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Hi Kevin,
I'm really glad you addressed this issue. I've been wondering about it myself. Why aren't there any black CB players!!? Kind of unusual isn't it. It's the same thing with the Banjo. You ever see any African-American Banjo players? Never, which is a strange thing since the banjo is an african instrument. I don't have any answers about this other than maybe the connotations of these instruments with the past are something that folks want to shake.
There are a few old-timers still playing slide and such in Mississippi (where i'm from) but they're not connected with the internet! The young'ns....seems like guitars & blues and all of the stuff that goes with it just isn't their thing. Kind of ashame isn't it.
-Shelley.
Hi Kevin,
I'm really glad you addressed this issue. I've been wondering about it myself. Why aren't there any black CB players!!? Kind of unusual isn't it. It's the same thing with the Banjo. You ever see any African-American Banjo players? Never, which is a strange thing since the banjo is an african instrument. I don't have any answers about this other than maybe the connotations of these instruments with the past are something that folks want to shake.
There are a few old-timers still playing slide and such in Mississippi (where i'm from) but they're not connected with the internet! The young'ns....seems like guitars & blues and all of the stuff that goes with it just isn't their thing. Kind of ashame isn't it.
-Shelley.
I tried to write some stuff speculating on social movements, musical styles, racial dynamics over time, etc, but all I learned was I don't know a damned thing about it.
I notice you're in KC, Kevin. There must be other blues players around. Do you play out with the CBG, or go to jams? If so, what kind of reaction do you get? It may be harder to find other black CBG players than it would be to create a few. Get CBGs into the hands of players, even for a few minutes. Make a few and sell them cheaply or give them away. Maybe start your own regular jam - in a park, where other people will notice. Talk about the history here and there, and pretty soon you'll have an African-American Cigar Box Guitar Renaissance.
I did notice a young man playing diddley in one of your photos, and a young lady who looks like she's ready for a turn. If they each tell two friends, and THEY each tell two friends...
Kevin,
Just wondering if CBG has the same reputation as tap dancin' ? There's a whole lot tied up with that question, but I imagine that a poor sharecropper twangin' away on his diddley bow can't be any more glamorous to some folks than the image of the African American tap dancer.
Like a lot of cultures, it would seem that African Americans pick and choose the elements in their history which they'd like to keep. My great grandfathers gave up kilts and bagpipes years ago. Which is a shame, cause a lot of us have great legs.
There's actually a black banjo group at yahoogroups with plenty of black banjo players. But the ratio of black to white banjo players is probably similar to the ratio of black to white CBG players.
Shelley said:Hi Kevin,
I'm really glad you addressed this issue. I've been wondering about it myself. Why aren't there any black CB players!!? Kind of unusual isn't it. It's the same thing with the Banjo. You ever see any African-American Banjo players? Never, which is a strange thing since the banjo is an african instrument. I don't have any answers about this other than maybe the connotations of these instruments with the past are something that folks want to shake.
There are a few old-timers still playing slide and such in Mississippi (where i'm from) but they're not connected with the internet! The young'ns....seems like guitars & blues and all of the stuff that goes with it just isn't their thing. Kind of ashame isn't it.
-Shelley.
I remember the first time I introduced it in church and brought the roof down! It was great. But I was so dismayed that no one seemed to know anything about CBGs. It does provide an opportunity to educate them though.
I work for a childrens' psychiatric hospital (for troubled kids), and one of the favorite encounter groups we do involves me building and then playing a diddly bow right before their eyes. They love it!
Kevin M. Kraft said:I remember the first time I introduced it in church and brought the roof down! It was great. But I was so dismayed that no one seemed to know anything about CBGs. It does provide an opportunity to educate them though.
I work for a childrens' psychiatric hospital (for troubled kids), and one of the favorite encounter groups we do involves me building and then playing a diddly bow right before their eyes. They love it!
This is exactly why this group is vital to the preservation of this instrument and its history. Indeed it is an opportunity to educate and bring back an instrument that has touched so many peoples and styles.
You're work with the kids sounds fantastic. Keep up the great work!
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