In the current world of banjo, there are many fine
instruments but not too many real choices. Most other banjo companies stopped
with the near century old designs that still dominate the traditional market.
Current music is now quite friendly to the inclusion of banjo sounds, and the
road is wide open for a bold emergence of new banjo sounds. Thanks to the
many true alternatives making their way out of the Nechville banjo labs,
you'll be able to meet your needs in terms of perfect tone, ultimate comfort
and light weight.
2-29-08
Economic Stimulus- The Nechville Way
In order to spark a revival in the economy, I've heard
that the administration will be printing more money and handing it out. Why
didn't they think of that long ago? Well, not to get on to a discussion of
devalued currency and inflation, I'd rather take the idea and run with it. In
fact, I think it's a brilliant plan for this time in our global economy.
Inflation is kept in check by a degree of global competition, and while prices
on raw materials are going up, many products are still made affordably due to
efficiencies of high tech and advanced know-how. Productivity is increasing. In
that environment, there is less concern with inflation, and those few extra
bucks just might be used to add a degree of joy to your life.
Now on to the purpose of my note. What better place can you
think of to spend your hard earned dollars? Tax rebate, or not, Nechville prides
itself on offering honest-to-goodness true values in musical merchandise. We are
not the Amazon.com of banjos, but we have a
variety of products to enhance your musical experience that you may not be aware
of. Music has been shown to have far reaching health benefits, for listeners.
but especially for players. Playing music adds years of quality time and
fulfillment to peoples lives.
So in order to do your duty to our country and to yourself,
I present the following links for some of the most innovative and highest
quality products made in the USA:
9-25-07
Remembering Bill Sullivan
Bill Sullivan was a great guy. I was glad to have had a nice conversation
with him the day before he died. He has great supportive sons, a good, and clean
work ethic and integrity in his products and services.
He was responsible for getting many builders started including me. I thank
Bill and his family for supporting Bluegrass, the players and builders for so
many years, and for being a friend. One time at their house early in my career,
I was out of gas money, Bill handed me $100.
That's the kind of guy he was. I'll surely miss him.
7-02-07
Telluride Musings
My Daughter Missy and I like the mountains, We all like
the music, There's something about the friendliness of the people and the
communal glee shared upon arrival at such a remote and beautiful place.
We left Minneapolis at 8:00 AM on a Tuesday. I wanted to
make it to the other side of Denver and find a hotel. Traveling with baby Jerome
was great, he was the perfect traveler, although his 8 month old needs
necessitated extra stops. We hit
Denver at midnight, however there were no hotels or motels anywhere to be found
southwest of Denver.
Where we looked, the only sign of life was a lone fox
relieving himself on the deserted motel driveway. We kept driving until
we had a tire blow out. At first,
having found the wrong lug wrench we were feeling a bit stranded, but we found
the right wrench and persevered until the spare was on. Chris suggested a prayer
for safe travels and that we might find
a room for the night. We were exhausted . The last signs we saw for
"Inn" or "resort" were all closed up tight. It was 2:00 AM
Wednesday when we pulled off into the Colorado wilderness seeking our next
adventure. at 2:10 we pulled into a
place called Bailey Lodge and there appeared to be a light in the office. We
were excited to find an actual awake person doing paperwork at her desk. A
feeling of familiarity came over me as I approached the window and her curly
black hair reminded me of... Kathy? As I opened the door and stuck my head in,
we both exclaimed as if in harmony, "What are YOU doing here?
"I need a room" I said.
"I moved out here a couple years ago" she
said.
Our Provider pulled through in characteristically
over-the-top Grace.
Our room was comfy and spacious. The next morning we got
the tire fixed while getting a great breakfast, then happily made our way
through the heart of colorful Colorado. We reached Telluride with just enough
light left to setup our tents.
Upon negotiating our way through a dozen security
checkpoints we pulled our van into the camping area for workers and volunteers,
It was late Wednesday, and everyone was already packed in like sardines.
Our choice for level tent space was nonexistent. Missy,
Chris and the baby camped on a little hillside, and kept waking up at the low
end of the tent. I cuddled my tent up against a chain link fence and was lulled
to sleep by the kitchen's giant generator truck.
Our welcome of cramped quarters, cold showers, chilly
night air and over zealous security staff. mellowed into a warm acceptance of
our surroundings, upon the first view of the morning mountain vistas.
Whenever the inconvenience of mountain camping began to
erode the experience, just a glance up Bear Creek canyon brings you back to the
perfect Telluride attitude.
OK , So here's a question for you. Wouldn't it be nice
to have a job that incorporated your hobby, and allowed you to travel to some of
the most beautiful places on earth and listen to live music while you drank free
beer and laughed and picked with your friends? I can't figure out why I'm not
out of my head with happiness. I have created for myself such a job. The sad
fact is that we drift in and out of experiences like this. We find situations
requiring work, and the need arises to venture into uncomfortable zones. Life
isn't all fun, but this book is about making the most of it.
Anna Rose was my Telluride Sweetheart. She is eleven and
hooked on banjo. She hung out with me all weekend and never stopped practicing
her rolls on the Banjovie. I wish you could see her sweet freckled face glowing
eagerness for music. I'm making her a special Banjovie.
This girl represents the transcendent purpose of my job.
I need to feel as though what I do is important in the larger scheme of life. I
believe that spreading the joy of music, and especially banjo is a noble
purpose. Life is too overcrowded with everything else, we need more musical
interchange, since it is such a life enhancing pursuit.
Here's a poem for Anna Rose I hope she puts music to it.
Anna hang on and make the music flow.
Something in the wind calls me back to Telluride
it's in your name . hold that rose
its blossom can never die
How long can you hang on?
When your angel eyes turn to your life's love.
will you cling to the dream of our common bond?
will you remember your gifts from above?
You know the way across the mountains.
My love will be there when you return.
It will be found in the wind
Its the new song you learn
Hold on to the rose and give it a voice
Let its essence never die
Sing to the creator of Love and song
While the years roll by.
Anna Rose bring me to a place
Where love can never be concealed
I can see it upon your face...
Eternity is revealed.
Thursday the gates opened to the tune of the William
Tell Overture while the race for the seats nearest the stage were stormed by a
thundering crowd of festivarians.. What a sight. This spectacle alone is worth
the trip. A nice display of banjos was set up and I was prepared for the
stampede of banjo players to the Banjo revolution booth. Well, the banjo
stampede didn't really happen, but the weather was perfect. The food was
fantastic. We had meal and drink tickets and we truly had a complete festival
experience.
This Telluride sponsorship involved making 2 Planet
Bluegrass banjos for sale and turning over the profits to the festival.
It was in the best interest of the festival that they help promote the
sale of these particular banjos, although Telluride doesn't want to be seen as
allowing too much commercialism and
hype at their festival.
The evening at Telluride starts with a few layers of
extra clothes, and you have to put them on while the sun is going down,
otherwise you'll catch a chill that will be with you the rest of the night.
There were no fires at Telluride, and if you know me,
I'm a fire worshiper, and I insist on camp fires with my evening jamming. We
were camping with the security staff, who were expected to enforce the rules
.When I extracted my portable fire pit, I was met with the discouraging words,
"That ain't gonna happen dude." I
reluctantly backed off and started playing banjo and enjoying brandy and beer.
Oh the freedom of Telluride lasted until deep into the night Friday, only to be
quashed Saturday morning by the guy that thought sleep was more important. I was
so compliant, the following night, Chris and I crashed another campsite in a
different part of Town park, The jamming Sat Night never reached the
transcendent plane of the previous night.
Where else
can you go, live with strangers, and within hours, you have a newly adopted
family that you can share everything with?
Bluegrass festivals break down the barriers between
people. You can always tell the Newbie festivarians by their lack of proper
campsite etiquette. It is customary and traditionally proper to welcome
newcomers to your campsite with grandiose gestures of generosity and inclusion.
Newcomers and certain youth require training in the ways of festival
celebration. Our Saturday jam hosts were turned inward and never made the
welcoming gesture. It's not that we weren't welcome, I just think that either
inexperience, or perhaps some drug had caused a collective collapse into a self
absorbed state of late night complacency. The spirit of Bluegrass is good.
Sometimes other things interfere with the free flow of friendship that Bluegrass
is about, but Bluegrass friendships prevail and always win the day.
As a banjo player, I am expected to deliver the peppy
Bluegrass sound whenever the camp spirit needs a boost. I'm happy to oblige.
Breakdowns after midnight don't always go over so well,
however, so my versatility as a player is always challenged during these
unpredictable hours when Bluegrass fades into rock and blues, and eventually to
no song at all, only non-descript music.
This is where most banjoists go to bed.
Not me. As my guitarist was awake, I was playing with him. He didn't want
to learn any songs, and he was uninterested in playing any familiar sounding
thing at all. My attempt to play an Eagles song was met with an objection,
"Don't play songs!" After my initial surprise, I found his directive
to be very educational in the purely musical sense. I began listening to notes
springing from his guitar. I touched my banjo, my pick caused a harmonic chime
that turned the guitarist toward a minor scale. I got over my shyness and
allowed the banjo to lead the melody flow, but I was sensitive to the
combination of the 2 sounds, a strange discipline keeps some cohesion to the
duet. Bela Played with Chick. They are definitely well rehearsed, but you know
that same process was at work with them. Pure musical expression can happen
without worrying about mistakes or repetition. Mistakes are the fun part. You
might be aiming for a certain note, but when it comes out "wrong" it
only becomes raw material for the following musical thought.
Thus Friday magic, quashed by sleepers on Saturday was
reborn on Sunday night. After much bitching by the security staff, (I think in
response to my zealous fire advocacy), we were graced with an off-the-ground
fire container. Hallelujah. Once again my guitar friend showed up and quickly
entered the no-song mode. Was it my banjo playing or was it the loud and smelly
shit sucker truck that caused everyone but Mr. Songless and me to leave. The
fire was still burning, Why did they go away? I kicked off the next songless
introduction and waited for the guitar's response to my musical question. I
glanced up and Mr Songless was sound asleep with his guitar in hand. How did he
not fall over? He was snoring loudly. I just kept playing until the fire died
and I jogged him awake so he wouldn't wake up in the coals.
What a fitting end to the Telluride weekend
experience
6-07-07
I had a pretty cool day this day. My Mom who's 84 with Alzheimer's couldn't
quite cope with the dentist but I took her on a nature walk by Minnehaha creek,
and it was beautiful. It might not have stuck, but for a few moments we
connected. I had a wheel chair and thought she'd like to ride and view the
scenery, no way, she wanted to walk, I left her for 1 minute to get the wheel
chair and she had trucked down a long wooden path toward the creek, seemed like
she almost wanted to jump in, she kept getting closer to the water, I let her
ramble a little in the woods, hug trees and stuff, we looked across the river
and I mentioned how beautiful it looks on the other side of the
"Jordan". She usually talks nonsense but she lucidly stated,
"Honey you're the only one I can depend on" I told her, "No mom,
you're wrong. You can't depend on me either. At this stage of life you have to
depend on a higher power. I tried hard to transmit some of my surplus joy
directly into her. I went in to the office for a short time, and went home
to deal with the furnace installers, catch a few rays, then Leslie, who's 27th
birthday was today, took me for a 2 or 3 mile run that wore me out. We got back
and had a water fight, then drove to Belle Plaine where Jane works, we helped
her box up her classroom, then we headed for burgers and fries at a local tap.
Then went bike shopping, There was an incredible full rainbow today and tons of
wind, the sky changed every minute with some interesting formations while we
drove to Sams club which was closed, then the camping store to exchange some
stuff, You know I usually work all day, but I think you get a lot more done when
you don't.
6-01-07
As I'm writing from Midwest banjo camp, it seems
appropriate to give a greeting and a comment or two from here. In
general I think the whole idea of time concentrated on playing and exploring
your instrument in the midst of so many other players is one of the best ways to
get better in a hurry. Sheer beginners however may be a little overwhelmed with
the experience. If they can get over the initial sense of hopelessness after
being amazed by so many seemingly impossible combinations of notes, they'll be
sure to find plenty kind, generous souls who love sharing ideas and advice for
beginners. I enjoy coaching and encouraging newer players. I caution them that
most books move very fast, and it might be necessary to spend a month or more on
even the first half page of some books. If you are determined to learn, then get
the best instrument you can afford, (people might want to consult our website
for valuable buying tips). Then once you have a good, playable banjo, initial
learning can move along quickly. In the Bluegrass style, I like to encourage
being able to play the chords first, with any kind of rhythm. and ideally, being
able to sing along helps give people a real sense that they are making music.
Then as you learn right hand patterns or rolls, you can plug them into the chord
structure of the song, and soon you are making up your own breaks to songs, and
you are off and running. There are so many styles of playing that are cool, I
wish I had more time and energy to learn more myself. The best part of the banjo
is the player. I think banjo players are the best, most honest, and genuine and
trustworthy people on the planet.
Best to You , Tom
2-19-07
Greetings friends, I've not written for some time and I always feel moved to
write on those sad days when I hear of a loved one or brother who has passed on.
I'll never forget Denny Malone, who died earlier this month from a sudden heart
problem, he left 5 girls, one who was just about to be married. Not enough can
be said about the man, quintessential man that he was, hunter fisherman, friend
to everybody, a man with a social conscience, and worked for solutions to some
of society's toughest problems. The good die young, he was 55. Any of you who
knew Denny know what I mean, His family is devastated. A college fund for his
girls is established at Bank of the Cascades, You can send a donation to Maloney
family College fund care of Bank of the Cascades, South Bend Branch 61250
S. Highway 97, Bend, OR 97702 541.388.1040.
On a lighter note, I'll be on NBC Nightly News tonight Playing
banjo and possibly being interviewed, Bye for now, Tom
10-3-06
My final week in Europe was highlighted by a fantastic wedding of my niece in
Strasborg, Then a romantic few days in the Alsace wine region in France. We met
up with Eric Cousin in Colmar, a fine musician and great host who treated us to
a night of New Orleans Jazz and brought us around the area. Eric has ordered a
Gold Nextar which will be a fantastic addition to his collection of fine
instruments.
Upon my return from Europe I was happy to find the shop orderly and running
well, (is it easier when I'm gone?)
As soon as I got back to Minnesota, I turned around and drove straight to
Nashville for the World of Bluegrass week. My travels this summer really started
in mid July with Rockygrass, Minnesota fest and different festivals every week
until October.
With all the new endorsers, dealers and new development projects on the
burner, its now it is time to prioritize all the projects I have in front of me.
And in a couple weeks I'll be a grandpa! I have started a collection of
miniature instruments for the little guy, His name is Jerome, Jerry for short.
Here is a list of highlights from this famous summer:
- New Nechville endorsers: Keith Arneson from The Navy Band Country Current,
Daniel and Lars Fick from Sweden, Gerry O'Connor from Ireland, Steve Louvan
and Laurant Eckout From Belgium, Eric Cousin from France,
- New Dealers: in Sweden, New Acoustic Gallery in Germany,
Musikhaus Saitensprung in
Switzerland, and Marco Centemeri, Paulo, Dario and Dario Lombardo from Italy
- New friendships: with Arlo Guthrie, Gordon Titcomb, Pete Rowan, and Kathy
Chiavola
- Establishment of a new banjo festival in Italy
- Alliances forged with Swiss Italian and Europe Bluegrass associations.
9-11-06
Paolo , I think the most progressive player around, he has a 10 yr old son,
Jacopo who loves opera, and has been singing with a mans voice since he was
about 2 1/2. I'm not kidding. He sang for us and it was the loudest thing I had
ever heard, and he's a tiny gangly kid. It was a rich deep tenor voice. In fact
he has already recorded with Pavarotti, Bottocelli, and the other top famous
stars, you could not distinguish his voice from the others. It was almost scary
hearing that come from a kid whose voice has not changed yet.
9-10-06
The Italian banjo Summit was a huge success, There were people traveling from
the south of Italy, over 1000 km, just to attend the banjo workshop and jam.
The event was held in a church auditorium. We had a refreshment stand with
cheap drinks and plenty of room for showing products and doing banjo setups. I
think there were at least 35 people there, a great turnout.
I was impressed at the high level of playing and good jam etiquette
displayed by the Italians. Many nice players and very appreciative for the
chance to learn more about their beloved instruments. I enjoyed comparing
banjos and sharing some information on bridge compensation with Silvio
Ferretti who is the resident expert in Italy.
Congratulations to all my new friends who bought Nechville banjos during my
European 2006 tour. Great gratsi to Marco Centemeri and friends for staging
this first ever event in Italy.
9-9-06
Hi I made it to Marco's (Italy), trains were trouble though, I stood there
and got on, then the train went somewhere else and it took a few extra hours to
get here yesterday but the scenery was gorgeous. On the Swiss side of the alps
it was cloudy and foggy, then we went through a long tunnel and the sun was
brightly shining on the Italian side. Amazing views and I loved the area around
Lucerne.
9-7-06
I'm at Franz Elsener's in Schafhausen, Switzerland. Here is the famous music
store Musikhaus Saitensprung. We had a barbeque with brats zucchini and
meatballs last night. Franz has fig and plum trees in the yard, so its fun to
eat right off the trees, I'm going to a jam in Zurich tonight with the Swiss
Bluegrass Association. Then rails to Italy tomorrow.
9-6-06
Greetings from Europe where the Banjo revolution is recruiting new members
daily. First it was the Granna Festival in Sweden, with
mighty fine Bluegrass and great jamming. Lars and Daniel Fick
, my Swedish hosts are proud owners of new Nechville banjos.
The next weekend at Tonder Denmark was an unforgettable event, I had fun with
fellow Americans Arlo Guthrie, Tim O'Brien, Peter Rowan while
striking up a new banjo design project with the world famous Irish banjoist
Gerry O'Connor.
The Picnick Festival in Belgium
was right in the center of the city of Namur in an old hippodrome type
building, I had fun with groups from Czech, and Slovak, and Holland, France,
Ireland and Kathy Chiavola from USA.
Belgians are a little slow getting warmed up, but I think I won their
hearts. Several of them told me I was living the dream that many of them
want, deep down they want to be like Americans but the current fashion is to
trash the USA, so I gave them a piece of my mind. There is now a Banjo
revolution in Belgium.
They all want to play but don't yet. I think the influence from Great
Britain is creeping down and infiltrating slowly but surely. It was fun to
play European gypsy music with an accordion and street musician entertainer.
The crowd was impressed that I would just jump in and start playing music I
had never heard before.
The top Belgian player, Steve Louvan, is one of the best in
Europe and wants to promote and sell Nechville in
Belgium! So we need to make a
left handed banjo for him. Promoter Laurant who runs the fest is very nice
and he bought a Phantom with Turbo module, Perhaps the coolest banjo in
Europe. Well now it's on to Switzerland and the Musichaus Saitensprung in
Schaffhausen and a jam in Zurich. After that The Revolution moves to Italy
where we have a gathering of some of Italy's finest players. Thanks for
staying in touch, See you soon, Tom
8-20-06
Tragedy In the life of a friend is confounding. The lost potential of a life
ended abruptly is bad enough. My friend's one and only child was killed by a
subway train. The helplessness of being able to do nothing to ease the
friend's pain twists me into a mix of guilt and sadness. I don't know why grief
strikes where it does. I have never had to face the death of my child. Thank
God, But to know that life is so fragile and uncertain, sobers and humbles me. I
don't know what to say. But I feel the need to try to make sense of it. On one
hand there are the living who ought cherish and celebrate the gift of life,
But what of the fathers and mothers who's main reason for living has been
blotted out by a freak accident like this? I ask God, "Why?" and He answers with
his usual, "because".
" Because why?" Now I can't answer for God. I don't know why, but I do know that
people of all ages are called into the beyond and such losses are a great test
of our faith. I choose to cling to hope in the amazing love of God and the
eternalness of our souls. I wish a loss like this on no one, especially me, but
I believe God is sovereign and I pray He keeps the hurting in his loving embrace
until such time that they can
rest and be united in the comfort of knowing him face-to-face beyond time.
8-5-05
I'm back from a month in the far East. My daughter Leslie has a year to go in
the Peace corps and She brought us to see the sights in China. As Americans we
know quite little about this giant country. As a guy old enough to remember the
cold war and the communist "threat", China offers up a whole feast for
thought. They stick like glue to their belief in the communist party while
encouraging open trade and capitalism. Their economy is booming, especially in
the big cities and the western model of free enterprise has flourished.
Their stores are packed with buyers, their shelves are stacked with goods, their
prices are cheap (to us) and it would seem that they are almost doing a better
job of free enterprise than us good old Americans. Practically everything is
made there. We depend on their cheap manufacturing as much as we depend on
middle east oil. The economic progress is wonderful in itself, but they are
exporting dirty air in devastating proportions. It only takes a plane ride from Beijing
to San Francisco to see the smog carried by the trade winds all the way to North
America. Regardless, they press on, building a more and more powerful economy,
that we become more and more addicted to. We think the US is Home of the
Free? Let's talk about freedom for a minute. I'd say freedom is the
ability to do what you want. Human (sin) nature being what it is, we need to be
controlled by a moral code of laws and regulations and "human rights".
China is hijacking the concept of freedom and offering it up without any
rules and regulations. There it is survival of the strongest. A pedestrian can't
safely cross the street but the taxi driver is free to mow though a crowd
of people. Builders and service people have the freedom to do shoddy workmanship
without restriction, but little concern is given for the safety of people.
Where they are taking advantage of freedom to make money, We in the US have
gone too far in the other direction. We have so many laws and regulations that
we have lost our competitive advantage. A good example is that I recently
bought a sign for the front of my brick building and spent $11,000 with a
licensed electrician to install new wiring and such. The city wouldn't
approve the electrical work and held up my business operation because the sign
didn't have a UL sticker on it. The inspector could not give me one reason why
that sticker was so important other than "that was the law". I was
forced to hire an independent consultant for hundreds of dollars just for him to
come and put a sticker on the sign. There are thousands of regulations like this
choking American business. What eats me is that these regulations are only for
reigning in the unscrupulous minority who would otherwise cheat and take
advantage of the system. Over regulation severely impedes the majority who
normally want to perform up to high-quality ethical standards. China is hitting
us is in our vulnerable spot. I think as China's centrally controlled education
and media machine succeeds in developing the country's consciousness of Human
morality and ethics, they'll use their new freedom to turn our superpower status
into a thing of the past, (or at least a shared superpower status.)
It's time to wake up America, The land of the free can only be if you and I
are morally hitched to the will of our Maker. The answer is not in more law,
it's in doing what's right and good, and doing it without restriction.
5-21-05
I can't believe it's been almost 5 months since I have written in my journal.
Thanks to all who contributed to the Children's orphanage in Sri Lanka after the
Tsunami. Speaking of thanks, closer to home, I want to publicly thank all those
who made my recent building purchase and move possible. Thanks to my sweet wife
Jane who puts up with my long hours and travels and always welcomes me home. My
good friend Valentine Johnson is always supportive and willing to work his butt
off to do whatever it takes to get any job done. Bruce Davison is the man of
many talents that has almost single handedly prepared the new shop for
occupation. Sinok Lao has been valuable both in setting up the shop and keeping
production going. Thanks also to neck man Wayne Sagmoen, and The new Guy, Ryan
Johnson who is helping me become more organized. Contractors Mike Glasby, Gary
At Complete Electric, Dan at Barrett Movers, Earl Booth, and all other workers
at the Nechville facility have done a great job getting us up and running.
Thanks also to the city of Bloomington; while it was a long, drawn-out ordeal to
go through for us and them, we are now cooperating in addressing all the legal
and municipal requirements of such a move. and Finally thanks to our great tenants
and neighbors in the building, Matt and Sally Waldor at Waldor Pump and
equipment Company, and also to Brian and Angie Carlisle at Custom Hose Tech for
their friendly neighborliness.
It is great to see most of the pieces of this real-estate puzzle finally
coming together, What is emerging, I believe is a picture that only God could
have preconceived. Since He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, my
thanks inevitably rise to Him. God willing, I see lots of growth and good times
ahead for the music and banjo business. My hope and prayer is that a happy tune
may be added to the heart of everyone associated with this business whether
customer, employee, supplier, or audience member.
12-31-04
A belated Merry Christmas to you and a very Happy New Year! I am saddened as
everyone is with the natural disaster in south Asia. Two years ago My sister,
Jamie Peterson founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization called English
International Services, Inc. The primary mission of this organization is
to assist non-English speakers with English language, computer skills, and other
employment-related concerns. EISI is registered with the I.R.S., and all
contributions made to EISI are 100% tax-deductible.
If you are thinking about contributing financially to the tsunami relief effort,
I can promise that 100% of your designated contribution will go directly to
well-researched international aid organizations
providing water, water treatment, food, shelter, and other tangible forms of
relief to the disaster's survivors. Not one penny of your contribution
will go toward any administrative or other overhead cost
of EISI. (Having worked for many years in non-profit organization
management, I know that this happens much too often in many non-profits.)
If you want to deduct your contribution on your 2005 taxes, simply date your
check December 31, 2005, and note "Tsunami Relief" in the check memo.
All designated tsunami relief donations received by EISI
as of January 31, 2005, will be considered as 2005 gifts, and they will be sent
to appropriate aid agencies. If you would like to continue to contribute
to this project in 2005, we will keep your
gifts moving on to organizations providing tangible help. We will also
update you periodically to let you know which organizations are making your
money work within this enormous effort.
You can make your check out to English International Services, Inc.
(EISI), and send it to:
English International Services, Inc.
c/o Jamie Peterson/Maureen Wilson
16508 Hidden Valley Road
Minnetonka, Minnesota 55345
Thank you. I hope we can help.
- Tom Nechville and Jamie Peterson
English International Services, Inc. is an Internal Revenue Service
501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, incorporated in the State of
Minnesota (Federal I.D. #74-3026961). All contributions to EISI are
fully tax-deductible under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code
as an organization described in section 501(c)(3).
Funds will go to:
Samaritan Children's Home
11-6-04
Here's a note to someone I met at a Tony Furtado concert who wants a job at
Nechville. Tell me, would YOU work at Nechville?
Hi Helen, That joy and light
that you derive from music sometimes seems far away when you have to deal with
bureaucrats, lawyers, bankers and brokers over banjos. This brings me to my
fear. That the production focus at my shop would not fulfill your expectations
as an artistic pursuit. It sounds cool to say that you make banjos, and I do
sort of drum to my own beat, but in reality, it's a grueling, consuming, and
difficult 16 hour a day struggle to keep dollars flowing in and out of my hands.
I would love to have more help, but how do I find people that would or could
care about what I do as much as I do. I think I'm obsessed; I don't expect
others to be, but I wish they were. I think my associates get frustrated with me
because I am scatterbrained and have not mastered organization (putting it
mildly). I'm not that good at team building and motivation toward the same goal,
yet I'm passionate about sound , craftsmanship and musicianship. I am determined
to sell products that are heads and tails above the rest, but it is a huge
challenge on a large scale. My business is at a critical stage. If
managed properly it could go from a small boutique-brand to a major name, but do
I really want that? I'm not sure, but the only way I see to go is grow or
shrink, and I choose to grow. I am talking to Musician's friend about putting
my products in their catalog, I'm considering more importing but I'm also
increasing capacity with new machines and new people. (Since being forced to move from my business property,
I spend
from 4 to 8 hours a day dealing with legal matters. So I don't need an
art-artist as much as I need industrial artists and business visionaries
with guts and brains to help to take the strain off me.) My reality
sums to this. So what if I voted for Nader? I'm just a Dick Cheney wannabe who
happens to have the misfortune of not only being a banjo maker, but a
"revolutionary" banjo maker. Now there's an oxymoron if I've ever
heard one. If bombs were banjos. I'd be the first contractor in line at the
Whitehouse. (Now there's an Idea!)
9-10-04
If this is your first visit to my on-line Journal, welcome, This is a way that I sort out my brain from time to time on issues usually not related to banjos. This time I'm thinking about popularity and what makes for people to be popular. With election time rolling around, there is a big push to get out and vote, So I say Vote. What interests me is certain musical groups including my
friends called the Dixie Chicks are out stumping for one of the candidates. It happens to be the "popular" candidate. It occurred to me on my walk with Charmin this morning that when a person allows himself to be himself, his imperfections are apparent. Because, let's face it, We're all flawed. Maybe this is just a way to explain how irked I am whenever I see George Bush. My political viewpoints , however usually align more closely to his party's ideology. I am glad for the opportunity to be in America and say what I want... I wish I had something more important to say. Have a fantastic day!
2-14-04
Happy Valentines Day! Everybody. I was corresponding with a musician friend about the meaning of faith,
He said that in Greek, it meant "death to self" or something like that.
I think the hardest thing to balance in life is the need to tirelessly fight for the good of all,
and yet to enjoy the pursuit of your own dreams and goals.
Faith for me has come to be going ahead with ideas and plans without really having the faith in myself to do anything.
I lack confidence and I don't "trust" myself to be competent in many areas of life.
In a way it means the same to say "death to self "and "I give up worrying about my own ability or lack thereof,
and forge on in hope and trust that things will somehow result in the fulfillment of His will."
I see it as trusting in the face of impossible odds.
My friend's twist on the concept makes me think that the next step of faith would be to step outside my comfort zone,
forget about my ideas and plans, but didn't God give me these dreams and goals?
what should I do if I didn't do what I want to do? Isn't it impossible to please God by our actions?
We can never do enough. Well, I guess this is why I never get through all my e-mails, I dwell on certain ones too long.
Anyway it's great having you as a friend. If we aren't on the same spiritual page, we're within a few paragraphs. See ya, Tom
12-3-03
I could simply wish you Merry Christmas and Happy
Holidays, but without some specifics, that doesn't mean
much...Here's to you, who happens upon this...
You are holding up heroically under the strain of
life and the added expectations of Christmas presents, entertaining
and feeling guilty about tasks left undone. This is life is not
always easy. You deserve credit and grand honors for your
accomplishments and heavy contribution to your growing sphere of
influence. So where are the accolades and pats on the back?
Christmas is a good time to give up the expectation of those pats on
the back, and instead give the gift of encouragement to another.
Credit rarely gets distributed on the basis of who deserves it the
most, but those who deserve it are most likely to pass it on to
those around him, in turn fostering an atmosphere of joy peace and
love. This is my wish; For you to unwrap God's gift to you and give
it away generously so that you end up having more. Your friend,
T.E.N
11-10-03
Thanks for popping into my personal
world for a moment. I ramble here from time to time in order to vent
my feelings and to help give people full knowledge of who they might
be buying a banjo from. The best part of my job is getting to know
people, but since it's not possible to meet you all, at least you can
refer to my diary of thoughts, (most of which don't have much to do
with banjos.) My wife of 24 years, Jane, deserves a metal of high
honor for supporting me financially and morally while I pursued the
banjo business, which is not all that lucrative when you are
struggling to redesign and figure out how to make and sell an entirely
new and non-traditional instrument when no one really was asking for a
better banjo in the first place. Well. I feel like I have achieved the
impossible. A few people laughed or shook their heads that a new
fangled banjo will never fly. I admit that the Heli-Mount is still a
mystery to newcomers and even to many pros, but we certainly have made
inroads into Bluegrass, Country and New acoustic music. I hope if you
are a banjo enthusiast that you'll do me a favor and please read my
upcoming book published by Mel Bay called the "Dynamics of Banjo
Sound". In it I will try to dispel many common banjo myths that
are rampant on the web and in print. If you have played and studied
banjo construction and acoustics as long as I have, and you are able
to separate fact from your opinion, and communicate as such without
hype and mistaken assumptions, then we'll have a great deal in common
and will be able to learn from each other. What bugs me is the hype
and fluff that is not sound and has no basis in truth. Underwater wood
is 99.9% bunk. Nearly every bridge out there is overblown in its
claims, New "fantastic" tone rings are useless without a
mating rim and proper setup. No banjo component should be sold without
educating the customer about how it couples with the entire banjo
system. Buyer beware, If you want the straight scoop ask me, I always
try to back up my answers with sound reasons.
7-6-03
It's been a while since I have written in
this place. I have just spent nearly a month touring Europe. I love
knowing that all around the Globe there are people who love the
fellowship of music and share a spirit of kinship in the
traditions of hand picked music. I especially appreciate friends like
Andreas(Andy) Glandt from Jena Germany who as a contemporary 5 string
Banjoist helped tear down divisions between East and West. Another
German Super Picker, Oliver Waitze has jumped on board the Banjo
Revolution train and will be dealing Nechville Instruments. I am
thankful for friends and Nechville Players like Parisian Jean Marie
Redon, who rocks the French countryside with his unique blend of
Country Blues and Bluegrass flavored rock. and his band mate and
banjo Student Sharon who was so nice to be our tour guide and have us
over for real French home cooking. Czech multi-instrumentalist
Lubos Malina of Druha Trava and Robert Krestian's Band is another
Former East Block musician that deserves a metal of honor from the
Banjo Revolution homefront. Czech Banjo Maker and friend Jaroslav
Pruha is another Banjo Revolutionist worthy of high honors.
5-2-03
I
wonder how it came to be in the great "Land of the Free"
that local officials seem to have unlimited power to intervene in
every aspect of a small privately owned business such as mine? I must
apply for renewal of my business permit, but if anyone at the city for
some reason wants to see that I don't get the permit, they will
fabricate a reason to deny me. For nearly 2 years I have operated my
little banjo office without problem or even the slightest disruption
to anyone. Why did the city decide to send secret agents to snoop
around and try coaxing my tenant into committing a zoning
violation? Could it have something to do with the fact that they
have plans to re-develop the neighborhood and would like me to not be
here anymore? I wish they would have told me they had such plans and I
might have thought twice before spending a quarter million dollars on
the building. Could it be that the land they will need to widen the
street next year will be cheaper after they deny my right to stay in
business, thus rendering my business property useless? They have
come right out and said that they don't want me here, so why don't
they buy me out? They said they would, and soon after I stated my
price, rather than making a counter offer, They said "sorry"
they will not buy the property after all. Could it be their strategy
to manipulate the zoning code in such a way as to run me out of
business, thereby plucking this valuable real estate from my bankrupt
fingers?? Forgive my cynicism. I do have faith that all will work out
to the benefit of all. But sometimes even in America it's a long climb
to Justice.
12-6-02
A good friend of my
family passed away the other day. I've known Paul Johnson all
my life. Not well, but well enough to feel sad at his passing.
His funeral is today and I'm late, as usual. My parent's generation is
gradually slipping away, and I miss them. Perhaps this is the reason
that I'm thinking about spiritual things all the time. This life is
really short in the context of time, and I am glad to be doing
something I love with my time. I like the process of building things
out of the beautiful woods and natural materials I find. But the
most satisfying part of my job is knowing that others might benefit
spiritually, somehow eternally because of the musical tools I put in
their hands. I think music guides us to a spiritual place as
much as anything else I can think of, and I look forward to seeing
all my friends there in the sweet by and by.
11-15-02
This is a personal note from Tom Nechville,
founder of Nechville
banjos. I love life and I love the giver of life. Thanks be to Who
made this world possible. I am often in wonder about the many
viewpoints of religion. I do not condemn any of them. I profess no
"religion", as the term religion normally connotes set and regular
modes of behavior. My erratic, scatter-brained personality longs for
the ability to be religious. But I am incapable of it. Let me
clarify that the ability to worship God by sticking to a list of
do's and don'ts is admirable, yet I think incomplete if the actions
lack heart. Of course actions driven by the spirit of God are our
ultimate goals and treasured pursuits. I hope for the grace of God
to open his will to me and you, so we may find our path in this
cluttered world. TEN
