ALL FRETS - July/August 2018 ENTIRE ISSUE | Page 21

One day at banjo band practice Cuppy Ames, one of
the best plectrum players in the band, invited me to
his house to listen to some records. When I got
there he had an old record album filled with
Peabody 78’s. We spent the afternoon listening to
the records over and over again… St. Louis Blues,
You Don’t Like it Not Much, Indian Dawn, Me And
My Shadow, Sad & Blue, Happy Highways and many
others. I was completely hooked on Eddie’s
recordings from the 20’s & 30’s and all I wanted to
do was practice so maybe one day I could play like
Eddie.
Up until that time I had been playing a Vega Pro II
banjo from the 1960’s. It was a five string and I
removed the fifth string. It was fine for me at that
point but I wanted a Vega Vox IV of course. My dad
found one on the east coast and bought it from a
man named Charles Gary who was also a big
Peabody fan like me.
Fast forward two years. I was in California playing
at the “Banjo Spectacular” and then at the “Banjo
Rama” where I met Frank Vodich for the first time.
Frank lived in San Francisco and encouraged me to
continue practicing and learning. He played very
much like Eddie and offered to teach me, if I was
ever able to make it to the bay area. Over the next
4 years we visited Frank many times and I learned a
great deal from him. He was a very kind man, had a
beautiful tremolo, and never charged my dad a
dime for the lessons. We remained good friends
throughout the years and I would visit him often
after I moved to Southern California to pursue a
career in music. Frank sold a very beautiful Vox IV
to me and it became my primary banjo for the next
five years. It was an early 60’s banjo with truss rods
and no heel carving.
It is important for me to mention my mother and
father at this point, Darryl and Beverly Roth. They
completely supported my dream to be a musician
and did everything they could to make it possible.
Without their help and support, I would have been
lost! So…..“Thanks Mom & Dad!”
ALL FRETS JULY/AUGUST 2018
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