Flowers Under the Snow

Robert Palomo

After Greg Connor wrote this for me a while back, I kept listening to it every time I was feeling tired of winter, which at this time of year is several times a day. Somehow every time I listened to it, it reminded me of my dad. I know he would have liked it.

Then suddenly I woke up and realized he was born on this day back in 1924, and I decided to record Greg’s tune in honor of the occasion. An added benefit for me is that I’ll have backing tracks for this tune, to play on a late-winter gig later in March.

This is the second track I’ve posted here playing my new Martin D35. A real guitar at last! I love this banjo too. It’s an old Stewart-MacDonald kit banjo with a cast aluminum archtop pot, dating from the mid-1970s. I think it sold for under $200 at the time. I’ve outfitted it with a Renaissance synthetic goatskin head, a custom KatEyz bridge and a Rowe Paintsville tailpiece. Here I play it in 2 styles: 3-finger, but without finger picks, and clawhammer. It’s a mellow sweet-sounding jo that I think works nicely with this tune.

Greg Connor…. thank you thank you thank you for this lovely and uplifting song! You da man.

P.S. Track has been updated with new lead vocal track, remixed background vocals remixed, and bass redone to eliminate boo-boos. Dad was an engineer and a perfectionist!