yumaoldtimefiddlers.com/
Playing Since: 1985
Experience Level: Novice
Interests:
[Jamming] [Socializing] [Helping]
Occupation: Retired military/ luthier wannabe
Gender: Male
Age: 83
My Instruments:
I have two that I restored, two more I am restoring that were badley damaged and One I odered as a kit from international violin
Favorite Bands/Musicians:
Don Reno and Red smiley Tennessee cut ups, Bill monroe and bluegrass boys, The Stanley Bros, Kenny Baker, Tommy Jackson, Byron Beurlein and any of the appalachian style fiddlers
Classified Rating: (0)
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Profile Info:
Visible to: Public
Created 7/5/2007
Last Visit 3/27/2021
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, grew up in Long Beach , California., When I was 7 and in the second grade, a music class started taught by our teacher. It was all violins I cant remember how many kids were in it, but there was a rental fee for the violin, we couldnt afford it so I had to give it up. I got into trouble with the violin because I had to practice the scale in the afternoon after school, mom worked and there was me and baby sister. One day I turned on the radio, out of the radio came this good country stuff, I think the fiddler was spade cooley, my mom walked in heard me trying to imitate him and I got beat half to death with these words, if I can remember some it there isnt going to be any of %&*($#@* red neck music in this place.., that settled it next day I turned in the violin. Later in Junior high I took up violin again in junior orchestra , but I didnt stick with it, I was 12 or 13 then as far as I can recollect. Then I heard these wonderful tunes on a juke box played by Jhonny Cash and his lead guitarist, I think it was luther perkins, I just had to get me a guitar, I was smitten with thos guitar playing that Luther Perkins did on his guitar..
I stayed with guitar until the present day , going off in 1959 to join the Navy and I took it with me every where I went. I stayed in the U.S .Navy for 21 years, was everywhere in the far east aboard aircraft carriers during the vite nam war, lived in florida, twice once in Whidbey Island Washington.. I came to Yuma arizona on my final tour of duty in 1978 this is where I met Charlie Worthen a texas swing fiddler, me and two others on the Base were trying to start up a bluegrass band and we needed a fiddler, and someone pointed charlie our way.
I got to fooling around with the idea I could try to learn the fiddle back then but never gave it much thought. I told charlie that once upon a time I took violin lessons, and was interested in fiddle, he had a spare fiddle at his home he got me started on a tune called Westphalia waltz, I only learned bits of it but is was a start. Then I met Harry "O" jhonson a Norwegian fiddler who used to come here for our annual fiddle contest in January. He had a lot of experience and got me interested in backup on my guitar for fiddle tunes. The next year I was playing back up on my guitar at fiddle contest, taking in all these wonderful sounds, I never tried playing the fiddle publicly until 1995 during one of our contest here, I mean I played at home by myself until then, I started way back in 1985, but when I got up at first contest I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane but I did Ok as far as freinds said, I did it on a bet, but I was hooked, been at it ever since, won second and third place at contest here and there, nothing spectacular. .
Later I took up violin lessons at a junior college lkevel class started fixing broken violins under instruction from a old freind who is now deceased, Iam fully retired and most of my time is spent playing my guitar,my mandolin, my fiddle and doing repairs. But I also got into building Dreadnought Guitars of which I have built six successfuly, seven Mandolins but too chicken to try a fiddle, although I have several books on it. .
.................Dennis in Yuma arizona
'The Buffalo Song' 1 day
'Done Gone - Jesse Milnes' 6 days
