Just the latest installment of the tunes I’ve been obsessed with lately! I learned this one from my friend Riley from The Onlies. He taught it to me on the fiddle in the Calico tuning. It's written by the great Greg Canote, who I am so glad to have met last year at the Portland Old Time Gathering. Here I play it in A so the fiddlers can play along. The banjo is tuned way down to Double A. Identical to double C, just down in A. So... eAEAB.
ALSO!! A last-minute notice about a very cool show this weekend. I am playing at the legendary Caffe Lena on Sunday with my good friends Drank the Gold. This will be the debut of my exciting band and our new album. So please check it out, and if you’re not in the area, consider joining the LIVESTREAM. All the details are here:
https://www.caffelena.org/event/drank-the-gold-and-benny-bleu/
Edited by - BennyBleu on 05/08/2026 06:22:30
Absolutely stunning. Thank you for posting. You always sound amazing.
Delightful listening, poignant title. Enjoy your gig!
Lovely tune and picking
quote:
Originally posted by JanetBDelightful listening, poignant title. Enjoy your gig!
Thanks Janet! It's funny, I heard a story about the title... I'm not sure if it's true, but this is what I heard :)
Apparently Greg was having work done at his house by a Russian contractor. While Greg was out running errands a friend came by and called for Greg. The contractor answered the door and said 'Old Man Gone.'
That’s a good story.I’m not surprised, Benny. Old time titles can be rather peculiar
quote:
Originally posted by BennyBleuquote:
Originally posted by JanetBDelightful listening, poignant title. Enjoy your gig!
Thanks Janet! It's funny, I heard a story about the title... I'm not sure if it's true, but this is what I heard :)
Apparently Greg was having work done at his house by a Russian contractor. While Greg was out running errands a friend came by and called for Greg. The contractor answered the door and said 'Old Man Gone.'
Lovely playing, Benny! I know this tune well, as Greg and his twin brother Jere are two of my best and oldest friends (50 years next January).
The story is close; Greg and Jere are house painters (among many other skills), and the Russian guy was (I believe) working for Greg, who had gone out to buy supplies when somebody came looking for him. It's funny how stories can morph in one's memory, but I think I've got that right. 
Speaking of which, I think you meant Riley (Calcagno), not Rory. 
Edited by - BrendanD on 05/07/2026 00:45:54
Oh Jeez, I'll take this as a sign to slow down when I start calling friends by wrong names. Thanks for the kind message, BrendanD !
From the perspective of an early pioneer in the field of music therapy: the effect of listening to this is so dreamingly soothing that my usual analytical thoughts - concerning melodic structure, technique, and tone - don't enter my mind. I'm immediately taken in by the listening experience.
That is, until the third listening; when I asked myself, Why is this so pleasing to listen to? What are the elements that make this so dreamingly soothing? What's doing this to me? Here are some of my thoughts.
First, the obvious conclusion is that you would not be able to convey this sense of peace and flowingness unless you are feeling it while playing, since it's one's vibes that speak through the notes.
Then, there's the tone of your instrument, which is oh-so mellow.
The clincher is your floating-hand touch, your impeccably delicate and precise playing technique.
There, now that I've allowed my analytical mind a chance to have its say, I can return to the therapeutic effect of the listening experience, itself. Thank you for your music. It has great depth and meaning.
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