To celebrate their third anniversary the Tony Trischka School of Banjo is offering Deering supporters a free extra month of banjo lessons. Tony's revolutionary online banjo school has hundreds of video lessons ranging from beginner to advanced and is part of the ArtistWorks Academy of Bluegrass. To get your free month extra month head over to www.tonybanjo.com and use the promo code 'Deering1776'.
For a musician, the banjo offers acoustic power, super responsiveness to any kind of touch, brightness that can cut through the sound of an ensemble, warmth and richness to accompany voices and other instruments, and a tone character that is completely unique in the world of musical instruments. But how does all this happen?
The 2012 IBMA Award Nominations have been announced and Deering Artists are again represented very well. The Deering Artists that have been nominated include The Gibson Brothers (Eric Gibson), Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers, Punch Brothers (Noam Pikelny), Steep Canyon Rangers (Graham Sharp), and Noam Pikelny.
Hall of Fame member, Eddie Adcock and his wife Martha recently toured Germany and the Czech Republic with a Classic Goodtime 2 banjo for his performing instrument.
New York Banjo Summit to Feature Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka, Bill Keith, Eric Weisberg, Richie Stearns, Pete Wernick, Noam Pikelny, and Mac Benford
Many of the world’s most influential five-string banjo players – all with ties to New York State - will unite to perform a “Banjo Summit” in a limited ten-concert tour of the East Coast from October 25 through November 4, 2012.
Generally considered the most accomplished master of the instrument, Béla Fleck will be joined by fellow pickers Tony Trischka, Bill Keith, Eric Weissberg, Noam Pikelny, Richie Stearns, Pete Wernick and Mac Benford in concerts that will find the banjo being performed in both conventional and unexpected ways. In performances ranging from solos and duets to full-tilt banjo blowouts with all the players and an acoustic band, the stage setting will range from the traditional backdrop of bluegrass and old-time country music to the more unconventional banjo genres including jazz, classical and rock music.
Béla Fleck – a native of Manhattan - began making waves with a series of progressive banjo-centric recordings in the 1970s and as a member of the Newgrass Revival in the 1980s. As leader of the genre- busting Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since 1989, he has used the banjo to define the band’s one of a kind fusion of jazz, rock, bluegrass and world music. His collaborations with a wide diversity of artists such as jazz piano icon Chick Corea, Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain, classical bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, and African artists Toumani Diabate and Oumou Sangare, have brought the banjo even further into unchartered territories. Béla Fleck has been nominated for Grammy awards in more categories than any artist in history, and has won 15 to date, with 30 nominations.
Tony Trischka - originally from Syracuse - took the bluegrass banjo to a whole new level in the 1970s with a series of recordings that explored rock and avant-garde jazz. He served as young Béla Fleck’s banjo teacher, and continues to explore the traditions and possibilities of the banjo through his “World Turning” concerts, his band Territory and as a record producer for artists such as Steve Martin.
Bill Keith, from Woodstock, is widely considered a trail blazer of the melodic style of banjo picking he brought forward as a member of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys. He went on to join the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and then helped pioneer the early newgrass movement with his work in bands with artists such as David Grisman, Peter Rowan and Richard Greene. He invented the “Keith tuners” that are used by banjo players around the world and which he distributes through his business Beacon Banjos.
Eric Weissberg – also a Woodstock resident - helped to bring the sound of the bluegrass banjo to mainstream America with his performance of “Dueling Banjos” on the soundtrack of the major motion picture “Deliverance”. This signature tune has gone on to become the world’s most familiar bluegrass instrumental.
Richie Stearns of Ithaca, brought the old-time clawhammer banjo style to a whole new audience with the jam bands Donna The Buffalo and The Horseflies, and has accompanied artists such as Natalie Merchant, Jim Lauderdale and Vassar Clements.
Pete Wernick – AKA “Dr. Banjo” – originally from New York City - is renowned as a hot-picking force in several trend-setting bands including Hot Rize and Country Cooking. A respected author and teacher of the instrument, Pete is a long-term President of the International Bluegrass Music Association.
Noam Pikelny, currently residing in Brooklyn, played in Leftover Salmon and the John Cowan Band before joining the Punch Brothers in 2006. The recipient of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass in 2010, he has also recorded two albums as leader of the Noam Pikelny Band.
Mac Benford of Ithaca spearheaded the old-time music revival through his work with the Highwoods and Backwoods String Bands in the 1970s – he currently fronts Mac Benford’s Woodshed All Stars.
The banjoists will be accompanied on stage by a stellar acoustic band that features guitarist Russ Barenberg (of the Barenberg, Douglas & Meyer band), mandolinist Jesse Cobb (of the Infamous Stringdusters), violinist Alex Hargreaves (of the Sarah Jarosz band) and bassist Corey DiMario (of Crooked Still).
It is the night before the big day here at Deering! The early hours of Friday morning will see the arrival of not one, but three new machines that will help us take our production to new giddy heights and meet the ever growing demand for quality, American made banjos. This latest addition to the Deering facility in Spring Valley, CA only serves to highlight the fact that the humble banjo, more than ever is being accepted as a mainstream musical instrument.
What is it about a “classic” that draws folks throughout the ages? The timeless draw of a classic of anything is that it combines in its makeup a cross-generational desire for excellence. It is as if the designer was inspired by something greater than himself to create an item that could bring out the best in others.
Missouri-born Doug Dillard was best known to most of us for his TV performance as one of “The Darlings” on the famed “The Andy Griffith Show” from 1963-1966. His influence on music and aspiring young musicians extended far beyond this however.
I was privileged to see a live performance by Rodney and Doug Dillard here in San Diego. Doug was the perfect “deadpan” foil to Rodney’s animated character. The two of them were ideally suited to one another and not just because they were brothers.
Tall and lanky, Doug’s animated and unique banjo playing more than made up for the deliberant deadpan response to Rodney’s antics. It was a joy to watch the interplay of comedy and musical expertise on the stage.
Doug Dillard was born in Salem, MO., in 1937. Like many other well-known musicians, his interest in music started at an early age and he was playing guitar by 5.Doug joined the legion of young players who were inspired by Earl Scruggs, and he was playing banjo by age 16. One of the best stories about those early years comes from his official biography. Doug received a positive response from a letter he wrote to Earl Scruggs. With a bravery born of youth, he was able to convince his parents to drive him to Earl’s home in Madison, TN, 500 miles from Salem. Doug says he walked up to the front door, rang the bell, introduced himself and asked Earl to install Scruggs tuners in his banjo. Only the young…
The Dillards band, formed by Doug and Rodney in the mid-60s, became popular on college campuses and led to their move to California. This move led to their opportunity to perform on the CBS series starring Andy Griffith, bringing them to nationwide attention. The group is credited withbeing one of the pioneers of the southern California folk-rock, country-rock, and progressive bluegrass genres of that period. Doug, after leaving The Dillards in 1968, joined folk-rock group the Byrds on their first European tour. Other Deering endorsing artists who have been members of the contemporary Dillard band through time are Herb Pedersen (banjo, guitar), Billy Ray Latham (banjo, guitar, electric guitar), and Steve Cooley (banjo, guitar, and upright bass). Beverly Dillard is a Deering endorsing artist who performs regularly in Branson and throughout the country with her husband, Rodney Dillard.
A Grammy-nominated musician, in 2009, Doug was also inducted in the International Bluegrass Association’s Bluegrass Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN. His legacy of inspiration to the world of music will continue to be a credit to his life-long passion for his unique style of banjo playing.
What stops someone from playing banjo? Is it the belief that banjo “is too hard” to play? Is it because “I can’t find a teacher”? Is it because “they don’t like the sound of banjo music”? Let’s take a good look at the non-player and see what it might take to inspire them to begin to play the banjo.