Temptation Rag by Aaron Jonah Lewis & Ragtime Banjo Revival

Temptation Rag was written by Thomas Henry Lodge (1844-1933), of Rhode Island, USA. Lodge composed and had published dozens of pieces in his lifetime, and Temptation Rag, published in 1909, quickly became a hit both on the vaudeville circuit and in stores. From https://www.perfessorbill.com/comps/tlodge.shtml -- "It received accolades not only in the trades and the press, but from his peers as well. One such mention appeared in the New York Clipper in early 1910:

'Mike Bernard, that "Wizard of the Piano," has in his repertory several numbers that possess excellent qualities. Noticeable among these is Henry Lodge's "Temptation Rag." The success of this number is remarkable, and fully supports its appropriate title, "Temptation," for it is positively one of the most tempting numbers that has yet been given the public...'"

AJL first heard this piece played by the legendary Arkansas banjo and fiddle group The Old 78's - https://www.theold78s.com - led by Curly Miller and Carole Anne Rose. (These two were also AJL's first encounter with classic banjo music in the first place and overall a huge musical inspiration.) AJL went on to arrange, perform and record this piece with Lovestruck Balladeers - https://www.lovestruckballadeers.com - a group that AJL cofounded and played with for several years. During that time the bass player of the band, Sean Cronin, inspired AJL to make a surf rock version of this piece, which, years later, they finally did!

Notes on the Banjocaster from owner Keith Billik: The Banjocaster is a solid-body electric 5-string banjo, built by the late great luthier Scott “Stretch” Reinsmith. It features a custom mahogany bolt-on neck with radiused ebony fingerboard, a fiesta red Squier Stratocaster body, and Fender American vintage electronics.

When asked what inspired the construction of this unique instrument, Billik said, “It was almost by accident — We were just talking banjo stuff, and I casually mentioned, ‘Why doesn’t anybody make banjo necks that can bolt on to a Stratocaster body?’ Because the only available solid-body banjos available at the time really weren’t very good. So he said, ‘I can do that!’ And took measurements of the neck on my Sullivan banjo and made basically a replica of that, although with a Strat-style headstock and Strat scale length (25.5” instead of 26.25” banjo scale length). I really wasn’t in the market for an electric banjo but the fact that he was enthusiastic about my idea made it happen.”

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