Banjo offering to the spirits of Clinton street.

 circa 1998 I went from being a well known musician in Eugene to an unknown in Ptown. I had a tiny daughter and a roofing job. I needed to get my band Pepto Dizmal rebuilt but I didn't even have a guitar. Eventually i saved enough for a guitar we took busses to Vancouver where the pawnshops live. 

I was crestfallen, the only instrument I could afford was this banjo. I was delighted that before we got back to Portland I had written some music with it.  Eventually I got a guitar and a band again.  Fortunately I still had an unsightly,  drinking problem (everyone likes buying beers for the clowns) so after a gig I drunkenly stepped thru my guitar. Like ya do.

Next day I picked up the banjo again and it was suddenly way more useful than before. We were going from singer songwriters to sideshow/ protest rodeo clown types. The banjo was way better adapted to the clown commando lifestyle. It was loud, friendly yet ominous, non electric, still worked when muddy and was a decent shield in a pinch. It's also handy to play banjo after saying something stupid. One day I heard it fall off my friend's tallbike and knew immediately it was my banjo. That silly thing would sound great falling down steps. I never named it but oddly I did name my dog after this banjo. Named her Banjo. I ended up playing that thing in Pepto Dizmal, The Big Bang Circus, The Alberta Clown House (where I had to learn to strip while playing) protests, punk shows, gladiator events, busking and cabaret. I played it well into Olive and my nightclub act days. It's the thing I have had the longest in the PNW.

 Now that my chapter is changing I feel it's time for this banjo's chapter to change as well. We were recently gifted a guitar that we named Jim. I thought this would be a great time to keep the love going. Operation "Banjo walkabout" I give people stuff directly all the time but this guy needs some clown chaos spinning the wheels of fate. I decided to make it an offering to the Clinton street night spirits. Surly they would know where it needs to go. I know because I'm often a Clinton street night spirit myself. We found a spot where the banjo would be quickly discovered, played one last song "Islands in the street" and said goodbye to my old friend. Someone is gonna find this and have no idea that it's performed in front of like a bajillion people over 20 years or so. 

I stopped writing origin stories on my offerings because people get confused and end up returning those artifacts back to me. "Found your clown bike!"