Category Archives: blues

Just This Banjo Now on Google Play and Google Books!

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Just This Banjo is now available on Google Play in the following regions: AR, AS, AT, AU, BE, BG, BO, BR, BY, CA, CH, CL, CO, CR, CZ, DE, DK, DO, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, GT, GU, HK, HN, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KG, KR, KZ, LT, LU, LV, MH, MP, MX, MY, NI, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PR, PT, PW, PY, RO, RU, SE, SG, SI, SK, SV, TH, TR, TT, TW, UA, US, UY, UZ, VE, VI, VN, ZA

The book is also available on Google Books.

Print Copies:

  • Paperback: 223 pages
  • Publisher: Pik-Ware Publishing (October 8, 2019)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0974419079
  • ISBN-13: 978-0974419077
  • Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 8 inches

Ebooks:

If eBooks are more your thing, we have plenty of options! Just This Banjo is available for purchase or as a free download at these locations:

If you do download a free copy and enjoy the book, think about paying us $6.95 for the PDF. It will help with my next book: I loved the book! Here’s $6.95!

If money is tight, please share this book with a friend, write a review somewhere, sponsor us on Patreon, or anything else you can think of to spread the word.

About Just This Banjo:

Desperate for a way to communicate after losing his hearing, young Patrick Costello set his heart on becoming a musician. Ignoring the odds, empowered by his family and a karate grandmaster, Patrick won a banjo in a bet, salvaged a guitar from the trash and wandered into the city of brotherly love looking for a teacher. What happened next is an unbelievable true story of chasing improbable dreams, the kindness of strangers, the IRA, the Philadelphia Mummers, and unconditional love. Just This Banjo will make you laugh, cry and maybe inspire you to pick up an instrument yourself.

Just This Banjo cover by Carlos Vazquez

True Stories

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Right before I released Just This Banjo, I sent my friend Aaron a copy. A day or two later he texted me back:

The book is great. If I did not know you, I would think you were full of shit. Great job. WOW!

Back in 2003 when I wrote The How and the Tao of Old Time Banjo, people were a tad more eloquent in calling bullshit on the stories within. They used the word apocryphal.

All of this makes Dear Old Dad and I laugh because I doubt I could write fiction with a gun to my head. All of this really happened. As crazy as the events in the book get, I have really only scratched the surface of my past. There is more to tell. A lot more.

Don’t take my word for it. Call Dear Old Dad (410) 968-3873. Ask him about any of the people, places, and events in Just This Banjo. He will tell you what he saw and heard with his own eyes and ears.

Just This Banjo is now available in print around the world!

Product Details:

  • Paperback: 223 pages
  • Publisher: Pik-Ware Publishing (October 8, 2019)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0974419079
  • ISBN-13: 978-0974419077
  • Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 8 inches

Ebooks:

If eBooks are more your thing, we have plenty of options! Just This Banjo is available for purchase or as a free download at these locations:

If you do download a free copy and enjoy the book, think about paying us $6.95 for the PDF. It will help with my next book: I loved the book! Here’s $6.95!

If money is tight, please share this book with a friend, write a review somewhere, sponsor us on Patreon, or anything else you can think of to spread the word.

About Just This Banjo:

Desperate for a way to communicate after losing his hearing, young Patrick Costello set his heart on becoming a musician. Ignoring the odds, empowered by his family and a karate grandmaster, Patrick won a banjo in a bet, salvaged a guitar from the trash and wandered into the city of brotherly love looking for a teacher. What happened next is an unbelievable true story of chasing improbable dreams, the kindness of strangers, the IRA, the Philadelphia Mummers, and unconditional love. Just This Banjo will make you laugh, cry and maybe inspire you to pick up an instrument yourself.

Help Spread The Word!

If you enjoyed Just This Banjo, help us spread the word!

You can download the PDF and share with friends, post the full text on your own site or some other creative idea that lets folks know about the book. if you are worried about copyright, drop us a note.

Just This Banjo Now In Print!

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Just This Banjo is now available in print around the world!

Product Details:

  • Paperback: 223 pages
  • Publisher: Pik-Ware Publishing (October 8, 2019)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0974419079
  • ISBN-13: 978-0974419077
  • Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 8 inches

Ebooks:

If eBooks are more your thing, we have plenty of options! Just This Banjo is available for purchase or as a free download at these locations:

If you do download a free copy and enjoy the book, think about paying us $6.95 for the PDF. It will help with my next book: I loved the book! Here’s $6.95!

If money is tight, please share this book with a friend, write a review somewhere, sponsor us on Patreon, or anything else you can think of to spread the word.

About Just This Banjo:

Desperate for a way to communicate after losing his hearing, young Patrick Costello set his heart on becoming a musician. Ignoring the odds, empowered by his family and a karate grandmaster, Patrick won a banjo in a bet, salvaged a guitar from the trash and wandered into the city of brotherly love looking for a teacher. What happened next is an unbelievable true story of chasing improbable dreams, the kindness of strangers, the IRA, the Philadelphia Mummers, and unconditional love. Just This Banjo will make you laugh, cry and maybe inspire you to pick up an instrument yourself.

Now On Kindle!

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Just This Banjo is now available on Amazon Kindle!

Head over to https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YNT8G68/ for more information.

Just This Banjo is available for purchase or as a free download at these locations:

If you do download a free copy and enjoy the book, think about paying us $6.95 for the PDF. It will help with my next book: I loved the book! Here’s $6.95!

If money is tight, please share this book with a friend, write a review somewhere, sponsor us on Patreon, or anything else you can think of to spread the word.

About Just This Banjo:

Desperate for a way to communicate after losing his hearing, young Patrick Costello set his heart on becoming a musician. Ignoring the odds, empowered by his family and a karate grandmaster, Patrick won a banjo in a bet, salvaged a guitar from the trash and wandered into the city of brotherly love looking for a teacher. What happened next is an unbelievable true story of chasing improbable dreams, the kindness of strangers, the IRA, the Philadelphia Mummers, and unconditional love. Just This Banjo will make you laugh, cry and maybe inspire you to pick up an instrument yourself.

Just This Banjo

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cover of Just this Banjo

Heads up, Patreon sponsors! Just This Banjo is now available for download!

Patreon sponsors can visit our page and choose from PDF, plain text, MOBI or ePub formats. 

We will be making the eBook available for sale soon, and a few other surprises are in the works.

About the book:

Desperate for a way to communicate after losing his hearing, young Patrick Costello set his heart on becoming a musician. Ignoring the odds, empowered by his family and a karate grandmaster, Patrick won a banjo in a bet, salvaged a guitar from the trash and wandered into the city of brotherly love looking for a teacher. What happened next is an unbelievable true story of chasing improbable dreams, the kindness of strangers, the IRA, the Philadelphia Mummers, and unconditional love. Just This Banjo will make you laugh, cry and maybe inspire you to pick up an instrument yourself.

This has been the single most difficult project I have ever taken on. Without your support, this book just would have been just another idea. 

I also have to express my gratitude to my father. Editing my stream-of-consciousness style of writing can be a herculean task. With this project, we also had an unusual twist in that this book was created while I was in the grip of excruciating pain. Somehow his patience and belief in the project paid off.  Thanks, Pop. We did it! 

Doc Moonshine Interviews Patrick Costello

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Doc Moonshine writes:
This is an interview I recorded, during the station that I broadcast with’s previous incarnation. during this conversation, Patrick and I discuss what lead us to music, Patrick’s philosophy on banjo playing and on making music in general, and what sets his teaching apart. like any good friends, there are methods Patrick and I agree on and methods we don’t. but that doesn’t stop us having a good laugh and hopefully teaching you a thing or too.

Go With The Flow

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David writes:

So I started out like most people probably do, learning songs from the tabs in The How and the Tao and from your other books. I’ve managed to memorize a dozen songs or so, but I don’t think it’s the right path. I can’t see how a person can possibly memorize the melody of every song that might come up at a jam. So when you’re doing an instrumental break like you did on The Wreck of the Old 97, are you playing that from memory / tab, or are you improvising it on the spot? Is it necessary to have the song memorized (like from tab) or is there some way to learn to play the melody break by ear?

https://www.patreon.com/Dobro33H