Jody Hughes Workshop - Success!

Jody made an excellent presentation this evening. We had a full house, so if you were not able to attend you can view the web version here: Getting the most from what you already know.

Enjoy!

-=Jim

Slow Banjo Workshop

Who: Jim Pankey & John Boulding

What: Techniques and Tips for Slow Songs

When: Thu, Feb 28, 9pm – 10pm EST

Where: Right here, or www.banjochat.com

Join Jim and John (not the Hager Twins) for a workshop covering techniques and ideas for working out arrangements of SLOW tunes. You won't want to miss this! As usual, we're not charging admission, but if you get something from the workshop we hope you'll make a small donation to the Banjo Lounge.

Hope to see you there!!!

-=Jim

Coming Changes

Over the past few days I've been mulling over some simple changes for the Lounge. Oh, don't fear, it's nothing horribly drastic, so don't go into panic mode just yet.

The first thing I've pondered (and reminded about again by Charis) was having something here for other instruments. Even if it's just a "Mando-Night" or "Dobro-Night" or whatever, we can put it on the schedule and just get folks invited. I think it would be fun, plus it would draw attention to the Lounge from more than just a couple of websites.

Second, and this will be the bigger of the changes; or perhaps a reversion to an older operating model for us. It is also effective immediately.

Those of you that were here when we were chatting via Yahoo!'s voice chat we all used our Yahoo! screen names. During that time I really don't recall any trouble, and it allowed folks some anonymity. So, I've turned off registration, and folks can enter with the screen name of their choice. From a moderator's perspective this might seem scary, but our previous history with that was positive. I think this change simplifies getting folks through the door. It also creates a better working situation for pay-per-workshops.

Strap in, and hang on tight... this could get crazy! Man, I love changes!!!

-=Jim

A question... actually two.

Where has everyone been?

Without regular folks in the room, it's really lonely there. I look through the logs and I see where some of you drop in, sit for 30 seconds and leave. I understand it's not much fun to be there by yourself, but what you missed was those 3 other folks that did the same thing right after you left. Yeah, the times are exaggerated, but I think you get the idea.

Honestly, our influx of new people has been cut off, since we only get a few curious users from time to time. I've watched the registration go from 4-6 a day to about 3 a week. Most of our regular supply of new users are stopping off elsewhere before they get here.

Now, I'm at a loss as a plan to keep new folks wandering into the room. I suppose I could kick off the advertising campaign again, but I'm not sure that's really going to work. I never really saw a lot of difference in registration while I was advertising, and I figure that has to do with my advertising budget.

Finally, the Lounge is YOU. It's not the Jim Pankey/Wild Jimbo show. You're the ones that have generously funded the Lounge. But without you here, those that have donated, it's tough to keep any momentum.

A few months ago there was talk of merger/combination/whatever with the BHO regarding the chat, but you, the supporters, wanted to keep the Lounge separate. So I did.

So, for my second question... What do you, the supporters, want now?

Kicking the Capo Habit!

In the Chat this Thursday!

Feb 7 10pm EST

Join John Boulding for a fun filled workshop and kick those capo blues! John will cover a handful of techniques and ideas to help you find your way around the neck without a capo.

Everyone is welcome to this event. John's not asking for money, but if you're feeling generous he suggests that you make a donation to the Banjo Lounge.

Don't miss it!

Upcoming Events

Here's a handy calendar to help you keep track of upcoming events in the Banjo Lounge.



If you would like to subscribe to this calendar click the following link.

A Google Group out of Guilt

Honestly, I felt a smidge guilty about nixing the AceBoard forum we had, but there was enough about it I didn't like that sealed its fate, so it's gone. A couple weeks ago I started playing with a Google Group. It looks like it might fit our needs nicely, and should give us a platform to get messages out to everyone that wants to sign up.

Go check it out here: Banjo Lounge Google Group

Feel free to sign up!

-=Jim