Mark,

It was a joke !! I'm the one who made it up; put it on one version of my business card as a spoof and it caught on---like Utah Phillips being The Golden Voice Of The Great Southwest". But I really was pickin' a 9-string back then--as I said. I thought it might make picking easier. Recently the midwest branch of the Folk Alliance F.A.R.M.---(Folk Allianc Region Midwest) gave me an award, and one of the things mentioned on it was that I was "King Of The 9-String Guitar". Truth be known, I always was the ONLY one playing a 9-string guitar around these and most other parts then---so I figured I must be the KING of that insrtrument. ;-)

Alas, thanks for remembering. I've always said, 90% of life is just showing up. The rest is promo and hype and put-on !!!!! Rubber chickens were fun to pull out of my banjo too. (A chicken in every pot !!)

Art