About Banjo.com
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August 9, 2003 |
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| Staff: |
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Amy Ross Drummond, chief executive officer |
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John Drummond, president |
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Barry Collins, director |
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It was at the Shakey’s Pizza Parlor in Pensacola that John fell in love with the banjo. Dixieland Jazz performances there in the early 1970s were live, featuring a piano player and tenor banjo player. These two older gentlemen led the singing also as we patrons ‘followed the bouncing ball’ of white light that guided us through the lyrics. The song list spanned the Gay 90s era (1890s, that is) through the Ragtime era. Songs like A Bicycle Built for Two, And The Band Played On, and Oh! Susannah, were among the favorites.
Already familiar with the guitar, John’s interest in the banjo grew with each visit to Shakey’s, and on his 16th birthday his parents presented him a banjo. The local music store had only one banjo in stock, a Kent 5-string. Armed with a Mel Bay beginner book, John learned to strum a few chords, clueless that he had a bluegrass banjo, not a tenor.
Shortly after joining IBM as a technician in Montgomery, Alabama, John found the Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo book in a music store, and began to learn by reading tablature. He later transferred with IBM to the Greenwich Village area of New York City and spent much of his free time learning to pick Bluegrass songs and strum Dixieland songs.
Many years later, on his 40th birthday, John’s wife Amy and sons gave him a Gibson Mastertone RB-250. John still maintains that a quality instrument makes even a bad banjo player sound good.
A 22-year veteran of IBM, John launched a business in 1999 to serve the needs of fellow unicyclists. Together, John & Amy, with a lot of help from family, friends and employees, have grown Unicycle.com operations from their living room sofa to a 3,200-square-foot warehouse and office complex. “God has blessed our small enterprise,” says Amy.
Banjo.com is a result of John’s passion for playing the banjo, and the fulfillment process created and refined by Amy for Unicycle.com. Excellence in customer service was instilled in John and Amy during their many years at IBM. “We know that word-of-mouth can make or break a business,” says John. “We have to earn the right every day to trade with our customers.”
Located in a hub of bluegrass musicians just 10 miles north of Atlanta, the
Banjo.com showroom is a fun place to relax with a new or used banjo, whether you pick or strum. All musicians are invited. “At first we intended to sell only banjos,” says John, “but our bluegrass brethren who play
guitar, fiddle, mandolin and dobro have convinced us that we can’t ignore them anymore.”
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