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!"