What first got you interested in playing the guitar, mandolin or banjo?
Truth in advertising disclaimer warning - this is rather lengthy… Yall know I’m “Wordy” haha
Always been interested in playing music… Would much prefer listening to music rather than watching TV! Grew up in New England in a very musical family - they were always playing at home and at friends and family get togethers and holiday gatherings or camping trips. If they said they were “going to make a little noise” or have a “Hootnanny” it meant there’d be music till wee hours of the morning. Some of their tunes were in the vein of “5 Foot 2,” “Golden Slippers,” and alot of Canadian folk songs sung in french - & way too much variety to list here. Dad played guitar, harmonica, “The Bones” (home made ones), and sang; big brother plays guitar, harmonica, piano, 120 bass acordion (the big one), uke, melodica, and a few others, but does not sing. Big Brother, a very musically talented indivdual, is also blind - so he learned all the instruments on his own, by ear, and sight unseen. Mom occasionally played piano. They were all no doubt a huge influence. Fast Fwd to school days for me - I played Flute & Piccolo in concert & marching band. The question however was pertaining to “interested in playing ‘X’ Bluegrass instrument” - Fast Fwd to when “Banjoson” & “Guitarson” (as many of yall know them as on here, haha - they actualy have real names - Branden (Banjo) and Deven (guitar) started learning their instruments. One was strictly bluegrass and BG gospel, the other mainly rock, but occasionally theyd get together and play. Started thinking maybe I could learn some of that… Several years went by till that happened. I love the sounds of all the instruments, but since the Mando was untaken in the household, and also way more portable than their instruments lol, (thought: good for traveling), Mando it was.
How long have you been playing and what’s your motivation to play?
This coming September will be 6 years of actively playing. Had my 1st mando about 1 year before that, but didn’t really try to play much. Joined as a Gold Pick member in 2018, then upgraded to Lifer - best decision ever. Motivation? I just love music, and feel blessed to be able to play what I can. Plus its just plain FUN!
What’s your goal when playing?
My objective when playing tends to float around as I go down the musical journey… It’s a journey, right? And, as such, make note to enjoy every step of it!! There’s always LOTS of goals - some have been/are things like - don’t stop dead at errors, play thru them and continue at the right time/place in the song, cause if you’re playing for people, ya really don’t get to go back and do it over again - play in time - listen to the others playing around you - try to play with good tone - play by ear whenever possible - play in a manner to try & make others playing around you sound their best - always play in respect & consideration to whomever you’re picking with (and hopefully they’ll want to pick with you again some time!) - always take any chance you get to “Play Up” as Ive been advised by some great musical friends… its true, it helps alot more than you’d 1st think - For me, I’ve always got a case of the nerves before playing w folks so a big goal continues to be to ditch the nerves, chill out and just play… easier said than done. Continue to learn new material while trying not to forget the old - take any opportinitues you can to play live with others - a more recent goal (past year-ish) has been singing and playing… it’s coming along… still need to use a printed sheet of lyrics/chords to sing & play, else I forget the words or the chords… it is what it is 
I could go on and on…
Do you have a favorite technique? What is it?
Well again, there’s LOTS. I like to sit nearby other mandolin players, if possible, at jams and try and learn from them as they play. I am guilty of watching the guitar players’ left hands chords to follow along on unfamiliar songs. Also guilty of not ever playing any of the standard big chop chord shapes on the mandolin. A prior hand/wrist injury makes playing them very uncomfortable for me, so I’ve found alternates that chop/work great. As for practice time, I tend to start off with the well known and stuff I’d rather not forget, then get into the things I’m sketchy on, “repetition” and “slow it down” is your friend here. Go slow to go fast is true! I tend to end practice time on similar material to what I started on. I record (audio) things often to go back over and listen back to see how could I improve that, what needs work, sounds good or bad, etc. I also record jam sessions when I can for the same reasons. Another favorite “technique” I guess you could call it for practice is if theres a musical event coming up that I’m participating in, I tend to scratch working on new stuff and random stuff and instead concentrate strictly on the material that is to be called on for whatever it is we’re heading to. This weekend for example, was an Irish Festival.
Are there any other instruments or genres of music that you enjoy playing?
Love playing in general but besides my attempts at BG, BG Gospel, & fiddle tunes, I love to play Celtic on the Mandolin. It’s sometimes tricky to find other folks local here to play those tunes with.
How long have you been a Gold Pick member?
Been GP here since 2018, (goes back to question #2), and Lifer since the year following. Actually found out about Banjo Ben back when our son was learning banjo. I was surfing the net for local banjo lessons for him, and came across Ben’s site. Due to his young age at the time, thought he would need a more hands on live lessons approach, and we ended up finding a local teacher to “keep an eye on him.” One of his local teachers mentioned Banjo Ben as being top notch. Years later, (about a year after getting my first mando,) I signed up.
What’s your favorite lesson on Ben’s site and how has it helped you improve?
My answer may seem odd, but here it is: Without question it is the “Oh Come Emmanuel” mandolin/guitar lesson. Reason why is when I could barely play an open G C or D chord - in the very beginning before signing on here - I saw these two young guys on YT playing it. In thier video description they mentioned it was a Banjo Ben Clark arrangement. I absolutely loved that arrangement & said someday I’m going to play that… It drove me to get to a level where I could play that. In Dec of 2020 ole @Dragonslayer and I did a collab for Christmas for that lesson. That lesson is qualified as ‘advanced’ - I do not classify myself anywhere near an advanced player - more of a hacker haha! This lesson taught me where there’s a will, there’s a way - there’s always a need & room for improvement & eventually with hard work, ALOT of time and repetition invested, you’ll see improvements and accomplish some of your goals along the way.
What artist(s) most inspire you? Who are your favorite musical heroes?
There’s just too many to mention spanning several genres…
If you could play in anyone’s band, who would it be and why?
Garcia, Grisman & Rice. That flavor of music just resonates with me.
If money were no object, what would be your dream instrument(s)?
I have my dream instrument, and am truly blessed to have it!
BUT - “M.A.S.” says I need a Northfield A5 Special. Got to try one out at the 1st TX cabin camp (Thanx for that General Store!!) and it was awesome. Almost came home with it. Was also lucky to get the opportunity to play about 15+ very high end mandos at Carter’s, including ones in the upper room and the 1923 Loar that had a price tag of like $125K (my husband almost had a fit when that happened cuz…well… what if I dropped it…?!) Even after playing all of those, Northfield is still my fav.
What do you do for a living?
I work full time in a local recording and production studio. We do audio & studio work from the very beginning to the end. From the recording ideas themselves, to the recording of the music and musicians, to the mixing, to the graphics & printing you see on the finished product, all packaged and shrink wrapped ready to go. We also have a local lp TV station and a TV studio/green room. Part of my job is to record TV shows weekly. Some are broadcast live, some are live streamed, all are scheduled in our programming lineup. We do TV commercials voice overs and ads, run sound and lighting for live production events, install audio/video equipment commercially, produce transfers for all kinds of audio/video media that folks bring in to modern formats. A little while back we had hundreds of songs of Reel to Reel bluegrass recordings that we transfered to flash drives to preserve the music for a family. That was an awesome project to get to work on. Some really great material! Work? Nah, its a fun “job” First job I’ve ever had where playing your instrument is encouraged! There’s a big handmade quilt hanging on the wall over the front desk that says “It’s All About the Music.”
When you’re not pickin’, what else do you spend your time doing?
Spending time with family at home, visiting far away family and friends, camping and traveling with my husband who doesn’t play, but puts up with my musical endeavors (Thank you Lee!!). He’s the resident listener, haha! Gardening, reading, and Working - if you can call it that? LOL
If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
Pick - It’s a no-brainer! I often cram picking/practice into early morning before work or later evening hours to get it in around the daily schedule.
What would be the most amazing adventure to go on?
To go camping around the country with my husband, hitting various BG festivals & visiting friends and family along the way would be awesome.
Anything else you’d like to add?
A huge Thank you to Ben & Family & Co for all they do, to family and friends for their encouragement, to my musical friends for all their help & advice, same goes for my forum friends help, advice, comments, laughs and inspiration - several who I've met and got to pick with in person - I appreciate all of you! To my family I'm beyond blessed to have you!On another note - pun intended -
- Attend a cabin camp if you can. I’ve been to three, highly recommend it, and would/will go back someday when able to. Its a priceless in many ways experience!
- Enjoy your musical journey!
Thank you for asking me to be featured here!
Thanks for letting us feature you @Simone!
& kind comments, and taking the time to read all my jibber jabber, appreciate it!!!
struggle was real… hence the disclaimer 
