If you follow Possum Posse politics like so few Americans do, you know that we suffered a huge loss a couple of months ago. Long-time Banjoist, Robert, semi-retired from The Posse for personal reasons. My theory is that he needed to let his fingers heal from all the speaker-blowing, finger blistering banjo shredding. In any case, Robert will still be making multi-instrument guest appearances with the band, but we have been searching for a full-time replacement.
I'd like to say it's easy to find a banjo player in Austin, known as the Live Music Capital of the World... but it's not. Banjo players typically fall into 3 main categories:
- Technically not very good and/or Undisciplined (see figure A)
- Easily distracted and/or Unmotivated (see figure B)
- Out of our league and/or Currently in a real band (see figure C).
Needless to say, we were excited to hear the news that Ivy League graduate and world-class banjo player, Lincoln (or "Log," as he is known by his friends and minor enemies), was moving back to Austin from the East Coast. Not only is he disciplined and technically very good, he's motivated, focused, interested, and most importantly, available to join the band. In fact, the word "join" is probably not the best term to use for what he's doing. As it turns out, Log was the band's original banjo player. In those days the band was known as "Rascal Red and The Possum Posse" and the closest thing we had to a gig was when we would ring somebody's doorbell and deliver them one of our patented Bluegrass Breakdown-a-Grams (see figure D).
As a founding member of The Posse, Log was known for his onstage antics and immense stage presence. To add drama to a song about cattle rustlers, he once brought a bull whip onto the stage and cracked it during the most dramatic parts of the song. While the old lady in the front row might argue that it wasn't worth the risk, it was well received by most of the audience.**The old lady and the band eventually settled out of court on the whole "whipped in the eye" thing.
Since rejoining the band a couple of weeks ago, Log has also undergone some incredible changes. He's brushed up on all the Posse songs, and perhaps most noticeably, has begun tweaking his personal image - as prescribed by the rest of the band. Much like a prize fighter gets out of shape if he or she does not continuously train, an inactive Possum Posse member begins to lose that special something about his or her image that lets people know he or she is a Posse member. As you can see from the following photo collage,
Lincoln has some work to do to get back to his "fighting weight." But as you can also see from the photo collage, future Log is predicted to be just as impressive, if not more impressive (appearance-wise) than past Log.Lincoln's skills will be tested at his first official Possum Posse gig this Saturday, June 25th at Buster's BBQ in Lakeway, Texas. The show is free to attend at begins at 6:00pm. Come on out and see if the new banjo player is up to snuff. Plus, we've got a new shipment of T-shirts and free koozies as long as they last, so you can't lose!
See you there!
