I'm not actually planning on making anything myself, but am considering a magazine article on making your own music from kits, to accompany (as it were..) an article on music as a community builder, and a sidebar on rules for jamming. The value of making music, as opposed to just listening to someone else perform.

Catspaw, darlin' -- have I offended you or something? I keep emailing and PMing you and you never write, you never call ...

John -- I know I weinied out on y'all at Winfield. I have already requested vacation time for this year and fully intend to spend at least three days or so there. So WATCH OUT! I had a great time this past weekend at the Santa Fe Trails Bluegrass Festival over to Bonner Springs, with GaryT and Mrs. GaryT and other jamsters from Kansas City. So I can't wait for a few days in the Kansas sun -- or muck, as is often the case, i'm told -- with lots of other 'Catters and hangers-on.

And the rest of youse, if I either get someone else to write the article, or i write it myself, I'll probably PM each of you to see if I can use any of your quotes, if'n that'd be ok. My editor asked that I do a story on kits, but I suspected that maybe they might be worse than just finding a blueprint and going for it your own darned self. But where do you get blueprints? And how do you know what wood to buy, etc.?

I'm thinking I'll focus on maybe four instruments -- maybe a mandolin, guitar, dulcimer and ??? fiddle??? what? I do want it to be something that people can actually play when they're done. I agree about the whistles, but maybe a homemade bodhran? Might get you kicked out of respectable jams in at least a creative way?

WW