Joining the string band tradition

I've had the fortune of joining a local old-time string band on my upright of late. We're called The Varnish Cooks, and we're comprised of the traditional string band instrumentation: 5-string banjo, mandolin, guitar, and double bass. We're playing some originals and old-time tunes,
some of which predate the Civil War. It's beautiful music, really. I'd encourage any and all of you reading this to click the associated links and listen to some of the song samples.

The Varnish Cooks Homepage
The Varnish Cooks Myspace

As I get up to speed on the tunes, we'll be booking more shows, some of them "exposure" gigs. Such as one coming up in September at the George Eastman House, which is a showcase of some fretted instrument guild/association, and there's supposed to be some pretty heavy hitters from the old-time/traditional scene.

The other players are great, and very skilled musicians, so it's a real treat to be playing with this group, and of course it's something new: a steady gig on upright bass.

Also added to the blog is an embedded Google Calendar where I'll have all my performance dates scheduled, with The Varnish Cooks and any other public performances I have, no matter the group.

Check back and see when I'm playing... and come out and catch it!

The Varnish Cooks: (l to r) Me, Greg Fair, Ben Proctor