Random mandolin sightings

[Jim]

Hoagy was Kind of a local legend where I grew up, Bloomington Indiana. So I tend to watch material he's in when I see his name mentioned. Had no idea he had a part in Laramie til I saw his name mentioned when I was watching encore westerns while taking a break from chores on the ranch last week.

[journeybear]

You know what, I didn't know he was from Indiana. I did know another great songwriter of his era was - Cole Porter - though some say he was from Peru. I didn't know Hoagy appeared on "Laramie" (only vaguely aware of the show, anyway, and never watched it), and I was surprised to see, when I looked him up on imdb.com, that he was a regular, with 23 appearances on the show during its four seasons. Also, his appearance in THAHN was only his second acting credit, his first as an uncredited piano player in "Topper" seven years earlier, in 1937. After THAHN his screen career took off, and he worked pretty steadily as an actor for the next 15 years. This is the appearance that sticks in my mind, though.

[journeybear]

Hmmm ... Guess I haven't been keeping up on this stuff, or been busy, or something ... Anyway, this showed up on Conan a couple weeks ago, though I just saw it tonight while catching up via On Demand. It's from Ben Rector, based in Nashville, but this song is pretty pop, with a bit of country flavor. Right from the start my ear got caught by a mandolin, for once up in the mix. It's pretty well integrated into the arrangement, and even drives it to some extent. While I am very tired of the sort of anthemic group vocal refrain so much the current fashion in pop music, the overall performance is pleasant enough. Perhaps the presence of a mandolin so prominently featured in a pop song is a harbinger of a rise in its popularity. We do get glimpses of this sort now and then.

[Marty Jacobson]

There's some mandolin in M. Ward's new album. Check it out.

[Charles E.]

Thread bump....

While watching CBS This Morning, they had a duo called "Shovels and Rope".

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/saturd...-annes-parade/

Nice harmonies, I think they tend to do more electric guitar - drums instrumentation.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Had a mandolin sighting the other night that was about as 'random' as they come. Flipping channels just as Conan introduced a group called Judah and the Lion. I was certainly surprised to see there before me a banjo and a mandolin (might even be a Gibson F5?) on national network late-night TV.*

http://teamcoco.com/video/judah-the-...eatured-videos

*I mention this 'mandolin sighting' only because it fits the description/parameters of this thread. I make no claim, nor do I suggest that the usage of the mandolin, banjo, or that any portion of the above linked video was good, proper, or even slightly worth watching.

[Mark Gunter]

*I mention this 'mandolin sighting' only because it fits the description/parameters of this thread. I make no claim, nor do I suggest that the usage of the mandolin, banjo, or that any portion of the above linked video was good, proper, or even slightly worth watching.

I hear ya, but I have to say that I think these guys have a good rock sound, and they do a really good job of incorporating the acoustic instruments into their electric sound, YMMV

[Timbofood]

Brilliant disclaimer Flatrock!
It was not my cup of tea or anything else for that matter.
They have a "Sound" and that's about all I had better say.

[CES]

I actually enjoyed the live version much more than the radio version. Hey, the Punch Brothers and Five Finger Death Punch aren't for everybody, either

[CES]

Fwiw, he sounds a little like Eminem to me...

[JeffD]

I kind of like the band.

The first of their songs I ever heard was Sweet Tennessee, and I thought they did a good job of including the banjo and the mandolin in a way that let the instruments be themselves. The song actually leaned on the mandolin and banjo, and I thought it was good.

I personally liked Sweet Tennessee more than Take it Back, but that's me. I haven't heard a lot of their other stuff.

I assume this is true and not mere truthiness, but copy from their website says "An independent band whose success has arrived not on the back of some big-budget major label, but through the band's own touring, Judah & the Lion have built a large, loyal fan base on the road." That alone is a reason for me to give them a long hard listen.

[Seter]

Just had my first TV show mandolin sighting since joining the forum, courtesy of the Andy Griffith Show:



I don't it has been posted before but pardon if I'm wrong.

[Timbofood]

Dean gets a little attention here from time to time! There is member here whit LOTS of information about the Dillard's through this little stretch of time. My bet is he'll ring in on this sooner or later.

[CES]

My wife and daughter are big 21 Pilots fans, so we trekked up to see them last night in Greensboro. They put on an awesome show, and are really talented guys who use some electronics but do actually play their instruments, sing, and write almost all of the songs they performed, with the exception of some fun covers they did with the opening acts...which leads me to:

Judah and crew were the opening act, and I've got to admit I really enjoyed their show. The banjo and mando aren't just novelty instruments, they're integral parts of the band that played on every song. They had great stage energy, didn't take themselves too seriously (at one point the banjo picker was dancing and playing in a Santa costume, and Judah's dancing is unapologetically hilarious), and I enjoyed the music. It was sort of an early Avett Brothers energy with rock/rap-tinged music. They're not the Avetts, who have become impressively polished performers, much better musicians through the years (I can still play most of it, but it's getting harder), and whose music has matured as they've been touched by marriage/divorce/ilness/life. But, I got that "genuine" feel from Judah and the Lion, which I find impressive. The negative for me is the banjo and mando tones could be a lot piezo-quacky, but at the volumes and current budget, I get it. I wouldn't recommend die hard grassers who only like Bill Monroe to go see them, but I was pleasantly surprised.

For the record, I'm a 21 Pilots fan, too, now...

[journeybear]

Our beloved instrument made one of its rare appearances on Jeopardy last week. In the Double Jeopardy round, in the category "Stringed Instruments," the $1600 clue read: "Bluegrass virtuosos of this small lutelike instrument include Bill Monroe & Ricky Skaggs." Contestant #2 said, "What's a banjo?" The returning champion responded correctly, asking, "What is a mandolin?" For once, someone got it right. Nearly every time contestants draw a blank Ironically, Contestant #2 rebounded from this gaffe and went on to win.



I saw Judah And The Lion on Conan too, and thought they were all right, though I wouldn't go out of my way based on this. I thought it was odd how the electric banjo sounded kind of mandolinny for the most part, especially on the little interlude riffs. The mandolin was limited to chords for the most part, other than the two bars starting around 2:12.

[Tobin]

I guess this qualifies as random...

There's a new television advert for Fiber One. About 7 seconds into the commercial, she opens the door to her "she-shed", and there's a mandolin on the floor. That's the only time it appears in the commercial, and it's only for a split second. But it caught my eye the first time I saw the ad. Anybody know what make it is? It's an A-style with F-holes, but the peghead isn't the usual snakehead shape. It's hard to tell, but it seems to be flared more like a paddlehead or F5 style.

*edited to add: the peghead is seen again at about the 17-second mark, but I don't see a name on it. And then there's a follow-up commercial where you can see the mandolin on the floor again, this time with a better view of it. It looks like a modern mandolin, but I just don't recognize the style.

[soliver]

Any "Orphan Black" Fans?... The close of last season had Donnie playing a few chords on what seemed like a cheapo A style... couldn't tell the make and model.

[soliver]

Found a pic:

[Mike Scott]

I. The movie “Wild Bill” starring Jeff Bridges, he’s dancing with Diane Lane and the camera flashes the band and there’s a mandolin. Looks sort of like a Seagull S8. It’s on screen for maybe 3 seconds. May have been posted before. Didn’t want to read the entire thread again to see.

[Seter]

Just got back from seeing the western Hostiles, which nicely features a mandolin in more than just a wallhanger role. Nice little campfire song performance on what appeared to be a bowlback of some sort as would be appropriate.

Here is the song, in the movie it's just vocals and mandolin though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Wq-wrofQI

[FLATROCK HILL]

This was on PBS last evening:

Looks like a Gibson A2 maybe. Doesn't sound quite as "tubby" as some... almost "tinny" to me.

(Not sure how it is that I was tuned into Lawrence Welk. The grandmothers who use to force it upon me are both long gone.)

[F-2 Dave]

Was watching television, late at night when the quality stuff is on. The movie was Sharknado: the 4th awakens. During one of the storms suddenly I spied a cameo by super musician Paul Schaffer. He was behind his piano preparing to flee the impending
Sharkpocalypse. In his hand was an A style mandolin.

While this appearance will likely do nothing to promote mandolin awareness in our world, it was enough to catch my attention. I couldn't keep it to myself. Don't judge me.

[Miltown]

Some classical mandolin in an IBM commercial:

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dKvK/ibm-smart-recycling

[Chris W.]

Some classical mandolin in an IBM commercial:

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dKvK/ibm-smart-recycling

That’s Vivaldi’s Concerto in C for Mandolin.

[John Aubuchon]

I was watching 'F is for Family' last night on Netflix and there was a music shop called "Rusty's Trombones". Hanging in the window were three mandolins; an F Style, a bowlback and a flat back oval hole!