| "It's a Christmas Eve banjo MIRACLE!" |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|06:57 pm] |
So as some of you may already know, I've been in the market for a banjo. After being on the Punchbuggy Tour back in October and getting the chance to mess around with Gabby's banjo, I could not wait to get one for myself. Something about the way it felt in my hands and the way it sounded even when I just barely touched it, I loved it. I wanted one SO BAD. But I didn't have any money, so I knew I'd have to wait until Christmas came around when I knew I would have some extra Christmas cash to throw around on a decent banjo. I didn't want to get some cheap crap from Fender or something, I wanted something that looked and sounded formidable, not like a piece of shit you'd buy for your 14 year old cousin for his birthday with unplayably high action (which for some reason, seems to be the norm on any cheap stringed instrument).
ANYWAY.
I was super busy leading up to Christmas and I knew I'd be in Jersey for four days right after Christmas (for the Bouncing Souls Home for the Holidays shows) and that I'd be super busy again in January and February, so it seemed like those four days would be the perfect time to sit around my hotel room learning to play the banjo! I just had to find a decent one right before Christmas. Yeah, good luck with that, right? For the past few days I've been trolling the internet for places that sold decent new or used banjos in the NYC area at a decent price and it was harder than you'd think. Earlier today I stooped to the level of even trying GUITAR CENTER, which while a fine place to buy your strings, picks, straps, etc. is no place to buy a banjo, and I knew that. Naturally, they only had two banjos in stock, one of which was 6-string (not what I wanted) and the other one too expensive for the piece of crap that it was.
I tried one more small store, they were open but all they had was a left-handed banjo. I am right handed. I was ready to give up entirely, until I returned home and got a text message from MK frantically informing me of a shop called Retrofret which was not only walking distance from the train, but had, in her words "a shit ton of banjos." I was not expecting anyone to be there when I called at 4:30pm on Christmas Eve. I wasn't expecting anything. But I called anyway.
I was surprised to find a kind voice on the other end of the line, informing me that they were "just about closed" but then asked what I was looking for. I explained my situation, my budget, and what I was looking for and they said they had a banjo in my price range! A decent one too! I told them I would be there in half an hour and he said "Well, we're just wrapping some Christmas presents over here, and I've got nowhere to be, so come on over!" After I thanked him profusely, he exclaimed "It's a Christmas Eve banjo miracle!"
Indeed it was. After trekking through the snow and ice through a dubious neighborhood full of warehouses and taxi garages, I wasn't sure I was in the right place, but then I got there. I buzzed up, and they let me in. "Come up to the right and then to the left" was the message I received through the intercom, so I did.
Once I got to the top of the stairs, a slightly older gentleman opened the door and introduced himself, as I did in turn. As he opened the door further I realized we were outside, on the roof. There was a boardwalk that led from that door to the door of the store, which was situated in a little roof-house type of a structure. Pretty incredible.
I went inside and the guy who opened the door for me directed me to their EXTENSIVE banjo selection, and then picked up the one I was planning on buying and played a bit for me, then let me sit and hold it for a bit next to a little table covered in leftover wrapping paper (from the aforementioned Christmas gifts, I'm guessing). I told them I'd never played banjo, I pretty much only play ukulele, and it turned out one of the other guys there was a uke player as well!
I fell in love with the thing as soon as I touched it, so of course I bought it. Turns out it was one of many banjos the shop had acquired from Ray Alden after his death in September. He was the mentor of the gentleman who sold me the banjo, and after some Googling upon returning home, I've discovered he was a rather influential figure in the old time music scene! Wow. I was told he gave the banjos to the shop hoping they would be made affordable to banjo players, and there I was, a brand new banjo player going home with one of them! So cool.
Anyway, they gave me a gig bag for the banjo and a free set of spare strings and sent me on my way! I couldn't have asked for a cooler banjo-buying experience with more character than the one I got. If you are in the market for a unique stringed instrument I highly recommend you give the guys at Retrofret a call!
Here's a little video I found after some more Googling trying to learn about the man whose banjo I've inherited. He's the gentleman playing banjo, of course:
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