Howdy, all. This is February, and I’m makin’ an all-out bid to nail down and polish up “Salty Dog” on the banjo – down the neck and up the neck. Lots of cool licks, I’ve learned how to transition from lead to vamping and back, and we’re working on it in our jam group.

And I have a confirmation that Mom McCarty intends to jam with me next time I’m down. Kel, bring the guitar. The chords are at left. 

See ya,
Mike

Howdy Mike, I heard you’re playing rock songs on electric guitar. Are you giving up bluegrass. Have you seen the light? Are you going to Clear Lake, Iowa, this month to take part in memorial observances for Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and “The Big Bopper”? -Be-Bop-a-Lula, Manistee, Mich.

Howdy, Be-Bop, Well, I do play rock songs on my amped-up guitar when I play with a drummer on Grand Rapids’ Northeast Side. I like rock and guitar, but bluegrass and banjos still rule! And I extend my condolences to the families and fans of Buddy, Ritchie and the Bopper 50 years after “the day the music died.” But I will not be going to the Iowa site of their plane crash. Instead, I will honor them in my music room, by getting out the guitar and singing “Peggy Sue,” “Chantilly Lace” and “La Bamba.” R.I.P., dudes. -Mike