Greetings, fellow banjo enthusiasts! My name is Vincent Mondello. I am 47 yrs old, hail from Henderson TX, and Stromberg 4 string tenor banjos are my passion. My affinity with the banjo started when I was 8 yrs old. My Grandfather and Father were both prominent banjo players from E. Boston Mass. and played with many bands and orchestras throughout their lives. My Dad grew up playing instruments in Chas and Elmer Stromberg’s shop at 40 Hanover St. E. Boston and my Grandfather worked at Stromberg and The Fairbanks-Vega Co. building instruments. During this time they both tested some of the finest stringed instruments ever made. My Dad has played his entire life and just recently decided to begin to retire from active playing. I enjoy doing the restoration thing as there is many old "JO'S" out there that need attention so that they can get back into the mainstream of banjo players. I would like to state for the record that I myself, am not an expert player per se, but I do play some chord rhythm, and play in a group called the "Marshall Ford Swing band". I am a lover of the artistic styles and sounds that a good banjo can produce in the right hands, and have seen them time and again bring pleasure to all those that hear them sound off in the manner that they were meant to be played. I think that through the spirit of my Grandfather and in honor of my Father, both, who played great banjo over the years, I will earn my spot among them through bringing life to the instruments that have given myself and others so much joy over the years. I built this banjo for my pal, Barry Grant. This will be the banjo that he sits and plays to me, out in front of his cabin, nestled in the mountains of AZ, when Anne Marie and Karen have had their FILL of us! I have chronicled the work of this on my website http://www.4stringbanjos.com/GourdBanjer.html Vinnie