SPOONING  (Meaning  Here -- Spoon Playing)

My dad had a cousin that came to our house one day and played the spoons.  He wasn't very good, but he sure could make a lot of noise. That was my first introduction to the spoons.

During an "International Banjo" event in Orlando, FL, we banjo players were invited to join Lowell Sparrow at a local pizza parlor and jam.  When I arrived, Lowell and a small group had already started.  In the audience many kids were playing the spoons and some of these kids were really good!  So I decided when I got home that I would try my luck at playing the spoons.

We had a saloon in Tipp City, OH, "Paddy's," who featured a honky tonk piano player, Guy Bishop, every Friday and Saturday night from 9:00 PM to midnight.  He loved to have anyone come in and play the spoons while he played.  So me and another guy used to come in quite often and play the spoons.  After a couple of years trying this and that you get pretty good on the spoons.  So there are a couple of songs in the Kettering Banjo Society repertoire that features the spoons.  "You may be a 'Red Neck' if you think spoons are a musical instrument."  It is great entertainment!

I was at a Banjo Bash in Birmingham, AL a couple of years ago and several of us were asked to play at a school for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders.  We filled the gym with kids.  We played for about 30 minutes, and the banjo group wanted me to play the spoons on a couple of numbers.  After the program we then let the kids come up to look at the banjos.  To tell the truth the kids weren't too interested in the banjos, which cost several thousand dollars, they wanted to see my "professional" spoons.  I had purchased my "professional" spoons at a garage sale for 40 cents!

So the next time you see a spoon player, look to see if he has "professional" spoons!