MAKE's Toy Inventor Burning Up the Strings

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By Mark Frauenfelder
Posted 2012/07/05 @ 11:48 am
Category Music

Fireball Mail instrumental from dave patterson on Vimeo.

Bob Knetzger is a longtime MAKE contributor and the columnist for the magazine’s “Toy Inventor’s Notebook.” Not only is he an accomplished toy designer and writer, he’s also a terrific musician. Here he is playing Floyd Jenkins’”Fireball Mail” on resophonic guitar, banjo, and mandolin. The video was edited by his friend, Dave Patterson.

BY Mark Frauenfelder

Mark Frauenfelder is the editor-in-chief of Make magazine, and the founder of the popular Boing Boing blog.

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5 Responses to MAKE’s Toy Inventor Burning Up the Strings

Tommy Phillips on July 5th, 2012 at 12:22 pm said:

I really love watching a musician who brings years of practice and passion to the instrument. Mr. Knetzger is displaying that quiet, confident competence that makes most younger musicians seem twitchy and anxious by comparison, regardless of their raw talent.

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mrgypson on July 5th, 2012 at 1:06 pm said:

yer forgot to link the “Toy Inventor’s Notebook.” But other than that i love Toy Inventors, dream job for sure!

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Chris on July 5th, 2012 at 3:58 pm said:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” -Robert A. Heinlein

I always thought “play a musical instrument” should be added to that quote. Bob sure has that downpat, and I bet he can handle everything else on that list too.

Thanks for the video!

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Goli Mohammadi on July 5th, 2012 at 4:03 pm said:

So great! Go, Bob, go! The list of his talents just grows!

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dave patterson on July 5th, 2012 at 6:45 pm said:

Bob made this shoot easy. He’s a pro and a joy to work with.

BTW, credit should also be given to Anil Kapahi, who also shot video with me on this project, and provided the location. Anil is a professional photographer, and you can see his work here:
http://anilkapahi.zenfolio.com/

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