- Jim Bottorff's Banjo Page
- Frank Vodich Tribute
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- Overview:
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- Frank Vodich was a highly
influential plectrum banjo player and teacher based in San Francisco.
- He acted as a vital link
in preserving the "Peabody Style" of banjo playing,
serving as a mentor to several world-class banjoists.
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- Frank Vodich lived in San
Francisco and was a close friend with Eddie Peabody. Whenever
Peabody came to the San Francisco area,
- he was a guest at Frank's
house. Frank learned the "Peabody Style" of plectrum
banjo playing from Eddie.
- Combining his own skills
with the Peabody Style, Frank developed an energetic style
of his own.
- Frank shared his banjo expertise with many, usually
through a visit at his home, which included the hospitality of
his wife Georgia.
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- Frank
and Eddie Scotty
Plummer and Frank
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- Scotty Introduces
Frank (youtube) Brad Roth Interview (youtube)
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- Quotes From
Banjo People:
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- "Frank was one of the
most kind and generous banjo players. As a young banjoist,
I spent a lot of time at Frank's house.
- The generosity of Frank
and Georgia was outstanding. After spending hours sharing
details of banjo playing, you couldn't leave without
- Frank and Georgia filling
you with sandwiches, pasta, and other gifts. If you never
met them personally,
- you really missed out on
two kind and loving individuals." (Steve Peterson)
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- "I am so glad that
I was able to spend a day with Frank Vodich, while I was in San
Francisco. He was a good friend of Eddie Peabody
- and you can hear that in
his playing. Frank also taught Scotty Plummer and the incomparable
Brad Roth." (Peter Mezoian)
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- "With a strong desire
to play like Peabody, Brad Roth would try to copy the old 78
recordings.
It was Frank Vodich that showed Brad the various techniques that
Eddie Peabody used." (Jazz Banjo Magazine)
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- Article by Georgette Twain about Frank (Resonator
Magazine September 2005) - (Click
here, pdf)
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- Photos:
- Click on image to enlarge.
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- Playing
with the SF Band
Joking at a Banjo Show San
Francisco Banjo Band
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- Frank was an active member of the San Francisco
and Oakland Banjo Bands and a familiar face at most West Coast
shows.
- He regularly sat in with other local groups, such
as the Marin, East Bay, and Peninsula Banjo Clubs.
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- Jim's tapes of Frank's songs.
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- Sound Clips:
- Click on a song name below
to listen (mp3):
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- "Alabama
Jubilee"
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- "Alabamy
Bound"
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- "Angry"
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- "As
Time Goes By"
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- "Brazil"
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- "C'est
Si Bon"
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- "Dust
On The Moon"
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- "I'll
See You In My Dreams" / "Sleep"
- (Frank melody, Eddie Peabody
rhythm)
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- "I
Love You" / "Lies"
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- "Moonlight
On The Ganges"
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- "On
Wisconsin" / "All American Girl"
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- "Peg
Of My Heart"
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- "A
Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody"
- (Frank melody, Eddie Peabody
rhythm)
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- "Sheik Of
Araby"
- (Frank melody, Eddie Peabody
rhythm)
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- "Smile
Darn You Smile" / "When You're Smiling"
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- "Smiles"
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- "Smoke Gets
In Your Eyes"
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- "St.
Louis Blues"
- (Frank melody, Eddie Peabody
rhythm)
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- "Tea
For Two"
- (Frank melody, Eddie Peabody
rhythm)
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- "Tea
For Two" / "As Time Goes By"
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- "Tie
A Yellow Ribbon"
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- "Two
Guitars" / "Dark Eyes"
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- "Whispering"
/ "Yes Sir That's My Baby"
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- "Who?"
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- "World
Is Waiting For The Sunrise"
- (Frank's own intro.)
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- Note:
- Frank preferred playing through an electric amplifier,
which is visible behind his chair in the photo below.
- To achieve a sharper, more "snappy"
tone, he adopted a trick from Eddie Peabody.
- Frank often tunned his banjo up a full step from
C G B D to D A C# E.
- This allowed him to use F-position fingerings
while the actual output sounded in the key of G.
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- Meeting Frank
Vodich:
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- Back in 1973, Dan Gomez
from the Marin Banjo Club took me over to Frank’s place
in San Francisco.
- Dan knew I needed to hear
Frank’s "Peabody Style" firsthand, and I’ve
been inspired by his playing ever since.
- Frank had a great way of
putting things, too—I still remember him saying, "Don't
play like you're holding a wet fish."
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- Jim and Frank back in the 1980s.
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- Happy Picking and Strumming,
- Jim Bottorff
- Frank's Tribute to Eddie Peabody:
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- From our chain
of friendship
A link has fallen in our land
His sun has set enshrined in the
Hallowed halls of memory his
True worth I'll never forget his
Golden Vega Vox keeps on ringing
Great melodies from on high
As an eternal beacon for all banjo
Players to plot a true and steady
Musical course by as future
Generations turn to banjo the
Answer will remain the same the
Greatest Banjoist ever known
Inspired and taught me;
"Eddie Peabody" was his name.
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