Tell us about you and your family!
I am a Senior Systems Engineer with a large hospital company where I have worked for the past 32 years. I am a divorced father of two children, Delaney Leigh and Aiden Reese who are both in middle school now. My hobbies include music and amateur radio.
What was it that first got you interested in playing the guitar, mandolin or banjo?
After my divorce I was living with my parents and one night at the dinner table we were discussing my father and niece who both play the guitar. My momma mentioned that I should also try to learn an instrument. After some thought, I decided to learn the banjo thinking that it would be fun to play with my family.
How long have you been playing and whatās your motivation to play?
Iāve been playing the banjo for about two and a half years now. The fiddle for about a year and the flute and piccolo for about 6 months. I love learning and playing my instruments helps to pass the time when I am alone.
Whatās your favorite lesson on Benās site and how has it helped you improve?
My favorite lesson would have to be the first song I learned how to play, Boil em Cabbage Down. Itās such a simple song that can be played in so many ways with all the different roll patterns and on the fiddle with different bowing techniques. Itās fun to play too. When I play my banjo I always play it first as a way to warm up my fingers.
Are there any other instruments or genres of music that you enjoy playing?
I am also learning how to play a fiddle and the flute. I have a violin, a five string viola, a Di Zhao flute and a Pearl piccolo. They are all fun to play. I enjoy playing bluegrass and gospel songs. I have also gotten in to Irish fiddle and Iāve learned two jigs so far.
Do you have a favorite technique? What is it?
Probably doing a 1/2 upwards bend when doing a slide. That sounds pretty neat. I also recently learned to do vibrato on my fiddle and have been working that in to the songs I play.
If you could play in anyoneās band, who would it be and why?
I would love to play with Roy Clark and Buck Trent. I loved watching them both when I was a kid and they were my childhood musical heroās.
What type of gear or accessories have you found that work best for you?
Iāve been trying different thumb picks and like the JD Crowe one and recently the ones from Black Mountain picks. Both work much better than the plastic National ones which break after a while.
If money was no object, what would be your dream instrument(s)?
I am not sure. I already have a Twanger and am happy with the instruments that I do have. If I had the money and the room in my home I think I would get a cello or a double bass. That would be neat to learn.
When youāre not pickinā, what else do you spend your time doing?
I enjoy spending time with my children when I can. I have a general class amateur radio license, KD4KTC, and I like to play around with my radios. I also like building radio kits that you solder together to assemble. I mostly just listen these days but I enjoy QRP (low power) transmitting and itās neat to see how far away one can communicate with just 5 watts. I made it all the way from my home to Switzerland once. I would like to finish learning morse code also, I was doing about 7 words per minute before the divorce and have not gotten back in to learning it. My music hobby occupies a lot of my time now.
Anything else youād like to share?
Donāt ever make my mistake. Like most folks when I got the idea to learn how to play, I bought the cheap $170 banjo from Amazon not knowing any better. Donāt ever do that by the way, itās awful and has no sustain. I spent about a month trying to figure how why I could not do a slide, then after trying another banjo I learned that it wasnāt me, it was my instrument. I have since purchased a Deering Goodtime Artisan open back and a Gold Tone OB3 Twanger. If you are someone planning on learning music, buy a quality instrument. It helps so much in learning.
How did you find out about Banjo Ben?
I was on YouTube looking for banjo lessons and came across one of Benās videos. The one where he was teaching Tavin Dillard. I decided then and there that this was the guy for me and signed up that night after seeing some of his other lessons.
Thanks for letting us feature you Jamie!
Jamie on being selected as this weeks Gold Pick Member
