Musician

My scrimshaw experience and interest came gradually in phases over the years starting in 1978. My love for the banjo started much earlier and making music is something I threw myself into heart and soul.

I began my musical career in 1967 when I started learning the guitar. I learned fairly quickly and in 1969 I jumped into my first performance at the Why Not Coffee House in Rock Island, Ill. I was so inexperienced and nervous I started tuning my guitar and for ten minutes that’s all I did! In front of the audience no less! I was so embarrassed I left the stage with my tail between my legs. But embarrassed or not I was not deterred and not long afterwards I teamed up with my friend and fellow guitarist, Stu Stuart who would become my musical partner for the next 25 years. He and I put together the first of several bands to come. I played guitar back then; the banjo came later in 1972. Throughout the 70's and 80's, the bands and band members evolved from Folk (Stone Free Road), to Country & Western (Mr. Greenjeans), to Country/Rockabilly (Greenjeans without the “Mr.”), to Country Rock (Walkers Reunion), to Bluegrass (Pathfinder).

Pathfinder - 1983

left to right - Ed weber, Doug Page, Stu Stuart, Toby Strause

                                                                                                          

Being a songwriter, I wrote many of the tunes we played during those years. My band had a nice run at the "big time" when we moved to Nashville in the mid 80's. Our producer changed our name to Don Juan when we were added to the roster of an independent label, Maxx Records. We were groomed and billed as a country pop/rock act – quite a change from bluegrass. We enjoyed a measure of success charting two singles in the Top 100 in both Billboard and Cashbox.

I was writing a lot in the “Don Juan” days and I had several of my songs cut on custom recording sessions down on 16th Avenue.

Some of my songs were pitched to major artists and a couple of my tunes were on hold with Reba McIntire and Phil Collins. But a song on hold is nothing unless you get it cut. No cuts, no glory… (pun intended!)

We were the first act on an independent label to have ever charted in Billboard, and the first "Indy" act to market and sell compact discs. We moved from being big fish in a small pond to being little fish in an ocean of competition for air play and rack space at record stores. Touring and promoting our record, we attended the obligatory radio and television interviews as well as appearing at Fan Fair and the CMA's 25th anniversary show. Being successful in the music business is a hit or miss proposition. There’s an old adage in the music business that states, you can do everything right and fail or do everything wrong and succeed. Either way it takes a lot of money to make money and without fuel the engine comes to a stop. Don Juan disbanded and we all went our separate ways in the autumn of 1989.

Throughout the 80’s I played banjo exclusively and only picked up my guitar occasionally. In 1989 I went to work for Gibson Guitar Company and for the next twenty years I took a lot of pride in building banjos for the people whose music I loved to hear on the radio, and the people who just enjoy playing music with family and friends. During those years I remained active in the bluegrass community putting together a new bluegrass band, Emergency Bluegrass and later playing banjo for The Tipton Family. In 1998 I became discouraged with my musical endeavors. I put my banjo down and didn’t pick it up again until 2005 when my interest in music was revitalized. I felt the urge to once again pursue music but I was quite rusty indeed. It took the next three years of daily practice to shake most of the rust off before I could hold my own with other musicians.

The banjo has been pigeon-holed into Bluegrass and Old-time mountain music for a long time but there are many artists and players these days who have begun to explore its possibilities and potential in other areas of music such as jazz. By now my interests had changed to Big Band & Swing music so in 2008 I formed a jazz band called W.J.A.Z. We play music from the American Songbook of the 30’s, 40’s, & 50’s by artists such as Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, The Mills Brothers, Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, The Boswell Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong to name a few.

Big Band and Swing music allows me to explore new thoughts and ideas through jazz chords within the confines of a more complicated and intricate musical structure. I like to salt & pepper bluegrass songs with jazz chords at the various jam sessions around town. If the standard I, IV, V Bluegrass chords were expressed as colors then most are made up of primary colors – red, yellow, and blue with the occasional off-chord expressed as the II or VI minor, orange or green. Jazz chords venture into shaded colors such as I-Maj6, IV-b5dim9, V-Aug, or burnt umber, amber, or teal. Needless to say I get some weird looks but for the most part the other players are pretty accepting of my playing style but it drives the traditionalists crazy.

Great music, lot's of fun, and I love the challenge!

~ Ed Weber