Catfish Soundholes

Nathaniel's newest dulcimer merges two of his major interests, fishing and music, with its very cool fish-shaped soundholes. The bottom holes are catfish. The top holes are trout. Other fish are wood burned onto the sides and the back. The instrument was custom built by Mike Clemmer of Wood-N-Strings Dulcimers in Townsend, Tennessee. Nathaniel's especially excited about playing his newest dulcimer, which is also fully chromatic, with some of our friends in the outdoor writing business who are also musicians.

"Playing in the Creek" Release

I must break from fish stories for a day to share some exciting news. My son's first CD, Playing in the Creek, will be released in a little more than a week on Monday, March 12. Nathaniel, who is 13 years old, has been seriously anticipating that day for quite some time! Nathaniel plays the mountain dulcimer and has been playing since he was 8 years old. He is the current Southern Regional Mountain Dulcimer Champion and Georgia State Mountain Dulcimer Champion and he finished third in last year's national competition. For more details, including ordering information, please visit nathanielsamsel.com. CD artwork, by the way, was shot along the Tallulah River in North Georgia. We didn't carry rods that day so that we wouldn't get distracted, but its a good place to catch a trout.