The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Look, I'm well aware that I haven't been posting much. I feel like I've been stuck in a rut ... a month's long rut. Awhile back I saw a link to a banjo podcast with an interview with Cleveland-base banjo player Mark Olitsky , and I finally got around to listening to it today. And now, I want to make sure you all have a chance to hear it. The interview was posted in September 2024, so this isn't exactly breaking news. But with all the news that's been breaking lately, I think some old news would do us some good.  I've recommended the podcast Get Up in the Cool before. Host Cameron DeWitt always seems to find some great guests to interview. And last September, he interviewed Olitsky on the subject of "Changing as a Musician."  If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you would know of my appreciation for Olitsky's banjo prowess. I did my own interview with the man I called "The Banjo Wizard of Cleveland" back in 2011. It r...

The short version of the story is you have until Feb. 28 to purchase a $20 raffle ticket for a chance to win a Pisgah Banjo. Buy tickets at the Pisgah Banjos website .  That's the banjo-----------------> Here are the Banjo specs: Scale: 25.5 inches Rim: 12-inch walnut, wooden tone ring and heart pine rim cap Neck: Heart Pine Fingerboard: Persimmon Peghead: Slotted, persimmon veneer Head: John Balch goatskin Tailpiece: Pisgah Hawktail Bridge: Walnut/persimmon Mulheron Hardware: Aged brass Tuners: High-quality brass Gotoh Strings: PBCO clawhammer medium gauge The longer version of the story is that  Pisgah Banjos is raffling off what company founder Patrick Sawyer calls a "very unique and historically significant custom banjo." Raffle tickets are $20 each and all proceeds will benefit the Arnold Shultz Fund . The IBMA Foundation established the Arnold Shultz Fund in 2020 to support activities increasing participation of people of color in bluegrass music. Arnold Shultz ...

This has been a low production year. I can't see myself putting together a post that will top any of the posts that have already been published here in 2020. I'm always thankful for those of you who continue to visit this site and read my ramblings about banjo, fiddle and my adventures in old-time music.  I'm all ready to reflect on what can be reflected upon and move on to 2021. The following are the top viewed posts of 2020.  Sustainable Banjos: An Interview with Pisgah Banjos Founder Patrick Sawyer By far the most popular post this year, this interview was published the week after I started working from home for what I thought would be a short-term period. I think Pisgah Banjos is making some of the best banjos available today. Patrick was a very interesting interview, and here's a belated congratulations, as he and his wife welcomed their son in August.  5 Years, 5 Questions: Talking to Laura Lewis About the Lake Erie Folk Festival Here we have an interview and prev...

Over the last eight years, Pisgah Banjo Co. has become one of the top builders of openback banjos in the United States. Founder Patrick Sawyer (formerly Heavner 1 ) started the company in 2012 with the goal of providing affordable, quality banjos with the old-time community in mind. The company’s stated mission on its website is “to create affordable, professional quality, handcrafted banjos using 100 percent native Appalachian hardwoods.” Aside from more common woods like maple, walnut and cherry, Pisgah also uses persimmon in its instruments. You won’t find ebony on the company’s fingerboards and headstock overlays. Instead persimmon and Richlite are used. Richlite is an eco-friendly paper-based composite material that has the look of ebony or rosewood and is far more sustainable. Sustainability is at the heart of Sawyer’s business plan. In addition to using local materials, the Pisgah Banjo workshop is entirely solar-powered. Sawyer studied renewable energy in college, and...