The Banjola

I made my way up to Blue Moon Music in Fayetteville, Arkansas earlier this week. I was visiting one of my band members and to my surprise I came across an instrument that I have had my eyes on for around 4 years now. It was a Gold Tone banjola. The instrument is a cross between a guitar, mandolin and banjo. At first glance it might fool someone not so much in the know as being a zitar. The banjola has a very unique sound that is nothing like the banjo (thank goodness). It has a great resonation, but is very soft and can easily be drowned out by other acoustics. My plan is to add a pickup to send to an amplifier. I'm curious to see how the flange affects it's sound. When I get pictures, I'll post them up on Flickr (to which I'm addicted).

The Real Hot Dog

The Real Hot Dog
Originally uploaded by banj.

Whole Foods Market produces these hot dogs. You can't tell the size of them but they're probably twice as big as an Oscar Meyer. No fillers, no artificial flavors, no parts you have to wonder about. You can taste the difference as well. They're $4.99/pound in the meat case. Once you've had em, you'll never go back.

My Update

It's been busy! I'm getting ready for NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) meeting in Vegas week after next. We've got a 7 system configuration of workflow from Autodesk and Piranaha tied to FCP. We're coordinating visits from editors and engineers interested in the Smoke, Flame and Lustre.

I'm looking forward to this years convention and seeing the floor from the side of not working in broadcast. It should be better.

I don't know how many attend, but the locals say it's one of Vegas' most populated conventions, so without a doubt it's gotta be in the tens of thousands.

The band is off for a couple of weeks. Our next appearance is at a local RV dealership (whoopie). It's a decent paying job so that's always a good sign.

Trophy Bass is moving along as well. We had the show placed in OKC, but politics are creeping in causing us to reconsider. I believe we'll still be on the air there but it may be a few weeks.

That's all I got.