Anything CBOM: Cittern, Bouzouki, Octave Mandolin, and Mandola - Add your pictures, your stories, or just ask a question...

19 Members, Created 1/29/2011 -

Administrators: Gerry Cassidy (owner)

What Role Does Your CBOM Play In Your Musical Life?

From Gerry Cassidy on 2/15/2011 9:12:15 AM

I started dabbling in the CBOM world in 1994-95. For years I had been playing mandolin at a few of the different Irish Traditional Music (ITM) seisiuns around town as well as a couple of the Americana Folk bands I was playing in at the time.

I was back home visiting family in SoCal and a friend of mine and I decided to visit Buffalo Brothers Acoustic Instruments store in Carlsbad. If you've never been, you need to go! Nothing like a huge building filled in every nook and cranny with various types of acoustics: guitars, basses, mandolins, banjos,  zithers, autoharps... you name it!

Anyway, this particular visit they had a Weber Bridger Octave Mandolin hanging on their 'Other Instruments' wall. It had just been played by another guest and was already warmed up when I got to it. I'll never forget my first strum through an open G chord (0-0-2-3)... Wow!

Ever since that moment I have been doing my best to incorporate an Octave, or Zouk into just about any project I partake in. Of course, it works great in just about anything ITM. I've used it at Old Time (OT) jams. I usually bring one along to every gig I do with the aforementioned Americana Folks. They love it!

The folks at my Church have yet to really warm up to it as of yet. They LOVE the regular mandolin, but they just don't seem to get the OM.

Maybe once they get beyond the thought that I am just trying to be a gypsy, or a busking bard they will come to enjoy it as much as I do! *LOL*

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