It’s me, Banjo Paul!

 My name is Paul Pope, and I am a banjo player from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I currently perform in two bands, and I’ve been teaching bluegrass banjo in the west Michigan area for over 20 years. I’m fortunate to have had a lot of wonderful experiences as a banjo player, and I’m having a ton of fun getting to bring those experiences, along with some banjo humor, helpful advice, and general thoughts on banjo, to you via my banjo-themed website and this banjo-themed blog.

Along with my thoughts and ideas on this blog, I have a website that is slowly gaining in popularity and features week after week. My main site is www.banjosrule.com and there you will find a jokes repository that you can add to, some basic lessons for beginners, a page all about banjo-specific apps for the iPhone, and other features too. I always welcome interactivity, comments, questions, and opinions on both of my sites and I hope to hear from you either at this blog or on my main site.

Who is Banjo Paul?

Funny you should ask! I am Paul Pope, better known on the internet as Banjo Paul. I am a ”40-something” divorced father of 5 children, a web designer, a pro blogger, an entrepreneur, and of course, most importantly to this blog, I’m a banjo picker. (Apparently I just can’t hold down a good job.)

I fell in love with the banjo at the tender young age of 16. Growing up in contemporary Wyoming, Michigan (a suburb outside of Grand Rapids) I quickly relegated myself to the geek squad (and we’re not talking about electronics installations) by letting it be known that I was playing the banjo. Michigan is about as far from Kentucky as you can get when it comes to music, and while there has always been a huge blugrass scene here, it has NOT filtered down to the youth in the area. It’s unheard of and uncool in pop culture here in Michigan, and I certainly wasn’t picking up any chicks with my new found art form. Somehow I managed not to be swayed from continuing to enjoy the banjo, and I am glad I stuck with it.

I come by the “southern arts” honestly because I was actually born in Atlanta, Georgia. My extended family is very musical and so I think the music is in my blood. My parents divorced when I was just a toddler, and my mom remarried to a yankee, and so north we went. My maternal grandfather, Paul Brown, who I was named after, grew up in Alabama and had a life-long appreciation of the banjo and bluegrass music. His favorite performer from way back was Uncle Dave Macon, but he liked Flatt & Scruggs and many other traditional bluegrass bands as well. I was very close with my grandfather (he and my grandmother Lovey moved to Michigan to be nearer to my mom and the grandkids during my teen years) and so when my grandfather decided to try lessons, I tagged along. He never could grasp it (already pretty advanced in years) but I took hold of it, and the rest, as they say, is history. I remember some of my earliest “performances” were with my grandmother as she sang at the little church she attended. She was pretty proud to have her grandson accompany her.

Oh my God, they let him breed?!

It’s true. In spite of my banjo playing, I was able to meet a cheerleader from another school (the only way I could get a girl to consider having anything to do with me: look for one at another school who didn’t already know all about me) who I dated, fell in love with, and ended up marrying. We have since divorced, but we had 5 wonderful children who I am very proud of. I haven’t been able to convince any of the kids to take up strings, but at least most of them have or are trying music via symphonic band in school. Two of my kids are out of the house, and the third is hot on their heels. (He’ll be 17 this December!) I’m getting close to a victory on having one of my kids pick bluegrass because my youngest, Devon, has expressed quite an interest in playing upright bass. I just wish I could afford to get him one. If you’d like to view some pics of my kids, click the link below:

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PICS OF THE POPE KIDS!

The bands

I joined the Apple Blossom Bluegrass Band in 1995 and had a wonderful 10 year run with that group. I left them to join Lare Williams & New Direction, then left that group to form a group called Black Canyon Bluegrass Band (www.blackcanyonbluegrassband.com). Along the way I decided to jump into yet another group called Rogue River Grass (www.roguerivergrass.com) and so right now I play in two groups.

Banjo isn’t just for the bluegrass band!

I’ve had a ton of fun with this banjo and I sure love to be able to play for people. I actually just love getting up in front of people and performing, no matter what the venue. I’ve done plays and musicals in high school and community theater as an adult. I’ve done some amateur stand up comedy with my banjo at a birthday party (believe me I have no future in this) and I’ve even mixed banjo AND community theater by playing banjo as a cast member of Smoke On The Mountains and A Sanders Family Christmas. I’m proud to say that the little theater I act at (Master Arts theater-www.masterarts.org) took second place in a national theater competition with the play Smoke On The Mountains. It was quite fun.

With Black Canyon in 2008

I love to help, love to teach

For me, the path to picking the banjo was a slow and painful one. Of course, I’m speaking metaphorically, because it didn’t hurt (unless you were listening to me play) but what I mean is that I had a ton of wasted years. Being self taught may sound impressive, and I’m a decent picker now, but I sure would have benefitted by having mentors, teachers, knowledgeable people, etc., around me as I was coming along. (The lessons with my grandfather only lasted for about 5 lessons before we exhausted our “wannabe” teacher’s knowledge and ability.) I got in my first band in 1995; we were all beginners of about the same caliber, and boy was it rough. I could play a total of maybe 15 songs, didn’t know how to accompany the group when not playing a lead, and couldn’t do hardly any colorful backup or fill work. My rhythm was off, and all in all my lack of training showed. I did learn a ton of stuff in the 10 years that we were a band, and probably have really taken on a much more professional ability level over the past 3 years or so (I’m writing this in August 2009). I highly recommend the personal interaction with a knowledgeable and competent picker who can show you the ropes, because a teacher is there to explain the nuances and the details that a book can’t. In that vein, I hope my blog entries and the information on my main site can benefit people. I love to help, and while it’s no secret that the banjo brings me a good chunk of my income, I don’t mind lending a helping hand at no charge too.

 

Random pictures