Great moments in mandolin history

[Mandosaxon]

1. All the current top tier builders (insert your favorites here) were already working at Gibson when Mr. Loar walked in the door.

2. Jimi Hendrix buys his first mandocaster.

3. Friday Night Live in San Francisco with Al,Paco and John on matching Loar F5's.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Or the reverse?

1. Upon arrival in America Dave Apollon falls in love with Maybelle Carter's Gibson L5 and takes up guitar.

2.1964: David Grisman and Jerry Garcia meet and take a mutual disliking to one another. Grisman decides to go into the family business rather than pursue a career in music.

3. Charlie Monroe takes up the mandolin, forcing his younger brother, Bill, to play guitar. After a few years, Bill gets frustrated and goes back to farming full time.

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Daniel

[JoeD]

I'm partial to that video circulating on the web where a completely sober Jimmy Martin talks about what a fine musician, and what a decent human being Ricky Skaggs is.

[allenhopkins]

[1] Aghast at the idea of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs leaving his band, Bill Monroe offers them each one-third share of the profits and management of the Blue Grass Boys. Lester and Earl remain members of the band for the next forty years.

[2] Obtaining a loan from a New York bank, Lloyd Loar buys the Gibson Co. and continues to innovate and improve its design and manufacturing processes. In 1948, he signs the label of the 100,000th "Lloyd Loar F-5" just before his retirement.

[3] The "British Musical Invasion" is launched when a quartet of musicians from Liverpool takes America by storm. With George Harrison and John Lennon on mandolins, Paul McCartney on mandola, and Richard "Ringo Starr" Starkey on mandocello, the Beatles spark a generation of new mandolinists and return the mandolin to its rightful place as America's most popular instrument.

[4] A million mandolin players assemble in Washington DC, rallying for peace, justice, equality, and tax breaks for Calton cases and light gauge flatwound strings. In an impassioned speech, Pres. Thile promises that one "nickel" out of every budget dollar will be earmarked for mandolin R&D; "I won't be satisfied until every American can play a decent break to 'Raw Hide,'" he says.

[5] Initiating Operation Arab Bounce, Gen. Statman crosses the Pakistani border and nabs fugitive uber-terrorist Osama Bin Laden. "We had no trouble finding him," Gen. Statman states. "We could hear his damn banjo from miles away."

[JeffD]

Osama Bin Laden. #"We had no trouble finding him," Gen. Statman states. #"We could hear his damn banjo from miles away."
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[JeffD]

Chris Thile takes up the bowl back mandolin, and is so taken with the instrument he makes it his main axe. This sparks a wave of bowl back enthusiasm, and a wave of American luthiers start turning their talents to meeting the new demand.

[F5G WIZ]

The "Mandolin Cafe" leaves the internet due to budget problems, freeing up hours a day for cafe members, thousands of mandolin players everywhere find more time to practice and the mandolin skill level of all cafe members sky rockets!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[keymandoguy]

busloads of banjo pickers descend on Washington and play Foggy mountain breakdown all weekend to protest the war !

[John Flynn]

The "Mandolin Cafe" leaves the internet due to budget problems, freeing up hours a day for cafe members, thousands of mandolin players everywhere find more time to practice and the mandolin skill level of all cafe members sky rockets!!
I think it would go differently:

The "Mandolin Cafe" leaves the internet due to budget problems, leaving thousands of mandolin players with no community and no vehicle to share information, inspiration and fellowship. With no support group, many players switch to the accordian and the banjo, setting the evolution of music back dozens of years.
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[brianf]

In 1947 I changed my name to Bill Monroe, and became a famous pitcher of horse shoes. Yes, I said,'Shoes".:p

[Mark Walker]

It's light-hearted threads like this that inject the right amount of humor into otherwise dull days. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Chris Thile - at age 8 - talks an up-and-coming luthier named Lynn Dudenbostel into creating a mandolin for him. #18 years later or so later - after Nickel Creek's first CD - millionaire Lynn closes up his shop, retires happily, and his instruments' values escalate to near Lloyd Loar models. # (Lynn can dream too, can't he? #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif )

[Jkf_Alone]

I take up mandolin at age six, start band called crickle neek and eventually go solo, changing band names every 2 weeks.

[Santiago]

Monroe porch is too short. They drop the youngest player.