Happy Birthday Natalie

Natalie will also be 25 on July 8th.
Here is a recent pix with her boyfriend, Blair.
Happy Birthday Natalie.

Happy Birthday Gordon Cox

Here's a new pix--just in-- of Gordy on the eve of his 25th birthday. (July 8th) I'm guessing that he may have a CD out before the year is over to celebrate this quarter century landmark. :)
You may hear a few tracks of his "in progress" music at:
http://www.myspace.com/gordoncox

Florida Banjo Society

Here's the first photo of the charter members of the new Florida Banjo Society at the 2006 Florida Folk Festival.

hidden banjoists in Victor Nunez's, "Coastlines"

Hello,
We just saw Victor Nunez's movie, "Coastlines" that was filmed in the Panhandle four years ago. Bob and I were extras in it and if you watch the first bar scene (the one with Cajun music and dancers) very carefully and squint your eyes to look behind the main actor and actress in the scene--you will see Bob and I dancing behind them (for about 5 seconds) Bob is wearing a light blue Hawaiian Shirt and I wear a black flowered dress .
Now where are the banjos? Well, they are most certainly at home--but there are several banjoists hidden in this film.
First of all, the band playing in this scene is Balfa Toujours (spel?) and although he is not playing banjo--Dirk Powell is playing in the band .
Then, the man who does the sound score for the movie is
Charlie Engstrom--who is also a clawhammer banjo picker.
And I've never met Victor Nunez--but Charley Cox tells me they went to high school together and that Victor made a banjo in shop and loaned it to Charley.

Anyway--we drove over to Carabelle five years ago to be Cajun dancing extras in "Coastlines" because they promised that Balfa Toujours would be there all evening and we would get to dance to them regardless of whether or not we would be background in the movie. (They shot hours of film of that one bar scene and only used a few seconds--so it is just chance that we are even in it at all. )
Also--we are big fans of Victor Nunez movies--and thought it was worth the chance to be included in even a background minor way.

Anyway--it is a pretty good movie--I liked Ulee's Gold better--but all in all a good story and it has the feel of North Florida five years ago. By the way--the bar is no longer there--it was blown away by a hurricane.
Best wishes,
Mary Z. Cox

Another banjo slide show

Florida Teak banjo/ Marty Spencer

Hello,
Here are some pix of Marty Spencer's teak banjo. Click on the title to visit his web page to see more of Marty's Florida banjos. :) Marty--they sure are pretty! :)

Experimental banjo slideshow

Banjo workshop/Florida Folk Festival 2006

Two Deering banjos

Trading banjos/Florida Folk festival

Here's a photo sent by Sister Sandy. The banjo I'm holding is David's Tree of Life and he is trying out the new White Shell Laydie. :)

Florida Folk Festival 2006

Here are a few photos taken at the Old Marble Stage on Sunday.
And here is a link to Dwight Hine's version of the the festival on the Global Ear.
http://www.globalear.com/index.cfm?sector=news&page=read&newsid=793
Thanks Dwight, thanks for listening so closely. Your words take our breath away to realize that at least one person heard and understood. :)
Here's a little of Dwights voice.
"... the only way you can make amends is to rip out that terrible elevator music that is playing on the video in the water cooled Foster museum there, rip it out and put in some Mullet Run, some authentic Mary Z. Cox's "Banjo Dreamin Suwannee Nights", a bit of Murat's legacy due to old Bonaparte, and some Peruvian red Tamlin, with Z's husky throat singing like Ledbelly loved, deep and bare. "
Bob even chuckled at "Peruvian red Tamlin." Now we're glad we took a minute to show everyone the Goncala Alves (Peruvian redwood) of my Kurt Simmerman dulcimer. We think Kurt put a little magic in his dulcimers back when he was building regularly. :)

Folk Music in St. Petersburg, Florida

Just returned from a week long workshop on Florida Folklife hosted by the Florida Humanities Council. The Laotian community entertained us with stories, dance, and a live band. The bamboo instrument is a type of mouth harp, and it and the drum provided a solid beat for the angel dancers.
If you'd enjoy seeing more photos of the week, go to www.yahoogroups.com and take a look at the photos for a group called
floridafolklife

Banjo Physics

David Politzer sent me these photos of banjos he's built from kits. (Musicmakers and Hughes Dulcimer) He said he had to make quite a few adjustments to make them turn out this nice--but aren't they lovely? I really love the one with the internal resonator and maple lamination (the rest and body are cherry) that goes the thickness of the neck . David writes that "somewhere in that sandwich they claim there's some steel, which should keep it straight in perpetuity."

Lo Gordon has been modifying the Saga kits and turning out some really wonderful sounding banjos with a metal internal resonator. He said he also has to make quite a few modifications to have them turn out so well. :)

More David Holt and Mary Z. photos

Florida Folk Festival Banjo Workshop

David Holt dropped by my old time banjo workshop as a special guest. I'm a big fan of his and I was totally in awe to see and hear him up close. Here we are trading banjos so I can try out his Deering Tree of Life and he can try my new Deering White Shell Laydie. What fun!

My space

The twins got me on MYSpace and guess what?
There are a lot of banjo pickers there. Even some of my favorite ones!
The page is a wreck--it does not have an easy set up and I have trouble editing it--but it is alot of fun.
For the young at heart.
Check it out if you dare!
http://www.myspace.com/maryzcox

Malibu RV campground

Very pretty campground--best dog walk we saw in Southern California. The only one with poop scoop gloves big enough for Jezebel. :)

Here's a photo of my Gabriella. David Brose is giving it a test run at the Campbell Folk School 

Natalie Cox

Thought some of you may want to see an updated photo of our daughter, Natalie. (she has modeled some banjos for me in the past.)
Here she is with some of her dance team, posing with their team swimsuit calendar. Natalie is on the left with the auburn hair and big smile.

gourd banjo 

Banjoholic and a banjo hound

Banjo music on itunes

Some of you have asked about our music on itunes. So far, they have up three of our CDs.
The new CD, Banjo Dreamin' Suwannee Nights, has been sent to them--and should be up pretty soon.
I have trouble finding tunes on itunes myself--but they just sent me these direct links so folks will be able to find them easier. :)
Mary Z. Cox:




Vintage Banjohttp://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=5184326Mary Z. Cox: Walkin' That Banjo Homehttp://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=7451679Mary Z. Cox: A Secret Life Of Banjohttp://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=14876246

My husband has an ipod and downloads tunes all the time and enjoys them. I have a little creative MP3 player and have to admit it is really nice to have it loaded up with all kinds of tunes when I go walking the dog. :)

Look at this banjo

There's a new web site at My space with photos and sounds of the
Akonting--an African banjo.
Nice site for folks studying the history of the banjo.
http://www.myspace.com/akonting

Cigar box guitar group on Yahoo

For those of you needing some support for cigar box banjos--there is a cigar box guitar group--which welcome any cigar box instruments on Yahoo Groups. There are over 1200 members and they seem to have several cool events geared toward the homemade instrument enthusiast!
Great fun!

Cigar Box banjo review in Banjo Newsletter

Hello,
May 2006 issue of Banjo Newsletter has my review of the Joe Masel cigar box banjo that Bob bought me for my birthday. They also have a s short (about 30 second) MP3 up so you can hear the voice of this very fun banjo. :)
http://www.banjonews.com/

Banjo Dreamin' again, but still on restriction :)

Bee My Honey/ banjos

Hello,
Here is a link to a small quicktime movie of me putting in my first beehive. Two banjos (my new Deering White Shell Laydie and my gourd banjo) play a duet of "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" (track from "Banjo Dreamin' Suwannee Nights) for the soundtrack. :)
This one has the best resolution, but is about 10MB--be patient with the download. :)
http://www.maryzcox.com/beeone.mov

If you have dial up, or just can't stand the wait--here is a tiny one at about 3.87 MB--but the resolution is pretty poor.
http://www.maryzcox.com/bee.mov

It was pretty exciting putting in the bees. My husband videoed from a distance. :)
Best wishes,
Mary Z. Cox

Tim Smith's new A scale banjo

Tim sent a photo of his new A scale that he built.
Here is what he says about it:

"Here are some pics of a banjo that I built for myself recently. It is an "A Scale" meaning the neck is about 2 inches shorter than normal (like a regular banjo capoed at 2). The home-made 10.5" rim is block-built of walnut with a fat cocobolo tone ring, heavy home-made brass tension hoop, store-bought hooks & brackets. The neck is a walnut/oak/walnut laminate with ebony fingerboard and peghead overlay. The pearl inlay is about as complex as I can handle. I've decided to use the Keystone shape on stuff I build. The neck was originally started by a guy who died before he finished it. It was then a Seeger long neck. It has a Renaissance head and Sosobee bridge. The tailpiece is a heavy brass home-made job I bought on eBay. I really enjoy playing it and it sounds great (to me). I'm still fooling with the set-up as it has some buzzing issues.

Claw hammer banjo tab books

Many folks write to ask which of my Cds have tab books.
There are three, Vintage Banjo, Banjo Dreamin' Suwannee Nights, and A Secret Life Of Banjo.
Each has simple tab to the tunes (not note for note) that are on the CD. They also have some historical and playing notes and some nice musical and Florida antique pictures and photos. They are wonderful for lazy afternoons of picking out a favorite tune or two and learning a little about the history of some wonderful tunes.
They may be ordered from my web page:
www.maryzcox.com
or from the folks at Elderly Instruments
www.elderly.com

Amazing cello video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBTbC6ImCVo


This is the most amazing music I have ever heard--well worth a listen--no matter what instrument you play. :)
I found this link on J-walk's blog.
What do you think, John? Do you think a banjo version would be pretty fun?

Florida Old Time Championships

Here's the link to the 2006 winners of the Florida Old Time Championships. Bob and I were judges, and there was an incredible amount of talent displayed this year.
Congratulations to all !
http://www.fotmc.org/winners/2006winners.html

Old Time banjo hound

Here's a photo of Jezebel, our adopted basset hound. Bassets make good picking buddies. This one will wiggle under my feet and nap while I play. :)

Banjo neck and heel

Here is a close up of the neck on David Hyatt's (of gourd banjo fame) new banjo.

Here is a close up of the heel. Hope he puts up a sound sample on his web site. :)

More photos of Deering custom banjos

Pretty banjo season

Springtime must be the season of pretty new banjos, because here is another!

Gail Gillespie (editor at Old Time Herald) sent me this photo of a new banjo at her home and here is a blurb from her email telling all the details about it.

"As long as we're a-braggin' on banjos, here's a current favorite > around our house.This is my husband Dwight Rogers with a little > clawhammer banjo that our daughter Nora surprised him with last > Christmas. (she learned her trade from Mike Ramsey & Kevin Enoch)> The banjo is cherry with an ebony board, an 11 l/2 inch rim, deep rim > profile, no tone ring (except a top layer of ebony) & a short scale. > Her boyfriend Patrick, a metalworker, made the rim & brackets from > scratch and the dots are inlaid bronze markers. They steamed their own > rim and stained the outside black. Note the interesting peghead. We > just love its elegant postmodern/ 19th century appearance and its > beefy bass and bright treble.> Banjo-vially yours!> Gail"

More Cigar box banjo and early Florida

This is Mae Newman of Palatka, playing her cigar box banjo.

Ernie Williams sent it to me and it is from the Florida Photo Archives. (not sure of the date)

Seems like cigar box banjos were a real tradition in early Florida.

I'm not suprised--there were cigar factories in the Tampa area very early on and folks traveled back and forth from Cuba freely before the sixties. I remember that my Dad (born in Florida in 1915) liked to go dancing when he was young and would travel to the larger cities in Florida to go dancing and also ride the ferry to Havana to dance the night away. :)

Pretty new banjos

Mark Johnson with his new custom Deering.
Mary Z. Cox with her new Deering custom, White Shell Laydie
George Gibson with a beautiful vintage banjo.
Maybe a collector could help identify it. :)

Banjo conversations on the edge of springtime

Banjo joke of the day