Podcast 357: C.J. Lewandowski of The Po' Ramblin' Boys, Pt. 1

How far would you go for a great deal on the instrument of your
dreams?

How about a 5,500 mile trip halfway around the world in the
middle of a pandemic?

On this week's podcast, we meet C.J. Lewandowski, mandolinist and
lead singer for the Po' Ramblin' Boys. C.J. just flew to Greece
to buy a Lloyd Loar-signed Gibson F-5 mandolin, dated July 9,
1923, just like Bill Monroe's.


He recounts the leap of faith he took to obtain it, the
complexities of buying an instrument overseas, the condition of
the mandolin when he finally obtained it (which had likely never
played bluegrass prior to his ownership), and what's next.

It's the ultimate guitar, err, mandolin safari tale... all the
way to Athens, Greece and back.

The Po' Ramblin' Boys have a great new album coming out March 25,
2022 called Never Slow Down on Smithsonian Folkways. We'll hear
more about that on a future FJ Podcast episode.


This episode is sponsored by Retrofret Vintage Guitars; Mono
Cases, Izotope (use the discount code
FRET10 to save 10% off your Izotope
purchase); BED|STÜ shoes (save 20% off with the
code FRETXBS for a limited time);
and www.acoustic.coffee (use the code
FJCoffee2021 and get a free bag when you order
two or more).