Benjamin Tod and Jason Dea West, “Life’s Hard to Handle,“ // GemsOnVHS™

When Scottish banjo playing legend Sam Shackleton decided to come tour the great United States of America, I knew one place we had to visit. So I loaded up the ole Jeep and we rolled into Kentucky, the bluegrass state. It was Muhlenberg county once again, home of many wonders, but especially home of Benjamin Tod. Me and Sam pulled up to Sip & Spin coffee and records in Greenville, Kentucky, owned by the infamous Ben Duvall, who is also the new drummer for Lost Dog Street Band. We were greeted with some warm cups of joe, and a familiar friend, Jason Dae West, who was visiting Benjamin as well. They’d played a lot of music together over the years ( but recently they had written a tune together, and shared it here with us. Later that night, we all stayed over at Benjamin’s property, sharing common songs from Scottish and American folk traditions, laughing and telling tall tales. A good time all around, and one i’m sure Sam won’