Monthly Archives: September 2019

Closer. . .

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Just This Banjo is almost finished. I have a few more pages to pour over and then Dear Old Dad will complete the final edit.

There is a lot I can say about the writing of this book. Tragedy, health issues and more rained down on me as I wrote, but the process of revisiting the events of our past served to strengthen the bond I share with my father.

To let folks get a peek at what we are creating, here is a chapter from the book in PDF and plain text format:

Patrick and Dear Old Dad at the Mummers Show of Shows – and, yes, that is a prewar Gibson in Patrick’s mitts. . . It’s a long story.

The Homestretch

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Just This Banjo is days away from being finished. I have a few pages to finish before I hand over everything to Dear Old Dad for one last edit.

I have to admit that I am proud to see this project coming to a close. The past twelve months have been difficult. Revisiting my adventures growing up in Philadelphia has been a pleasant reminder that I can accomplish anything I set my mind on.

We will be making announcements on the distribution of the finished work soon.

Once I have a day or two to regroup, work will begin anew on The Daily Frail, The Banjo Dojo and other projects. We have some seriously cool stuff in the works.

Getting ready for our first performance. . .

JumboTron

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I managed to pick up an absurdly powerful desktop computer for next to nothing. I dragged an old HDTV out of storage and set that up as my monitor. I’m loaded for bear.

my comically large desktop monitor

Work on the book is nearly complete. We will be making announcements soon.

Joy!

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Last night I stumbled upon a show called Joe Pera Talks With You and became an instant fan. The show is a take on those awful and pretentious Postcards From Nebraska they used to do on CBS Sunday Morning – and maybe a touch of Garrison Keillor. . . or maybe this is what would have happened if Garrison Keillor had any talent.

I loved the entire first season (every episode is free to watch on Adult Swim) – but Episode 6: Joe Pera Reads You The Church Announcements is my favorite. I have lived much this episode:

  • Discovering a song on the radio.
  • Calling the station and begging to play the song again.
  • Bothering other stations trying to hear the song again.
  • Listening to the song over and over again.
  • Inviting the pizza guy in to listen to the song.
  • Leading the congregation in the song even if it isn’t appropriate.
  • And on and on and on and on. . .

Season two of Joe Pera Talks With You was announced yesterday. I can’t wait.

Progressively Progressing

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I just left 95% of the edited final draft of Just This Banjo on Dear Old Dad’s desk this morning. I was up burning the midnight oil catching tiny typos that turn invisible the first dozen times we edited the pages.

There is still a small amount of work to be done, so naturally my computer died. A new desktop tower should be here tomorrow, and then I will be able to finish up the book.

My brother Carlos created the cover image. Ten years ago Carlos also created a linoleum block portrait of me playing my Dobro 33H. I have to admit that I take great pride in having a friend who knows me well enough to capture me with a few shapes.

cover art for Just This Banjo by Carlos Vazquez

Once the last pages are edited I will get to work formatting the ebook edition and getting copies out to our patrons before making the work available for sale.

Once Just This Banjo is released, we will begin work on the next projects. We have some cool stuff in the works – including a new direction for The Banjo Dojo!