I have a Peanuts cartoon strip in my banjo case in which Linus is telling Charlie Brown ,"I feel sorry for little babies....When a little baby is born into this cold world, he's confused! He's frightened! He needs something to cheer him up...The way I see it as soon as a baby is born, he should be isssued a banjo!" Well, truer words have never been spoken.The other day I witnessed just how much the banjo can cheer up a child!

My good friends; Poison-loving trooper ,Jason Chenier, and his ever so-patient Poison-music-enduring wife , Jaqueline had me over for dinner.After eating some good Roadkill stew(That is a Joke btw) I pulled out my banjo to play for their two sons, Sebastien and Sacha.Now , Sebastian , is like every other 7-year old boy; full of energy and very enthusiastic about everything.Sacha on the other hand is a very special boy. When he was born, he not only did not get a banjo issued to him but he also did not get enough oxygen.As a result his brain swelled and he suffered irreversible brain damage.He is now blind and suffers seizures, and from cerebral palsey.He was not meant to live beyond a few weeks but miracles do happen and he is still with us to this day 3 years later,touching the lives of those who have the pleasure to meet this little angel.(for more info on this beautiful boy go to www.ourlittleangel.ca)

On this memorable day I brought my long-necked Gibson banjo(don't go anywhere without it) and also a little mini banjo so Sebastien and I could jam out my tune "Roadkill" (one of his favorite songs to sing out...loud!) Jason, wasn't sure if Sacha would react or not to the banjo amd Jacquie said it's really hard to make him smile,there are very few times that he ever does, sometimes they are not sure if he realises what is going on around him.Well, let me tell ya , when I sat down and started picking a plethora of notes on the banjo, he reacted for sure because little Sacha burst into the biggest smile and even laughed out loud!!! Well, when I saw the effect that the banjo had on Sacha,I glowed and was smiling from ear to ear, Jacquie was bouncing up and down all giddy, Jason was beaming and Sebastien was dancing around and around giving out hugs and kisses.That house was filled with such joy and watching the joy emanating from this boy while listening to the 5-string, proved that EVERYBODY really does love a banjo! Sacha kept laughing and smiling and as long as he did so, well, I just kept right on playing!

I've had many different reactions to my playing ,some good and some bad,from children dancing around to others blocking their ears, from fans giving high-fives at shows to others telling me not to give up my day job when I would be busking,, but never has a reaction touched me so dearly as that of little Sacha grooving out to the sounds of the 5-string. I only hope that other musicians can experience how music can be such a powerful force. I was soooooo touched by this little angel that it doesn't matter if I don't ever become rich and famous playing the banjo, because now when someone asks, "Why do you play the banjo?", I can now tell them,"Well... it makes Sacha smile!"

I bet some of you were expecting something different judging by the title "Getting Nailed", but what  I want to tell you about a frailer's worse enemy; the broken nail!

Most banjo picking that people hear is the bluegrass 3-finger "Scrugg's" style in which the player uses a plastic thumb-pick and 2 metal fingerpicks.The old-timey frailing style (a.k.a. clawhammer) that I have tried to master consists of a downward picking motion with the back of the fingernail and thumb combined in a bum-ditty motion.

Due to the fact that the nail is used I have tried to keep my nails in a a good working order to acheive the best tone. I would alternate between the middle & index fingers depending on which was longer, making it easier to play and enabling me to get the best tone out of my 5-string. It's hard as hell to have nails as hard as nails and whenever I broke a nail it would make it hard to frail.

Whenever I'd be working on the car or guiding a raft down the river or playing sports and you'd hear me swear out loud, whoever was near would wonder if I had hurt myself. After responding that "I broke a nail!", most would either roll their eyes and wonder which team I batted for and just how much in touch with my feminine side I was. In fact, just yesterday my brother was bugging me because he found several nail files in my bathroom closet. Well, I had to come out of the closet and tell him that I am a banjo player and I have nail files in all my instrument cases as a precautionary measure and that I even ate jell-o not just to "watch it jiggle" but because the gelatin was suppossed to strengthen nails.If he found my "Hard as Nails" nail polish then I would probably never hear the end of it (I can hear him now;"you don't play mountain music,you play brokeback mountain music!")

Whenever I did break my precious nail, especially before  going into the studio or giving a concert, it would make it very hard to perform up to par. I needed to find another alternative than to either not work ever again or maybe start wearing a protective glove on my right hand like Michael Jackson(then people would REALLY think I was weird!)

 So,one day when shopping at the mall, as I walked by a nail salon, I decided to swallow my male machismo pride and walked in and asked to get my nail done..The several women in there waiting for manicures and such looked at me kind of funny, I explained to them my reason for being in there and since I only had one nail to get done they allowed me to go ahead of them. The little oriental lady behind the desk manhandled my finger rather roughly but quickly ,therefore I was able to get in and out of there lickity split  before anyone I knew walked by and saw me sitting there.

It took some getting used to, but now I swear by having a fake nail put on and I suggest it to my banjo students and to any frailers out there. I never have to worry about breaking a nail anymore, if I do I just go in and get it touched up or have another one put on. Although it is a bit shinier than my other nails I am not about to start having them painted or little treble clefs or banjos added on (although some have suggested so). A new nail  is just a tool to help me play better,now as important to playing the banjoas a new set of strings is. One time I even got a freebie when I brought my banjo in and played it for them in the salon.

Now, I am no longer ashamed to admit that I get my nail done(notice the singular) and for anyone who might find it gay that I do so ,well, I'll just show you my newly crafted fake nail...it's the one on my middle finger!

Was wondering about heading down to Nashville with Tim and Trevor from DESERT HEAT and boy am I glad I went!

here are some of the highlights for me :

-Eating at my first Hooters,and feeling icky after eating the deep fried pickles(had to try 'em!)

-walking into Coyote Ugly and having a beautiful woman who was on her way out tell me "you're much too pretty to be in here" BUT then following up that nice compliment with "you must be a homosexual!" (I was so dumb-founded that I couldn't prove to her how wrong she was.

-seeing lots of great bands on music row.

-being part of Wayne Warner's video shoot for his song "God Bless the Children" with a host of up and coming country stars and children to raise awareness for orphans who need a family and a place to call home.

-pulling out my banjo and playing the longest version of "Old Macdonald had a farm" (we had a whole zoo by the end of it) for the restless children who were having a long day during the video shoot.The joy on their faces (and the the look of relief on the parents) made it a really special moment for me.(plus I got to play my banjo for a bit)

-Going to the Station Inn to watch "the sidemen" play bluegrass and ending up jamming with them on stage for the rest of the night!YEEHAW!(and sold a couple of my cd's as well)

-buying some new "country" threads; mother f***ing mountaineer

-watching more live country music on our last night out and giving in to the urge to dance and having a blast getting down-right silly with Tim on the dance floor.

-meeting some great people while down south(though we could not have been that south since it snowed- I guess they were making us feel at home,eh?)

-And the best part of going to Nashville was getting to know the Brunton brothers better and sharing lots of laughs with them and realising that I am a part of a  great band that consists of a great bunch of guys!