LOL! Oh, gawd, this brings back memories. One of my ex-boyfriends built a really, really ugly version of this instrument out of a homemade neck and a blue bass drum with a bumper sticker on the front. That thing was constantly out of tune! He would indeed carry his monstrosity to jams, festivals and even a guitar show, and it never failed to draw attention. Not praise, necessarily, but attention!

It took up most of his car (drum in the back seat, neck protruding between the front seats) so, when the weather permitted – and sometimes even in the rain – the "instrument" rode on the car's roof rack. I wonder how many accidents were caused by people staring at his car?

When he moved across the country, he packed up his car to make the drive "Grapes of Wrath" style (with the passenger compartment filled to the ceiling, and a fiberglas sailboat on top of the other stuff on the roof). There was no room for the banjo, so he took the neck off to take along with him and discarded the drum. He tells me that he's found another drum to attach the neck to. God help all of you in California.

Thanks loads, Mandolin Player, for bringing that back to me. My therapist thanks you, too. *BG*

Sharon