STICKERS ON MY BANJO CASE?
Do you have stickers on your banjo case or musical instrument case? Well, take a look at mine. What do you think? Here is the story behind all the stickers.
Several years ago, 1982, I attended a Fretted Instrument Guild of America (FIGA) Convention in Chicago. During that convention we banjo players were ask to play at a mall close by. The convention bussed about 50 of us there. When we got to the stage where we were to play, there was a mandolin orchestra just finishing playing. They were coming off stage and all their instrument cases were just behind the stage. After they left we got our banjos out and put our cases behind the stage where the mandolin orchestra had had their cases.
We played for about 35 to 45 minutes. When we finished we went to put our banjos away in cases behind the stage. However, there wasn’t a case in sight! Guys and gals were panicked saying, “What happened to our cases?!” They were franticly looking around to find our cases. We thought they had all been stolen.
There was a little old lady away down one of the corridors motioning, and saying, “I got you cases down here!” Sure enough she had a room with all the banjo cases lined up just perfectly in two long rows. They all looked alike! I hated to get down and open one up to see if it was mine. “Nope, that’s not mine,” and then go to the next one and open it up. “Nope, that’s not mine, either!” I decided right then and there that I would know my banjo case among a bunch of banjo cases. Thus, I started putting stickers of all kinds on the case from places I had been, things I got in the mail, and convention stickers -- anything. The very first one was a sticker from the state of Maine. Since that time, the summer of 1983, I’ve placed stickers all over the case. They have been put on by my grandkids and others. They are placed on the case in a haphazard fashion or in just any way a person wants to put a sticker in the case.
The case has been an inspiration to many players. One fellow I know in St. Louis, MO has stickers all over his case like mine. However, there is one big difference. He places his stickers on very precisely, evenly and in neat rows and columns. It does look good!
My case with all the loud, sparkly or glittery stickers may draw your attention to the case, but if it is in amongst several others which are new and pristine, or like a tooled leather case from Mexico, which one is some thief likely to steal?
I tell people who ask about the case that the stickers are the only thing holding the case together. If they have a sticker, I’ll put it on the case. I also tell them that the stickers are what make the case so heavy. In addition, I tell them that I get more comments about my case than I do my playing!
I graduated from Ohio University with a BS degree in Physics. Miami University of Ohio was our arch rival. Well, sure enough, there are a couple of wives in the Kettering Banjo Society that graduated from Miami University, so we have some good times with the rivalry and teasing one another. I was at the Great Lakes International Banjo Convention several years ago and one of the wives got me diverted doing something while the other one placed a Miami University sticker around the handle on the banjo case. She placed it there so I would not miss it. It didn't last too long on the handle because of the wear and tear on the handle, but she had done it to me again!
Just reciently I found out that the vice president of FIGA, Dr. Ron McLawhon's fiance, Karla, is a graduate of Miami University. Boy, have I kidded her. She got me a sticker from Miami University and I told Ron during a jam session at the Mid-Winter Banjorama in Springfield, OH in March of 2008 that I was going to put it on the bottom of the banjo case! I didn't, but I sure wanted to!
If you have a sticker, let’s put it on my banjo case!
