My first series of shows playing mainly mando

[Eric Platt]

Played my first two "real" shows (each a 45 minute set) where I only played mandolin. Went quite well. Have played enough shows as a guitarist to feel completely confident doing that. However, only been playing mandolin a bit less than 6 months. Did not have the confidence, but practiced enough that I was happy with everything. Really a different feeling as I'm alternating between playing lead and adding rhythm and rhythmic fills.

We're playing Finnish-American tunes. And am having a blast doing it. Not sure if mandolin will eventually be my main instrument or not. But it's really nice to have an option to change the texture of the tune. Or the band, for that matter.

For these shows, I only played mandolin. But when three of us jammed during FinnFest (Ralph and Carl the fiddle player) switched to guitar to fill out the sound.

Here's a video one of my bandmates put together. I'm the fat guy in black on the left -



Really happy with how my Gibson A Jr. carries through this group. Still love my Breedlove Cascade (performed with it today), but the Gibson might be the better choice for this group.

FWIW, the other mandolin player - Ralph (Rauli) Tutilla, is a real master of harmony and rhythm. He's been a great teacher, mentor and overall inspiration.

[Mark Gunter]

That's great, Eric! I plan to play mandolin as a main instrument, too, someday. Been learning for 2 years now. I've continued performing strictly with guitar, but I've pulled the mandolin out for a few tunes at jam sessions. I went busking with only mandolin yesterday, lakeside, on a quick business trip to Chicago, and got great encouragement! Keep mandolinning!