Recently I have downloaded the song Old Woman by Grandpa Banana from the Acoustic Oasis website – one of the free daily Acoustic Oasis downloads. When I listened to this song I liked it immediately and I had to search for information about this artist.
You can find some information about Grandpa Banana on the Acoustic Oasis website, but more interesting is the interview he gave to Mandolin Cafe last year.
Mandolin Cafe interview – 10 Questions for Lowell Levinger: http://www.mandolincafe.com/news/publish/mandolins_001179.shtml
I think it was the sound of Grandpa Bananas five string tenor-guitar made by Corrado Giacomel that impressed me immediately. Grandpa Banana played the first Giacomel mandolin when David Grisman had just brought it with him from a trip to Italy. Grandpa Banana was impressed by the sound of this instrument and bought his own mandolin and a mandola that he has converted to a five string tenor-guitar. In the Mandolin Cafe interview you can read about his favorite instruments:
I guess my favorite one right now has to be my Giacomel J-5. Dawg introduced me to the Giacomel when he returned from Italy with his first one and I was blown away. After playing it as his house (and then hearing him play it in concert and on record!) I couldn’t resist. Now it’s the mandolin that sounds best when I play it. I also have a Giacomel octave mandolin that I have converted to a 5 string tenor guitar (all it took was replacing the bridge top and the nut) – it is also one of my very favorite instruments.
In the following video you can see and hear Grandpa Banana with his five string tenor-guitar by Giacomel:
Grandpa Banana 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
More video clips with Grandpa Banana:
Playlist Grandpa Banana
Additional Information
youtube channel Grandpa Banana: https://www.youtube.com/user/grandpabanana/videos
Used instruments sold by Grandpa Banana: Players Vintage Instruments
Pictures of the Giacomel instrumens owned by Grandpa Banana: http://www.vintageinstruments.com/museum/2giacomelsfulpage.html
Homepage Grandpa Banana: Grandpa Banana
Acoustic Oasis – Grandpa Banana – Just Trying To Break Even: http://acousticoasis.com/rooms/guest/grandpa-banana/grandpa-banana.html
Homepage Corrado Giacomel: http://www.corradogiacomel.it/
Giacomel instruments sold in the USA by David Grisman: http://www.dawgnet.com/giacomel/giacomel.html
Grandpa Banana – Even Grandpas Get The Blues
http://www.airplaydirect.com/music/GrandpaBanana-EvenGrandpasGetTheBlues/