Monday, December 27, 2010
The Banjo Project
I wanted to let you know about what's happening with The Banjo Project documentary. Our post-production has been slowed down by budget cuts and programming changes at PBS and other cable channels, so we launched an innovative online funding campaign to raise the rest of the $$$ we need to complete the program. The funding platform is on Kickstarter.com -- the link is tinyurl.com/banjoproj -- and the success of the campaign is dependent on social networking and getting the word out to online communities and audiences. There's a video message from Tony Trischka and myself and all kinds of pledge incentives.
So far, the outpouring of support has been nothing less than stunning. We met our Kickstarter goal in under 30 days! -- but the campaign to finish The Banjo Project documentary is far from over. You can see the progress at http://tinyurl.com/banjoproj .
Over the past few months, I've also done a makeover on The Banjo Project website (thebanjoproject.org) with performance clips of Abby Washburn & Bela Fleck, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Don Vappie, Cynthia Sayer and a conversation at Barr's Fiddle Shop in Galax. In the coming months, I'll be posting more of the riches from our filming, including Ralph Stanley, Cheick Hamala Diabate and some great jazz players, Buddy Wachter and Eddy Davis. Ultimately, I plan to create a resource website that will be an online museum of banjo history, with all of the video I've collected, archival stills and footage, material from Greg Adams' Banjo Sightings Database, interactive timeline and social network features. If you haven't already joined our lively Facebook page -- http://www.facebook.com/thebanjoproject -- it's now over 2000 fans and still growing.
What's most exciting is the enthusiastic support from almost 300 backers. There are at least three good reasons for trying to get as many backers as possible beyond the original goal: 1) the target amount is the minimum necessary for finishing the editing, but with a bigger budget we can work with a professional sound mixer; 2) we can include more and higher quality archival film footage, recordings and stills and license them for home video and film festivals, and 3) more backers will make a more persuasive argument to potential broadcasters. We still need to show potential broadcasters (like PBS and Smithsonian Channel) that there IS an audience for serious cultural documentaries like ours, despite what some broadcast execs may claim.
Im hoping that your reader will make a pledge on Kickstarter -- there are some fun gift incentives and it's tax-deductible (minus the cost of the gift). Please help spread the word through your social networks, website and online affiliations. It would be especially helpful to get music/cultural bloggers to write about The Banjo Project.
On behalf of Tony Trischka and the Banjo Project team, I want to thank you for your interest and support.
Best of everything in the coming year --
Marc Fields
Producer
The Banjo Project
So far, the outpouring of support has been nothing less than stunning. We met our Kickstarter goal in under 30 days! -- but the campaign to finish The Banjo Project documentary is far from over. You can see the progress at http://tinyurl.com/banjoproj .
Over the past few months, I've also done a makeover on The Banjo Project website (thebanjoproject.org) with performance clips of Abby Washburn & Bela Fleck, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Don Vappie, Cynthia Sayer and a conversation at Barr's Fiddle Shop in Galax. In the coming months, I'll be posting more of the riches from our filming, including Ralph Stanley, Cheick Hamala Diabate and some great jazz players, Buddy Wachter and Eddy Davis. Ultimately, I plan to create a resource website that will be an online museum of banjo history, with all of the video I've collected, archival stills and footage, material from Greg Adams' Banjo Sightings Database, interactive timeline and social network features. If you haven't already joined our lively Facebook page -- http://www.facebook.com/thebanjoproject -- it's now over 2000 fans and still growing.
What's most exciting is the enthusiastic support from almost 300 backers. There are at least three good reasons for trying to get as many backers as possible beyond the original goal: 1) the target amount is the minimum necessary for finishing the editing, but with a bigger budget we can work with a professional sound mixer; 2) we can include more and higher quality archival film footage, recordings and stills and license them for home video and film festivals, and 3) more backers will make a more persuasive argument to potential broadcasters. We still need to show potential broadcasters (like PBS and Smithsonian Channel) that there IS an audience for serious cultural documentaries like ours, despite what some broadcast execs may claim.
Im hoping that your reader will make a pledge on Kickstarter -- there are some fun gift incentives and it's tax-deductible (minus the cost of the gift). Please help spread the word through your social networks, website and online affiliations. It would be especially helpful to get music/cultural bloggers to write about The Banjo Project.
On behalf of Tony Trischka and the Banjo Project team, I want to thank you for your interest and support.
Best of everything in the coming year --
Marc Fields
Producer
The Banjo Project
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Greatest Banjo Battle.....
In mid October 2010 I flew from Germany with my partner Miyuki to her homeland to spend two weeks of banjo fun in the warmth of a Japanese autumn. I played several concerts whilst there. The main concert was at the Kobe Jazz Street festival, but I also was to be a guest with Japanese banjoist Ken Aoki at a concert in Chiba and through my contacts in The Resonator magazine I had been invited to join The Banjo Stompers of Tokyo to present a concert in the country’s capital.
Japanese hospitality is really first class and the music I heard there was of a very high standard. Ken Aoki is a creative and technically astounding banjoist who is among the very top of the crop now. He presented a show called "Banjo on stage" together with two five-string players, sousaphone and drums. It was a sort of Banjomania show, Japanese style. They were really excellent and it was a pleasure to join them on stage. We had a lot of fun together and it is so encouraging to hear such high quality music being created on the plectrum banjo. I was to play the concerts in Kobe with Ken a week later so it was a good chance for us to run through some tunes together. Ken’s English is certainly much better than my very limited Japanese but through our music we had absolutely no communication problems at all. It was also encouraging to see a younger generation of musicians and audience enjoying our banjo music whilst in Japan. Maybe the music of the plectrum and tenor banjo has a real future in the Far East?
A few days after the concert in Chiba with Ken Aoki we met with Hiroyuki Hasebe, leader of the The Banjo Stompers of Tokyo. Hiro, Miyuki and I had wonderful days together in the capital before our concert. Japanese culture is extremely polite and very friendly, add to this a common interest in banjo and you have a wonderful basis for friendship. The Banjo Stompers were immaculately dressed, professional on stage and played to a high musical and technical standard. I was also very happy to finally meet Akira Tsumura who came with his wife especially to attend the concert. Tsumura-san was responsible for publishing the definitive banjo book of his 1001 banjo collection in the 1980’s. These books now sell for well over $1000 each and I prize my copy. My general experience with banjo bands are that they are relaxed and welcoming and the Banjo Stompers are exactly that. A late night visit to the local Izakiya ( a Japanese "tapas" bar) after the concert put a smile on everyone’s face and questions about the banjo in Europe were dutifully answered between plates of mysterious (but delicious!) food.
A trip on the Shinkansen, the famous bullet train, is an experience of its own. The train is one of the fastest in the world, reaching speeds of over 300 kilometres per hour. It is punctual, clean and travels almost silently. It’s only when you look out of the window as you past a bridge or building that you realise just how fast you travelling. We covered over 500 kilometres in just 3 hours speeding down from Tokyo towards Kobe.
The jazz festival there is based around the Crown Plaza Hotel in the city centre, a modern 5-star establishment which serves the most amazing breakfast of both western and eastern cuisine. The street opposite to the hotel becomes the "jazz street" with many venues offering jazz all weekend played by musicians from all over the world. My part in this event was to present the rather frighteningly titled "Greatest Banjo Battle of the Century" together with Ken Aoki. Musically "battling" on stage simply does not sound good to my or Ken’s ears so we quickly worked out some nice duets of ragtime, Reser and Peabody tunes. The festival is geared to more "two beat" jazz styles and there were plenty of other banjo players from Japan in attendance. Once again it seemed that the audience in Kobe were younger than their European counterparts.
It was an amazing experience to visit Japan and I’d like to go back again. I enjoy travelling and meeting different musicians and this trip was special indeed. I am so thankful that the banjo has opened so many musical doors for me and has launched friendships across the world, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Sean Moyses.
December 2010.
www.SeanMoyses.com
Japanese hospitality is really first class and the music I heard there was of a very high standard. Ken Aoki is a creative and technically astounding banjoist who is among the very top of the crop now. He presented a show called "Banjo on stage" together with two five-string players, sousaphone and drums. It was a sort of Banjomania show, Japanese style. They were really excellent and it was a pleasure to join them on stage. We had a lot of fun together and it is so encouraging to hear such high quality music being created on the plectrum banjo. I was to play the concerts in Kobe with Ken a week later so it was a good chance for us to run through some tunes together. Ken’s English is certainly much better than my very limited Japanese but through our music we had absolutely no communication problems at all. It was also encouraging to see a younger generation of musicians and audience enjoying our banjo music whilst in Japan. Maybe the music of the plectrum and tenor banjo has a real future in the Far East?
A few days after the concert in Chiba with Ken Aoki we met with Hiroyuki Hasebe, leader of the The Banjo Stompers of Tokyo. Hiro, Miyuki and I had wonderful days together in the capital before our concert. Japanese culture is extremely polite and very friendly, add to this a common interest in banjo and you have a wonderful basis for friendship. The Banjo Stompers were immaculately dressed, professional on stage and played to a high musical and technical standard. I was also very happy to finally meet Akira Tsumura who came with his wife especially to attend the concert. Tsumura-san was responsible for publishing the definitive banjo book of his 1001 banjo collection in the 1980’s. These books now sell for well over $1000 each and I prize my copy. My general experience with banjo bands are that they are relaxed and welcoming and the Banjo Stompers are exactly that. A late night visit to the local Izakiya ( a Japanese "tapas" bar) after the concert put a smile on everyone’s face and questions about the banjo in Europe were dutifully answered between plates of mysterious (but delicious!) food.
A trip on the Shinkansen, the famous bullet train, is an experience of its own. The train is one of the fastest in the world, reaching speeds of over 300 kilometres per hour. It is punctual, clean and travels almost silently. It’s only when you look out of the window as you past a bridge or building that you realise just how fast you travelling. We covered over 500 kilometres in just 3 hours speeding down from Tokyo towards Kobe.
The jazz festival there is based around the Crown Plaza Hotel in the city centre, a modern 5-star establishment which serves the most amazing breakfast of both western and eastern cuisine. The street opposite to the hotel becomes the "jazz street" with many venues offering jazz all weekend played by musicians from all over the world. My part in this event was to present the rather frighteningly titled "Greatest Banjo Battle of the Century" together with Ken Aoki. Musically "battling" on stage simply does not sound good to my or Ken’s ears so we quickly worked out some nice duets of ragtime, Reser and Peabody tunes. The festival is geared to more "two beat" jazz styles and there were plenty of other banjo players from Japan in attendance. Once again it seemed that the audience in Kobe were younger than their European counterparts.
It was an amazing experience to visit Japan and I’d like to go back again. I enjoy travelling and meeting different musicians and this trip was special indeed. I am so thankful that the banjo has opened so many musical doors for me and has launched friendships across the world, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Sean Moyses.
December 2010.
www.SeanMoyses.com
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Derring Banjo Company celebrates 35 years in business.
Deering Banjo Company Celebrates 35th Anniversary
Fostered by the love of banjo as played by the Kingston Trio and forged through a loving partnership and dedication to one another and a "dream" of a family business, Greg and Janet Deering celebrate 35 years of making the world’s finest quality banjos! The business license says "1975" but the story started long before that! Building his first banjo in college in 1968, joining other young luthiers like Bob Taylor & Kurt Lusting in 1970 forming a company called the "American Dream", working briefly in partnership with Geoff Stelling of Stelling Banjos in 1975…all of these were the pivotal steps that lead to the birth of the Deering Banjo Company on August 25, 1975. With only the Basic, Intermediate, and Deluxe as their three initial banjo models, today the Deering Banjo Company has created the most versatile banjo line in the world with over 100 standard production models from the ever-popular Goodtime banjo through to the glorious long neck Banjosaurus banjo owned by George Grove of the Kingston Trio, the group that so inspired the young Greg Deering!
Over 50,000 banjos have gone to banjo players all over the world in the 35 year history of the company. Notable artists include Keith Urban, Rod Stewart, Doc Watson, Bela Fleck, Eddie Adcock, Tony Trischka, Joe Satriani, and countless other names familiar to lovers of banjos all over the world. Deering Signature models include the Terry Baucom, Jens Kruger, John Hartford, Mark Johnson, and David Holt; all of these artists are consummate musicians with demanding standards of performance in their instruments.
To celebrate this anniversary year, Deering launched a new website, a new 96-page color catalog, and a new "2010" tone ring in their Eagle II banjo. Visit www.deeringbanjos.com and see what 35 years of excellence in American manufacturing is open to you. Order a new color catalog online or call the Deering Banjo Company, toll free, at 800-845-7791.
Fostered by the love of banjo as played by the Kingston Trio and forged through a loving partnership and dedication to one another and a "dream" of a family business, Greg and Janet Deering celebrate 35 years of making the world’s finest quality banjos! The business license says "1975" but the story started long before that! Building his first banjo in college in 1968, joining other young luthiers like Bob Taylor & Kurt Lusting in 1970 forming a company called the "American Dream", working briefly in partnership with Geoff Stelling of Stelling Banjos in 1975…all of these were the pivotal steps that lead to the birth of the Deering Banjo Company on August 25, 1975. With only the Basic, Intermediate, and Deluxe as their three initial banjo models, today the Deering Banjo Company has created the most versatile banjo line in the world with over 100 standard production models from the ever-popular Goodtime banjo through to the glorious long neck Banjosaurus banjo owned by George Grove of the Kingston Trio, the group that so inspired the young Greg Deering!
Over 50,000 banjos have gone to banjo players all over the world in the 35 year history of the company. Notable artists include Keith Urban, Rod Stewart, Doc Watson, Bela Fleck, Eddie Adcock, Tony Trischka, Joe Satriani, and countless other names familiar to lovers of banjos all over the world. Deering Signature models include the Terry Baucom, Jens Kruger, John Hartford, Mark Johnson, and David Holt; all of these artists are consummate musicians with demanding standards of performance in their instruments.
To celebrate this anniversary year, Deering launched a new website, a new 96-page color catalog, and a new "2010" tone ring in their Eagle II banjo. Visit www.deeringbanjos.com and see what 35 years of excellence in American manufacturing is open to you. Order a new color catalog online or call the Deering Banjo Company, toll free, at 800-845-7791.
Monday, December 06, 2010
Goodbye Bob Lauer.
Sad news from die Schweiz. Bob Lauer, banjoplayer and banjo builder, passed away on 29 November 2010 after a long fight with the big C (Cancer). At the end a brain haemmoridge struck him down. He was a true artist, his hobby as luthier produced some wonderful instruments.
As a person he was a good friend, always cheerful, always helpful. I will miss him. The banjo world in Switzerland sends its condolences to his Family.
Chris Mitchell
More on www.lauer-banjos.com
As a person he was a good friend, always cheerful, always helpful. I will miss him. The banjo world in Switzerland sends its condolences to his Family.
Chris Mitchell
More on www.lauer-banjos.com
