The Five-String Banjo
Projects, Events and Performances | Used Banjo Stuff For Sale | Banjo blog
You probably don't play 5-string banjo, but I do.
I have moved some of my banjo stuff from here to the five-string banjo section of my blog. That is where I keep a running account of my playing and events, at least that was the idea.
I would very much like to meet and play with other bluegrass fans in and around Tuebingen. If you play guitar, dobro, bass, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, etc., please get in touch with me! Deutsch ist auch kein Problem.
Ich wäre ganz besonders daran interessiert, in eine bestehende Band mit Schwerpunkt Bluegrass einzusteigen!
My main instrument is a 1995 Deering John Hartford model that I bought in July of 2002 from Wim van der Weg. Drop him a line if you are looking for a good buy on a used instrument here in Europe. The photo above on this page shows this banjo.
I also tinker around a bit on a fretless Appalachian banjo I got in July of 2009, made completely by hand by Richard K. Smith of Comer, Georgia according to the design published in the Foxfire books. I gab about it a bit here
Projects, Events and Performances
- HORSE MOUNTAIN: Over the summer of 2011, I have played four gigs with Horse Mountain, a bluegrass/roots/country duo/trio based in nearby Kusterdingen including one set with them in Bebenhausen at the annual reception of the German-American Institute (30 June 2011), and another set at a matinee performance at the Vorstadttheater (3 July 2011) here in Tübingen. See the whole group here. Here's me with them at the Lorettofest on 10 September 2011 doing Pike County Breakdown, Wabash Cannonball, and Old Home Place.
- BLUEGRASS SESSION IN PLOCHINGEN: On the first Friday of every month there is an open session for bluegrass in Plochingen. I started going this February of 2011 and now go as often as I can. If you are interested, just contact me and I'll get you on the invitation list. It's for anyone who wants to show up. Sometimes it is postponed a week, however, so I'm not posting the address here. I'm making you get in touch in advance so you don't show up to a non-event.
- NECKAR RIVER CRAWDADS: That is the working name of a project that hopes to turn into a performing local band for various kinds of folk music. It evolved via various stages from a loose meeting of local musicians, formed originally as the parents of kids at the same kindergarden. We named ourselves informally Saibenband. Later, we tried a play on words, SweepWeek and performed a few songs at a few local events. We have lost and won some members and are now focusing a bit more than before on bluegrass, but we are having a difficult time finding musicians with any experience in the genre or willing and able to commit the time necessary to build a repertoire.
- BANJOREE: In May of 2007 I attended the second Banjoree, a meeting of banjo players in Hagen, Germany. Check out the pictures here. Check out the pictures of the 2005 event here
- EISENBAHN UND LIEBE: On July 22nd, 2005, I performed several songs at a literature reading in Vaihingen/Enz. The writers Johannes Beilharz and Ulrike Dietmann read short stories based on their experiences in America and I played railroad, gospel and other bluegrass and old-time style tunes on my banjo. The reading was sponsored by ligatur e.V. and moderated by Oliver Gassner. The event was announced at www.qshots.de and covered in an article in the 26 July issue of the Vaihinger Kreiszeitung.
For Sale
I also have the following items on sale. If interested, just drop me an e-mail:
- An Emerson Power bridge. This is a very thin bridge, made to increase volume and improve the the higher tones of the banjo. The one I have here is the old kind and NOT the new "sweet" kind. Make me an offer or trade another bridge for it.
- I have several sets of D'Addorio J61, nickel-wound, medium gauge strings (.010, .012, .016, 0.23w, .010). Banjo strings typically sell for over six Euros per set here in Germany. I'll sell these for four Euros each and pay the postage myself.
