Page 41 - Otis Tomas: Making Instruments & Tunes

ISSUE : Issue 56

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1991/1/1

Zachary and Naomi '60s, looking for a new world?) Well, probably more the latter. Yeah, I spent quite a--a few years there.... You know, I was young and footloose, kind of. I did quite a bit of travelling. I hitchhiked back and forth across the continent a num? ber of times. I did a fair bit of travel? ling around, meeting people. But I always had my banjo or my fiddle or something with me. I did a lot of busking. You know, I'd play on streetcorners and make a bit of money for something to eat, and move on. I did a fair bit of that sort of--but that was, you know, my early 20's or what? ever. It was great. It was a lot of fun for a few years. (Were you travelling alone?) I had a little dog. We hitchhiked, hopped freight trains, and everything else. (Now we've got you with a dog. We've got you with an instru? ment. You're carrying yourself--must be a little bit of luggage. I guess there aren't too many tools for making your instru? ments.) No, no. When I was travelling, ob? viously, I couldn't. But I had a place, for example, down in the Smoky Mountains where I lived. I was there for the winter and then in the summer maybe I'd be gone. I'd take off for a few months or whatever, you know, travel around the country, go visit? ing people or going to music festivals. You know, coming to Canada. Just checking the world out, and checking out what people were doing. You know, just sort of thinking about what I was doing with myself.... I certainly got a chance to meet a lot of musicians and hear them play, and hear different kinds of music. And as well, meeting the instrument-makers and seeing what they had done. All of that kind of fed the ideas and the desire. (Was it communes you were looking for?) No, not exactly, no. No, I was--I think I was more just looking for, you know, myself. Just, you know, thinking, like, well, what I wanted to do with my life. What my rela? tionship was with the rest of the world, kind of. You know, it was that kind of Cape Breton Auto Radiator co RADIATOR HOSES • REPAIRING • CLEANING • RECORING ..-?Ax ' COMPLETE CYLINDER HEAD SERVICE _' 518 Grand auto * truck * industrial Sydney] Lake Road Complete Line of Gas Tanks 564-6362 i . NOW DOING AUTOMOBILE AIR CONDITIONING • Lunchtime, dinnertime, partytime, anytime, it's finger liclcin' good. K'otudl'EtiedGliickien No matter what you're dc'ng" or how many you're with there's nothing that.tastes so good when you're hungry as... The Colonel's Taste is Best i:i)tC!i!tbtnCIialet- a 2A STERUNG ROAD Glace Bay • 849-6689 inside seating available D SYDNEY SHOPPING CENTRE Prince St., Sydney • 564-6322 D 109 KING STREET North Sydney • 794-3534 inside seating available • plus drive through • D CAPE BRETON SHOPPING PLAZA Sydney River • 564-6646 inside seating available D PLUMMER AVENUE New Waterford • 862-2111 inside seating available

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