It was banjo player heaven

What a great weekend! It’s Saturday, Sept. 19 as I type this blog post, and I am sitting in the concert area at the West Michigan Bluegrass Music Association’s Fallfest Bluegrass Festival. I’ve been having a great time, and man oh man we couldn’t have asked for better weather. That’s not always the case in Michigan, but it’s beautiful this weekend.

Use the arrows to see more ads!

This festival has been happening each year for the past 14 years, and I’ve been hired as a musician, or volunteered, or just came to observe, for every one of those years. I’m currently the webmaster for the association and the instrument workshop coordinator, so I’m regularly involved, plus I am a member of two bands which often get hired at these events. My band Black Canyon Bluegrass Band was hired for last night’s roster of events and that show went pretty well for us. (I’ll be posting video and photos of our stage show soon, stay tuned for that.)

Summertime, and the jamming is easy…

I’ve been wandering the festival grounds picking and singing and just listening to the other pickers as I’ve wandered. It’s been a great time to catch up with old friends and to experience the fellowship of being at a bluegrass festival. It struck me this weekend that we’re so lucky to be living in this country with all the freedoms and privileges that we get to enjoy. Even more privileged are us bluegrass lovers and pickers. We get the enjoyment of this great wholesome art form, which gives us access to the stars of our genre. At any bluegrass festival, you can walk right up to the headliners and shake their hand, get autographs, and have your picture taken with them. Many times they even come out into the campground and do some parking lot picking with the other festival attendees.

The hand and banjo head of Mike Marrs

One thing that I’ve really enjoyed is getting to know the community of banjo players that travel around within a three state region of proximity to Michigan. There’s a kinship amongst us “jo-heads” that’s pretty fulfilling. This weekend alone I’ve spent time chatting with Dave Conley, Jr., of Bluegrass Revival, Mike Marrs of Out Of The Blue Bluegrass, and Dave Russell of Hardline Drive. For a no-account banjo picking wannabe like myself, it’s pretty rewarding to be recognized and known by some pretty good pickers. Mike Marrs and I shared some good laughs trading gig “war stories”, and I enjoyed talking with him.

One thing I’ve noticed about myself over the last year is that I’ve been stagnating just a bit when it comes to playing backup and rhythm on the banjo. I have been out of the music scene for several years now, and I haven’t been exposed to the hot pickers that inspire us all. My first band, the Apple Blossom Bluegrass Band, was a busy, working festival band, and I used to rub shoulders with some phenomenal pickers while traveling with that band. Once I left Apple Blossom, my successive groups didn’t seem to make the festival circuit much, and I didn’t make the time to go to many festivals. Since early 2009, I’ve been taking a more active interest in the music scene for the benefit of putting out a better blog and a better website, which means I’ve been to a couple of festivals and music events this year. Some of the banjo players that I’ve run into have really turned my head and caught my ear, and I’ve picked up on ideas and sounds that I really like…but don’t know how to do. My new aim is to become a much jazzier, far better, more well-rounded banjo player, and to that end I’ve actually picked up some new licks this weekend. (I’ll touch on that in my lessons sections of the main site.) It feels good to advance just a little bit and to inject some freshness into my picking.

Hardline Drive put on an awesome show

Hardline Drive: great people, great musicians

I mentioned above that I got to chat with Dave Russell. Dave is the banjo player for Hardline Drive, who are the headliners for the event. What a group! Folks, if you have never heard this group, you owe it to yourself to check them out. They have a website at www.hardlinedrive.com which is a great website. This group is headed for national fame and world domination, and I believe they’ll make it. They are making huge waves in the bluegrass world, and it won’t be a mystery why once you listen to them. This is a contemporary, progressive group with a jazzy edge and powerful vocals. Dave’s banjo picking is first rate with exciting twists and turns, and the vocals of the two ladies (Toni Erskine and Daniel Smith) are so powerful! Little Daniel (little in stature due to her short small frame) plays a mean mandolin and sings like a person three times her size. Greg Fuson plays some tasteful, clean licks on his guitar, and Toni, who doesn’t play an instrument, does most of the lead singing and is the “front woman” for the band. Toni’s voice is as good (or better) as any modern bluegrass star I’ve heard, and it’s no wonder the group is being noticed in bluegrass music circles. Dave is plugged in and connected in the cyber world, running several websites or blogs, so he’s no stranger to the bluegrass community. The entire group is represented by a talent agency and rightly so; they are going places.

I sat in and listened to the band as they warmed up for their stage show and I made this recording with my digital recorder. (I recorded some of the actual stage show but the track contained too much static for some reason.) Keep in mind that this is a rehearsal, and that I’m standing next to the banjo (hoping some of Dave’s licks will transfer into my fingers.) Because I’m next to the banjo it’s quite a bit louder than everything else. Even so, just listen to the feeling, the soul, and the power of this band’s music. Click this link to give it a listen:

Practice track from Hardline drive

I’ll be doing a full band review of this group in another post, and I’ll also review one or two of their albums, so stand by for that. You can see pics of Dave on my website and on an upcoming albums page for this site too.

This looks to be my year for “getting busy”

My experiences so far in 2009 have served to re-awaken the fire that I used to have for playing my instrument. It’s perhaps a bit sad but I’ve let the busy busy busy aspects of life keep me from this art form that I love. Going to Kendallville this year, as well as Mayfest and Fallfest for the W.M.B.M.A., not to mention starting this blog and my Banjos Rule! website, have shown me that I miss spending time with my banjo, meeting other pickers, and being inspired by the really good banjo pickers that I meet. There’s still quite a bit of year left, with several events scheduled, enough so that I plan to close out 2009 on a really strong note, bringing myself closer to that picker that turns your head when you see me on stage or at a jam session. Stay tuned!

Banjo Paul
“Wunse, I coodn’t even spel bango pikker…now I are one!”
www.banjosrule.com
www.mybanjolife.com