My wife and I went out to eat last night. Another couple joined us at the small bar not long we arrived. As it turns out, they were fans of the musician playing that night. We talked before the entertainment began, and the guy wound up giving me his card since it turned out we do not live far from each other.
This afternoon, I found his card and looked up his company, which is closed now. I clicked on a link to a magazine article about him, which appeared in 2012. I had to pause as I was reading the article when I came to this paragraph:
The Allen Banjo Company took its name from Smith’s middle name. A graduate of the University of Houston in the mid-70s, Smith remembers being without work and thus he ended up painting houses one summer. One of the homes belonged to Richard Black who was a top-notch pool cue maker. After some conversation, Black encouraged Fonza to try his hand in making a banjo and offered his workshop and machinery to do so.
Richard was not yet famous in the mid-70s, I believe. I did not meet him until the late 80s, and I enjoyed seeing him again at his TX Billiard Hall of Fame induction last year. Sounds like he was pretty generous back in the day.
Apparently, Fonza took advantage of Richard’s offer and eventually founded Allen Banjo Company (which I understand was successful until he retired).
Small world!
This afternoon, I found his card and looked up his company, which is closed now. I clicked on a link to a magazine article about him, which appeared in 2012. I had to pause as I was reading the article when I came to this paragraph:
The Allen Banjo Company took its name from Smith’s middle name. A graduate of the University of Houston in the mid-70s, Smith remembers being without work and thus he ended up painting houses one summer. One of the homes belonged to Richard Black who was a top-notch pool cue maker. After some conversation, Black encouraged Fonza to try his hand in making a banjo and offered his workshop and machinery to do so.
Richard was not yet famous in the mid-70s, I believe. I did not meet him until the late 80s, and I enjoyed seeing him again at his TX Billiard Hall of Fame induction last year. Sounds like he was pretty generous back in the day.
Apparently, Fonza took advantage of Richard’s offer and eventually founded Allen Banjo Company (which I understand was successful until he retired).
Small world!