We Need A Banjo Player! – Storytime

I was a 16- to 17-year-old boy, and I had only been playing banjo for about a year and a half. I had experienced a few jams, but needless to say, my repertoire was seriously limited. Back then the North Georgia landscape was filled to the brim with bluegrass festivals and jams. You could rarely go a weekend without a festival.  I had every intention of learning how to play!!

Tales From A North Georgia Bluegrass Festival

I was out at my local festival, banjo in hand, looking around for a jam that might have me.  At the time, I was an extremely shy and quiet kid; I certainly wouldn’t walk up to any jam and start bashing on my banjo. 

Luck would have it, I spotted a jam on the hillside next to a trailer, a total of five people in it but no banjo player.  The older lady with guitar in hand smiled at me, so I took it as a welcoming spirit.  I inched my way up, pulled out my chair, and set up, hoping to follow along.  As usual, they are playing a bunch of stuff I didn’t know. As usual, I’m sure my chair was a bit further away than someone that was confident in their abilities.

The Music Starts

We go through 5-6 tunes, and pretty soon this old, gruff man that is the lead singer turns to me and says kick off (Name escapes me)…to which I replied, “I’m sorry, I don’t know that one.”  You could tell he was kind of frustrated I didn’t know it.  Another tune or two, and then he turns and asks me to kick off another song I didn’t know.   I believe this happened three times before he says out loud:

“We need a banjo player!!”

The demeanor he said this with truly hurt my feelings.  Looking back now, I understand his frustrations, but I was just a young boy that didn’t know much, doing the best I could to keep up.   I remember suffering through about three more songs, quietly packing up my things, and walking away.  

I came home that night and was quite depressed about the experience.  I thought, “Should I quit? I’m no good at this.”  I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t quit.  I wish I could tell you it was the last time I ever thought about quitting; it wasn’t (Perhaps I will share more of those stories later).  There were countless times I thought about quitting, countless times I thought I sounded so bad I had no business doing this.

The Last Laugh

Ironically, many years later I became ‘musical acquaintances’ with that old man.  Fast forward, and I had learned how to play.  I had every song he could bust out in my repertoire (and hundreds more!).

He’d sometimes joke at me about how bad I used to play, and then he’d follow with something nice, “You sure did improve and become a serious musician!”

….and then I would internally smile and think, “Now you’re the one that can’t keep up!”  I never reminded him of that particular day, and I’m not sure he remembered it exactly.  He did have a sense of regret about not treating me with more kindness, but alas, that is life.  

I look back on these experiences (and many others) as something that, while hurtful at the time, perhaps helped me become what I am.  They provided fuel to the fire for me to become an actual “BANJO PLAYER!”

What is the point of this story?  To remind myself where I came from.  To let you know that despite your own struggles, challenges, and discouragements (even from others), you can have the last laugh.