NEW ALBUM, STRIPEY CAT, NOW AVAILABLE HERE
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Welcome to my banjo site! I write about, play, and teach other people to play, clawhammer banjo. I learned to play banjo while living in southwest Virginia, where I was also a founding member of the Happy Hollow Stringband (happyhollowstringband.com) In recent years, I've started teaching banjo lessons, picked up a side gig as the "official banjo tester" for Elderly instruments (www.elderly.com), and recorded an album (more info here). Using the links above you can find video and audio examples of my playing, upcoming performance dates, and my weekly banjo blog, (currently updated much less frequently) - I've added a list of archived posts below. Thanks for visiting and come back soon! |
Index of blog posts:
Review in the Old Time Herald - 2/17/20 (NEW!)
Liner notes for "Stripey Cat" (my new album) - 2/5/19
On Blogging (and I recorded an album!) - 1/21/18
Track 12 - Skipping Stones - 11/21/17
I broke my microphone... - 11/14/17
Track 6 - Catawba - 11/6/17
What it's like to play a Farmer's Market - 10/30/17
Making a clawhammer banjo pick - 10/22/17
Another way to play jigs - 10/15/17
Playing Jigs on Clawhammer banjo - 10/10/17
An ear worm from Clifftop played in 2 different tunings - 10/1/17
Track 11 - Pig Roast with Cory - 9/26/17
A tasteful use of double stops on the banjo - 9/17/17
The Sigogglin' Stringband plays a block party - 9/10/17
Playing a wedding (and a Clifftop vid!) - 9/3/17
Playing G Minor tunes in Old G - 8/27/17
Non Old Timey Clawhammer - 8/20/17
REALLY old time (and back from Clifftop!) - 8/13/17
Traveling to Clifftop - 7/30/17
On clucking - 7/23/17
Taking a week off for moving - 7/16/17
Track 2 - Sisyphus' Hill - 7/9/17
I learned this tune from Brian Slattery - 7/2/17
A banjo-heavy weekend in IN - 6/25/17
Track 3 - South Kensington Shuffle - 6/17/17
A banjo-heavy weekend in VA - 6/10/17
Another break from recording (but a new banjo on the way!) - 6/4/17
Track 5 - How's Your Courage? - 5/28/17
Break from Recording (and a couple cool resources) - 5/21/17
Track 8 - Hobart's Breakdown - 5/14/17
Track 9 - In a Jiffy - 5/7/17
Track 7 - Shine - 4/29/17
Track 4 - This way - 4/22/17
Track 10 - Stripey Cat - 4/16/17
Recording an Album (1 track at a time...) - 4/9/17
Sticking Blue Notes into Fiddle Tunes - 4/2/17
Thoughts on playing fretless banjos - 3/26/17
The Big Brush (a right hand technique for Clawhammer) - 3/18/17
5 things you can do with a 6-string banjo - 3/11/17
Introducing the cello banjitar - 3/5/17
Adding a 6th string to El Hefe (part 3) - 2/25/17
Adding a 6th string to El Hefe (part 2) - 2/18/17
Adding a 6th string to El Hefe (part 1) - 2/11/17
Adding a second tone ring to the Buckeye - 2/4/17
Playing in the low octave (part 2) - 1/29/17
Playing in the Low Octave - 1/22/16
Pig Roast with Cory (new fiddle tune) - 1/14/16
Clawhammer Waltzes part 3 (ft. Swannanoah Waltz) - 1/8/17
Clawhammer Waltzes part 2 - 12/30/16
Got a new Bacon....mandolin - 12/21/16
Playing with an Old Time fiddler (...named Adam Hurt) - 12/17/16
Playing Waltzes on Clawhammer banjo - 12/11/16
Banjohangout Christmas Tune Contest - 12/4/16
Breaking Stride Part 2 (and “Round the Horn”) - 11/24/16
Right hand stride (and when to break it) - 11/20/16
Old-Time Baritone Uke - 11/13/16
2 festival versions of “Yew Piney Mountain” - 11/5/16
Extreme ghost-noting in “Yew Piney Mountain” - 10/29/16
The story of El Hefe - 10/23/16
What its like to play a square dance (with stats....) - 10/16/16
27 variations of the walk-up in “Spotted Pony” - 10/8/16
10 great Old Time Albums from the past 10 years - 9/29/16
New Old Time tunes (and a few of my own originals) - 9/24/16
Finding the right head tension for a 12” banjo - 9/18/16
Harmonizing Minor Pentatonic Tunes in Old Time Music - 9/11/16
Minor pentatonic scales in Old Time Music - 9/4/16
The story of my Buckeye (and old time in Montreal) - 8/27/16
A little bit more on chord substitutions in “Cold Frosty Morning” (and Clifftop) - 8/21/16
Incorporating chord substitutions into your playing - 8/14/16
Return from Clifftop and NPR Cameo - 8/7/16
Little Whiskey (and Clifftop!) - 7/30/16
Temperance Reel (in Old G) – audio and Tab - 7/23/16
Why I play (almost) all of my G tunes in Old G (gDGDE) - 7/17/16
Coleman’s March through the modes... - 7/10/16
Diatonic Modes and Old time music - 7/3/16
Left hand positions: essential to my playing (and maybe helpful for yours!) - 6/26/16
Review in the Old Time Herald - 2/17/20 (NEW!)
Liner notes for "Stripey Cat" (my new album) - 2/5/19
On Blogging (and I recorded an album!) - 1/21/18
Track 12 - Skipping Stones - 11/21/17
I broke my microphone... - 11/14/17
Track 6 - Catawba - 11/6/17
What it's like to play a Farmer's Market - 10/30/17
Making a clawhammer banjo pick - 10/22/17
Another way to play jigs - 10/15/17
Playing Jigs on Clawhammer banjo - 10/10/17
An ear worm from Clifftop played in 2 different tunings - 10/1/17
Track 11 - Pig Roast with Cory - 9/26/17
A tasteful use of double stops on the banjo - 9/17/17
The Sigogglin' Stringband plays a block party - 9/10/17
Playing a wedding (and a Clifftop vid!) - 9/3/17
Playing G Minor tunes in Old G - 8/27/17
Non Old Timey Clawhammer - 8/20/17
REALLY old time (and back from Clifftop!) - 8/13/17
Traveling to Clifftop - 7/30/17
On clucking - 7/23/17
Taking a week off for moving - 7/16/17
Track 2 - Sisyphus' Hill - 7/9/17
I learned this tune from Brian Slattery - 7/2/17
A banjo-heavy weekend in IN - 6/25/17
Track 3 - South Kensington Shuffle - 6/17/17
A banjo-heavy weekend in VA - 6/10/17
Another break from recording (but a new banjo on the way!) - 6/4/17
Track 5 - How's Your Courage? - 5/28/17
Break from Recording (and a couple cool resources) - 5/21/17
Track 8 - Hobart's Breakdown - 5/14/17
Track 9 - In a Jiffy - 5/7/17
Track 7 - Shine - 4/29/17
Track 4 - This way - 4/22/17
Track 10 - Stripey Cat - 4/16/17
Recording an Album (1 track at a time...) - 4/9/17
Sticking Blue Notes into Fiddle Tunes - 4/2/17
Thoughts on playing fretless banjos - 3/26/17
The Big Brush (a right hand technique for Clawhammer) - 3/18/17
5 things you can do with a 6-string banjo - 3/11/17
Introducing the cello banjitar - 3/5/17
Adding a 6th string to El Hefe (part 3) - 2/25/17
Adding a 6th string to El Hefe (part 2) - 2/18/17
Adding a 6th string to El Hefe (part 1) - 2/11/17
Adding a second tone ring to the Buckeye - 2/4/17
Playing in the low octave (part 2) - 1/29/17
Playing in the Low Octave - 1/22/16
Pig Roast with Cory (new fiddle tune) - 1/14/16
Clawhammer Waltzes part 3 (ft. Swannanoah Waltz) - 1/8/17
Clawhammer Waltzes part 2 - 12/30/16
Got a new Bacon....mandolin - 12/21/16
Playing with an Old Time fiddler (...named Adam Hurt) - 12/17/16
Playing Waltzes on Clawhammer banjo - 12/11/16
Banjohangout Christmas Tune Contest - 12/4/16
Breaking Stride Part 2 (and “Round the Horn”) - 11/24/16
Right hand stride (and when to break it) - 11/20/16
Old-Time Baritone Uke - 11/13/16
2 festival versions of “Yew Piney Mountain” - 11/5/16
Extreme ghost-noting in “Yew Piney Mountain” - 10/29/16
The story of El Hefe - 10/23/16
What its like to play a square dance (with stats....) - 10/16/16
27 variations of the walk-up in “Spotted Pony” - 10/8/16
10 great Old Time Albums from the past 10 years - 9/29/16
New Old Time tunes (and a few of my own originals) - 9/24/16
Finding the right head tension for a 12” banjo - 9/18/16
Harmonizing Minor Pentatonic Tunes in Old Time Music - 9/11/16
Minor pentatonic scales in Old Time Music - 9/4/16
The story of my Buckeye (and old time in Montreal) - 8/27/16
A little bit more on chord substitutions in “Cold Frosty Morning” (and Clifftop) - 8/21/16
Incorporating chord substitutions into your playing - 8/14/16
Return from Clifftop and NPR Cameo - 8/7/16
Little Whiskey (and Clifftop!) - 7/30/16
Temperance Reel (in Old G) – audio and Tab - 7/23/16
Why I play (almost) all of my G tunes in Old G (gDGDE) - 7/17/16
Coleman’s March through the modes... - 7/10/16
Diatonic Modes and Old time music - 7/3/16
Left hand positions: essential to my playing (and maybe helpful for yours!) - 6/26/16