The Glory-Beaming Banjo

Last year, I wrote about a final project of Mike Seeger that Smithsonian Folkways was preparing for release this year. In that post , I reported that Just Around The Bend: Survival and Revival in Southern Banjo Styles. Mike Seeger’s Final Documentary  was to be released this spring. However, with the vernal season nearly over and no such release in sight, I decided to follow up with my contact, Mary Monseur, production manager at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. In an April 24 email, Monseur reported that she had been working on the Mike Seeger project that day. "I just sent corrections to the printer and the DVD is about to be authored," she wrote. "Because it’s an oversized, special package, it’s printing in China which takes longer than printing in the U.S. But the good news is … it’s coming." Monseur added that she would have more solid information in a month and suggested I follow up then. I followed up a month later, on May 31, and Monseur wrote: "...

I have good news for those of you who didn't get a copy of Dance All Night — The Highwoods Stringband Story . The new documentary on the band is available again for a limited time. As I mentioned in my recent review , the DVD sold out quickly, and there were some challenges to producing additional copies. However, it looks like those challenges were overcome. Here's a message I got from Walt Koken this morning: Folks, Due to popular demand, we have re-negotiated to produce another run of the Highwoods documentary in time for the holiday season. A great gift idea, we have set it up to go out via first class mail, as the media mail option was extremely slow. We've had a lot of positive comments and excitement about this production. Larry has done a wonderful job of capturing the flavor of the times, over forty years ago, when Highwoods was barnstorming three continents. Approximately 80 minutes long. Visit the Mudthumper Music website for more details about orderi...

The Highwoods Stringband have been revived in a brilliant new documentary film produced by Larry Edelman. Featuring narration from Paul Brown, extensive interviews and plenty of archival footage of the Highwoods in action, Dance All Night — The Highwoods Stringband Story gives a straightforward account of the band's history and their influence on the old-time scene then and now. In addition to interviews with bandmembers Walt Koken, Bob Potts, Mac Benford, Jenny Cleland and Doug Dorchug, the film includes commentary from a number of other notable musicians, such as John Cohen, Richie Stearns, Sammy Lind and others. The film chronicles how the Highwoods got together, their extensive festival performances, their discography and diverts into amusing tales from the road, such as the time one member hitched a ride with the New Jersey State Highway Police after being left behind at a rest stop. Produced by Piggysnout Productions and Mudthumper Music , the idea for the documentary ...

Mike Seeger’s legacy in the banjo community is already secured. The late founding member of the influential New Lost City Ramblers was a tireless promoter of the five-string. Through his music, instructional videos and field recording projects, the banjo’s place in American folk music is secure. However, there is one project that remains unreleased. For now. Earlier this month, Tennessee-based banjo player Clifton Hicks pleaded that Banjo Hangout forum members and his YouTube followers write to Smithsonian Folkways to inquire about Mike Seeger’s final project for Smithsonian Folkways. As Hicks believed, the project was to be released as a documentary and music album.  “When he [Seeger] died, he left behind him an unfinished, masterpiece, maybe?” Hicks says in his YouTube video. “Unfinished piece of work, a film called, well, the working title was Mike Seeger’s Banjo Tales or Banjo Tales with Mike Seeger .” Hicks says he was recorded as part of the film in 2008, alo...

Remember back a year and a half ago when we talked about an upcoming documentary about the Highwoods String Band? At the time, the film was slated to be released in the spring of 2013. However, here we are in the summer of 2014 and still no movie. This is not to disparage the filmmakers in any way. As a reminder, "Touched With Fire: The Highwoods String Band Story" is being produced by Horse Archer Productions , a two-person, self-funded company that relies on fundraising to complete its projects. This will be the third film by the company that focuses on old-time music, joining "Why Old Time?" and "The Henry Reed Legacy," which are still available for $20 each. As one of the people who pre-ordered the Highwoods documentary, I was curious what was going on with the project. And having possibly led some of you to invest in the film, it seemed like my duty to provide an update. According to the company's website whyoldtime.com , the company was t...

L ike a brush fire spreading across a mountainside, the Highwoods String Band stoked a burning enthusiasm for old-time music and sparked legions of new converts to the sound of fiddle, banjo, guitar and bass. The band, which featured fiddlers Walt Koken and Bob Potts, banjoist Mac Benford, guitarist Doug Dorschug and bassist Jennifer Cleland, first played together in 1972 at the Old-Time Fiddler's Convention in Union Grove, N.C. The Highwoods recorded three LPs with Rounder Records ("Fire on the Mountain," "Dance All Night" and "No. 3 Special") before breaking up by the end of the decade. Although their tenure may have been short, there influence continues today. Horse Archer Productions , which has produced two previous films related to old-time music, is developing a documentary on the Highwoods, titled "Touched With Fire: the Highwoods String Band Story," which is slated for release this spring. These films are self-funded projects t...

Greetings Banjo Newsletter readers! Check out some excerpts from my interview with Riley Baugus that didn't make it into the article in the April issue of BNL. * * *  If you're reading this site, chances are you're already obsessed with the banjo. In commiseration with our affliction, our good friend Craig "Frailin" Evans wrote a piece for the Huffington Post, appropriately titled "Obsessed: The Banjo." Evans is busy wrapping up the second volume of his banjo builder documentary, which we wrote about back in June 2011. Since then, he has finished the first volume, Banjo Builders East of the Mississippi, which is now available from the project website, Conversations with North American Banjo Builders , as well as through the Banjo Hangout . You can also watch each 20-minute episode online on a pay-per-view basis. Soon, both volumes will be available through Smithsonian Folkways . The second volume will feature Banjo Builders West of the Mississipp...

Give Me the Banjo , an 82-minute TV documentary resulting from The Banjo Project , will air at 9 p.m. eastern, Friday, Nov. 4 on PBS. The program is narrated by Steve Martin and features a musical score by three-finger player Tony Trischka. Culling its name from the very same Mark Twain passage that this blog takes its title,  Give Me the Banjo  details the history of America's quintessential musical instrument. The film includes commentary from such banjo luminaries as Pete Seeger, Earl Scruggs, Mike Seeger, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Ralph Stanley, Abigail Washburn, and many more. Check out the trailer: The Banjo Project is producing a DVD that will include many scenes that were omitted from the PBS program. These extra scenes are also available at the project's website. Glory-Beaming Banjo will have its DVR set to record and report back with a review.  Square Dance Tonight in Euclid, Ohio In other news, Mark Olitsky will be playing for a square d...