pop culture: the Oak Ridge Boys. This came about due to an online association with the tenor singer for the group, Joe Bonsall. We became what you might call “cyber acquaintances” thanks to Twitter and the unspoken brotherhood of banjo players. Turns out Joe is a fine banjo player and a fan of bluegrass, and I was so honored to be contacted by him and invited backstage to hang out with them the day of their show.

Banjo teacher to the stars?

Banjo Paul, Banjoey, and Foose (click to enlarge)

Joe Bonsall is an active member of the social website Twitter, and Joe lets it be known on Twitter that he is a banjo picker. In fact, his “avatar”, or profile picture, features him holding his banjo. Once I joined Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/banjopaul67) it didn’t take long for me to start finding banjo players on Twitter…and in turn find Joe Bonsall.

Here’s the thing about Joe: he’s a celebrity, a well-known face in American pop culture,  a successful entertainer, a published author, a song writer…and yet he is very approachable. The more I interacted with him on Twitter, the more he interacted back. Without being asked to he did a form of promoting my teaching materials and methods and spreading the word about my blog on Twitter (called “retweeting”) on many occasions. He has answered direct messages from me personally, and all-in-all he managed to show himself to be a real human being. A very likeable one at that.

One day, much to my delight, Joe sent me a personal message letting me know that he would be in my state (and as it turns out only about an hour away from my home city) for the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Tour, and would I be interested in him hiring me for a banjo lesson? Well after I hugged my computer and did a happy dance, I shot back a great big AFFIRMATIVE! What an exciting treat for a guy from an average walk of life who doesn’t often get to meet celebrities. Oh I’ve met a few over the years, don’t get me wrong, but somehow it still felt like a pretty neat privilege to be asked for a lesson from someone with Joe’s profile. Perhaps a new vocation for me could be “Banjo Teacher To The Stars”. Anyone know how to reach George Clooney?

Click me! Click me!

I got to thinking that it might be cool to have a great rhythm player and personal friend along to help keep time (you know how bad banjo players are at keeping time!) so I gave Mark Zickefoose (Foose!) a call, and off we went, guitar and banjo in hand.

A quality guy

Foose and I picked Joe up at his hotel and gave him and his banjo a ride over to the concert venue. We killed a little time at the hotel lounge and chatted some first. I tell you, Joe immediately puts you at ease. If you didn’t know any better you’d swear he was just the neighbor down the street. This was all such a unique and just a little bit surreal experience that I just didn’t know what to expect. But 5 minutes after meeting Joe we were like old buddies.

Banjoey's dressing room! (Click to enlarge)

We made it over to the Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, Mi., then headed straight for Joe’s dressing room. Joe has taken on the image of “banjo player” to such a degree that he has earned the nickname “Banjoey”. Gotta love it. Banjo Paul and Banjoey. Boys, it don’t git no better ‘n this!

Banjoey, Foose, and myself, spent the better part of an hour picking together, with me passing along what pointers I could think to show to Joe. I don’t know that Joe needs too many lessons though; he plays just fine at what he knows and has figured out already, and he picks up on what’s shown to him quickly. I’m not the best banjo player in the world…often times not even the best one in the room…but Joe seemed appreciative of my style and the few nuggets I tossed at him. Joe admits to being insanely busy with music touring and the obligatory chores when he is at home, so much so that he just can’t fit in too many bluegrass jams. In reality though, Joe has done enough homework and put in enough time on his instrument that sitting down to jam with some good bluegrass pickers is all he’s going to need. He is well on his way and doing fine. I thoroughly enjoyed picking with him.

There’s “grassers” in that there band!!

Much to the delight of Foose and myself, Banjoey hollered out the door and down the hall, calling Rex to come join us. Joe told us that this musician from the Mighty Oak’s Band (the Oak’s backup band) was a mandolin player, and a good one. Turns out, that was quite the understatement. Rex was phenomenal! What a treat for Foose and I, two fellers who come from an acoustic stringed tradition, to be among our people. We both know the Oak’s to be “country”…but man oh man did we ever luck into a fun jam with two real bluegrasser’s: Banjoey and Rex. (And, it turned out that almost all of the stage musicians had an appreciation for or a connection to bluegrass. Wow.) We had a good time listening to Rex and Banjoey pick and sing.

I lost track of how long the four of us spent jamming; probably not more than another hour and a half, but boy was it fun. I’ve launched a few videos about the day on my YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/mybanjolife) so I invite you to check those out. As of this writing there are two on there but more are coming! Would you like a taste of one of the songs we jammed on? Here’s a video of Sugar Coated Love:

What a blast!

What a gracious band and crew

The chow line. Deluxe fixin's to be sure. (Click to enlarge)

After we’d been jamming awhile, they guys got the call that dinner was on, and they invited Foose and I to join them for dinner. This was a very nice, very unexpected treat. We joined the road crew, stage hands, production manager, band members, etc., in the dining room for a delicious catered dinner and some fellowship and camaraderie. It was a special thrill to sit elbow-to-elbow with this group of famous people, listening to them converse amongst themselves and with us. The four singers from the group, and many of the support crew and band, hail from the Tennessee area, and so they all got a special kick out of a gift that Foose brought to commemorate  the occasion. Foose called it “canned peaches”. I have to be careful with this, because the “revenuer’s” might be readin’, but canned peaches is some homemade moonshine complete with two big ol’ peaches floating at the bottom. Rex took a special liking to that there quart jar and I do believe he ended up taking it back to his quarters. Rex is a good ‘ol boy for sure. I think Banjoey made sure Rex didn’t partake much prior to the stage show that night though. That would have made for a different show for sure…

What a beautiful Christmas show

What a beautiful stage experience (Click to enlarge)

At a certain point in the evening, the day became no longer about Foose and I. We did our thing back in Banjoey’s dressing room earlier in the day, and had a great meal and a very warm welcome from the entire group associated with the Oak Ridge Boys. But, long about 8pm, it was time for us to sit down in the audience and watch the Oak Ridge Boys do their thing.

In lieu of paying me for banjo lessons (after the fantastic day Foose and I had, we felt like we wanted to pay Banjoey!) we cheerfully accepted concert tickets to see the show this night. The Oak’s were on their 2009 Christmas tour, and we were touched to receive the free tickets. We were even able to bring Foose’s wife to the show that night, which for her was a really special treat as she’s a huge fan of the group.

What a great concert! The Oak Ridge Boys opened with a set of their “non-christmas” material just so the audience could get it out of their system. There was a fairly humorous moment when Banjoey spoke to the audience to explain that it was their pop material first, and then they’d be doing a Christmas set. He said if they didn’t do that, someone would yell out during Silent Night “hey, do Elvira!” We all had a hard laugh about that.

I reconnected with old friends at this concert

As I sat and watched the Oak Ridge Boys and the Mighty Oaks Band perform, I was touched by a very warm feeling that took me off guard a little bit. More so during the first, pop-song set prior to the Christmas set. To explain what I mean here, I have to be honest and admit something: I’ve lost touch with the Oak Ridge Boys.

Banjoey, Foose's wife Diane, and Foose! (Click to enlarge)

I’m a child of the 80′s, and I think it’s fair to say (please by all means correct me if I’m wrong about this) that the late 70′s and on into the 80′s were the heyday for the band. If I’m off in that statement, I’m not off by much. Many chart-topping hits came in the 80′s for the band. Having spent my high school years in the 80′s as the band was putting out so many great hits, it was inevitable that the Oak Ridge Boys would become a part of the soundtrack of my life. Like other teens I was an avid radio listener, and like millions of other people, we liked country music in my house. Richard Sterban’s incredible low voice resonates through any of us that came through the 70′s and 80′s. It’s kind of funny how those of us going through the motions of our lives somehow subconsciously “adopt” this celebrity or that music group or this icon. There is absolutely no denying that we Americans “own” the Oak Ridge Boys and think of them as just part of life. They are part of that great soundtrack that is so important to all of us, and as we reminisce about family and home and growing up, the Oaks are somehow just there in the background taking part. They are family.

Life and love and the arts took me in many directions as a young man and into my adult years, and I lost track of the Oaks. I became immersed in bluegrass and have spent almost three decades pursuing my art form. Along the way I cultivated an interest in other kinds of music and culture. I stopped being exposed to the radio airwaves and following pop culture. I fell out of step with country music. And I lost track of the Oaks. Until Dec. 11 2009. As they sang hit after hit during the first set, I found myself smiling and be-bopping along to songs that I knew like the back of my hand, yet somehow had forgotten about. What a great homecoming this night was for me. Thank you Oak’s.

And so this is Christmas…

The second set of the night was the Christmas set. All the standards were there, done very beautifully, along with some original stuff. The stage was beautiful, the falling snow was a nice touch. Santa was a crowd pleaser. What a very special evening and a wonderful experience. I haven’t been feeling overly “Christmas-y” yet this season, but that changed at this concert. So beautiful and reverent. What a class act and a great show.

I really think the Oak Ridge Boys need a banjo player

Grassing it up! (Click to enlarge)

You know Oaks, as I sat listening to your show, I picked out number after number that I could have inserted my banjo playing into. In fact, the entire first set could have benefitted from 5 more strings! So guys, listen: I have a bag packed over in the corner. Seriously now…you just give me the call, and I’m on  the bus. No questions asked, no plans to rearrange. Ol’ Banjo Paul is ready to ride!!

*Sigh*…Oh well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.

To all the Oak Ridge Boys, to the road crew, to the backing musicians, to the support staff…to any and all we met this day: thanks from the bottom of my heart for a truly special experience that I will always cherish. Merry Christmas and here’s to many more years of success to the Boys!

Banjo Paul
“Wunse, I coodn’t even spel bango pikker…now I are one!”
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