Andy Chase

The Royalston Road Roustabouts performing Lucy Neal at the Fall Festival of Forgotten Arts in Rutland, Massachusetts on October 1, 2011.

The extreme damp had made my banjo head a little bit slack, which resulted in a noticeable loss of volume (especially when competing against two pairs of ebony bones!)

A simple minstrel Banjo tune in D, from Briggs' 1855 Banjo Instructor, played on a Jeff Menzies Gourd Banjo. Love that half rest after the first section!

Since getting my gourd banjo the other week, I’ve been exploring some old minstrel tunes, played in the so-called “stroke style.” The Banjo Factory’s scans of Briggs’ Banjo Instructor from 1855 are an amazing resource, and I’ve already plugged a few into Tabledit.

If you’re not familiar with the tune, here’s Tim Twiss’ fine rendition on YouTube: