FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS????????

(click on the question, and you get an answer.....answers may be changed regularly :-)

REAL questions, REAL people......real answers.....---email YOUR QUESTION here: info@lloydthayer.com
  1. what the hell is up with those cement blocks on your head? - what cement blocks.?
     
  2. do you give lessons?
    YES. you can take lessons in one of two ways. first, you can sign up for the DOBRO CLASS at CLUB PASSIM in cambridge mass. http://www.clubpassim.com/musicschool/,,,this class is taught several times a year, and is a good place to start. it runs for six weeks. the other option is that i teach PRIVATE LESSONS at in the BOSTON area....send me an email, all levels welcome. i also teach beginner/intermediate harmonica, both at the Passim School of Music and privately, same contacts as above....
     
  3. who's your favorite dobro player?
    - ah, more dobro......i love dobro. i heart dobro. that's a tough one to answer. all the usual suspects apply....i like all the great players, mike auldridge, rob ickes, jerry douglas......i also think bob brozman's lap style playing is really underrated. he's a monsta. my most favorite is probably stacy phillips. he's got a lot of heart. i think he's wicked underrated too. his THE BEST LIVING player, in my opinion......go buy his records, now. stacy phillips.com..........more esoterica: harry manx is great, although not specifically a 'dobro' player, orville johnson is also wicked good. as for 'all time' people, BOB DUNN is probably THE greatest one to me.....check out his stuff on the milton brown records. it's dangerous.......he was an incredible player. i never met him, but i feel like i can identify with him for a number of different reasons. speedy west is worth checking out too. i'm starting to babble. music is best.
     
  4. man you're a killer player, what kind of dobro do you play, and do you get them for FREE, do they pay you and ....? - ahhhhh, dobro esoterica.......thanks for the kind words about my playing. someday i'll make a dobro esoterica page with gear info on it and stuff. i have three and a half main instruments i use. i do NOT get ANYTHING 'free'. i got free running shoes, but that was a LONG time ago. the two main instruments i play are a 1929 national tricone squareneck(serial #1316) aka the 'shiny silver one' and a 1998 gibson/dobro-dobro. i also play a green fiberglass one, but i don't want to endorse the fellow who made it. :-) i bought all the instruments i have, which is why i'm always broke. send check or money order to.......depending on the gig, i usually bring at least two instruments with me, one tuned to dobro G, GBDGBD low to high, and the other to D DADF#AD. for blues festivals, or blues diehard gigs, i bring a 1940 BELTONE guitar, which has a single cone biscuit bridge based on NATIONAL's design......i also recently cut a nut for my washburn 12 string guitar.....i put a sunrise pickup in it, and it can sound pretty huge........i have a few lap steels i might use,....a pedal steel i took the pedals off.....and so on. you get the picture....i also have a SUPERIOR hawaiian guitar, which is a cheap knockoff of a weissenborn, but it sounds good and plays well, and i love it........last but not least, i just picked up a really nice goldtone banjo with a scooped neck, that i really love......more stuff about dobro lives at the DOBRO pages
     
  5. what happened to NOBODY?
    - nothing. nobody is always with you. and always remember that nobody loves you. did you ever see the VH-1 "behind the music" on Fleetwood Mac? well, it was kind of like that. only without the mega stardom and shit. in essence, do NOT have "romantic" relationships with people in your band. that's rule #1 in the musician's handbook. that and NEVEr let the bass player drive. .............
     
  6. i read somewhere that NOBODY turned down a six figure deal with SONy records because they didn't want to 'sell out'.?  don't believe everything you read. you are almost right, in that nobody turns down a six figure deal from SONY, but we were NEVEr offered any 'deals' by anyone.......other than 'how bout you call me in a month and i'll try and book you then. deal?"
     
  7. what happened to "the bob dylan club"?
    the original bobdylanclubTM is still alive and well at linclon sudbury high school in massachusetts......BDCmachII is still in existence, but we dont meet as much now, and it's become more of a state of mind than anything else....
     
  8. what kind of harmonica should i buy?
    ..............One question I am frequently asked is "what is the best harmonica to buy for a beginner".......or some variation of that.....
    and while there is no one specific 'right' answer to that question, my short and simplest answer would be:
    A HOHNER SPECIAL 20 ......TEN HOLE........DIATONIC HARMONICA in the KEY OF C.....
    which should look like photos 1-4 below, grey box, black plastic comb.
    .....photos 3 and 4 show the COMB of the instrument, which is the black plastic piece,........
    The main difference between the Hohner "Marine Band" and the "Special 20" is the Special 20 has a PLASTIC comb
    and the Marine Band has a WOODEN COMB(see photo 7 for a picture of a WOODEN comb, which should make it more obvious why it's called a 'comb')
    Some people prefer Wood Combs, some Plastic.......the best thing for you to
    do is TRY BOTH.....get two harps, in different keys, one with a wood comb, one plastic and compare them. See which FEELS better to you......HEAR which sounds
    better........
    ALL of these harmonicas have METAL REED PLATES, which are pictured below in photo 10. .....One of the most common misconceptions
    about Harmonicas is that the REEDS are made of wood. they are not. 

    Last but not least is the Hohner "Golden Melody", easily identifiable by it's RED plastic comb.(photos 8 and 9) Prices of these three harps as of 2011
    should be approximately: 

    HOHNER SPECIAL 20 $35.00 (photos 1-4)

    HOHNER MARINE BAND: $35.00 (photos 5, 6, 7)

    HOHNER GOLDEN MELODY: $40.00 (photos 8 and 9)

    *you may be able to find these harps for less money if you shop around......SCROLL DOWN for MORE PHOTOS of
    the MARINE BAND and the GOLDEN MELODY, as well as a photo of a WOODEN COMB, and the REED PLATES of a Harmonica......