MONTREAL – Having only recently moved into an apartment near McGill University, second year Geography student Natasha Ingersoll has been distressed to discover that her new roommate is apparently into banjo.
“She just walked in with the banjo like it was nothing,” Ingersoll said of Tiffany Howard, a first year music student with aspirations of headlining at the Central Canadian Bluegrass Festival, “I asked if I could help move anything into the apartment and she handed me milk crates full of banjo music and a bunch of finger picks”.
The two girls have already paid first and last months’ rent on the small and very poorly soundproofed apartment. While both are trying to maintain a positive atmosphere, there have already been some disagreements about decoration: “I thought the banjo was some kind of hipster-deco thing, so I suggested we hang it up in the kitchen, but it turns out she actually plays the thing. I had to sit there while she played her double-time rendition of Cotton Eye Joe”
Howard recently tried to break the ice by holding a movie night, but her choice of ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ has not been a success. Ingersoll, meanwhile, is nearing the end of her tether: “There was a glimmer of hope when she told me how much she loves Steve Martin’s work, but then it turned out she had no idea he was a comedian. I swear if she doesn’t show evidence of a second interest soon, I’ll tell her exactly where she can put her Deering John Hartford Five-String. I’ll teach her the meaning of constant sorrow”.
At press time Howard had begun playing the tune from Deliverance.
