The Picky Fingers Banjo Podcast
The world's top podcast for banjo players, fans, and enthusiasts! Hosted by Keith Billik; listen to interviews with professional players, playing tips, and equipment discussions. Contact the show at pickyfingersbanjopodcast@gmail.com
Episodes
Colton Crawford is the rare quadruple threat of 5-string banjo players: He plays banjo in the 2-finger, 3-finger, clawhammer, and flatpicked styles! He is best known for being an original member, performing, and recording as banjoist with The Dead South, a highly acclaimed band with whom Colton has toured the world. Although Colton's playing is rooted in traditional methods, his style is truly one-of-...
Cynthia is a modern virtuoso of the 4-string plectrum banjo! She is celebrated not only for her talents in the traditional jazz/plectrum repertoire, but also for her original pieces and creative interpretations of different musical genres from around the world. Her accolades include the 2023 Steve Martin Banjo Prize and an inductee into the American Banjo Hall Of Fame, the first banjoist to win the 20...
It's a Freshly Picked episode! This time, we're taking an in-depth look and listen to "Daggomit!" - the new solo project by banjoist Max Wareham. Max is best known as the longtime banjoist for bluegrass legend Peter Rowan, and as the author of the definitive book on Rudy Lyle.
In addition to his sweet banjo skills, "Daggomit!" also showcases Max's arranging, singing, and songwriting. The album also fe...
Marc Horowitz (aka the "Banjo Whisperer") is a fantastic player in both 3-finger and clawhammer styles: he came up in the '60's folk scene in NYC, and became an in-demand sideman and session player, playing on commercials, movie soundtracks, and folk and pop music records, and many more. He's a teacher, and lists a guy named Bela Fleck among his former students. He's a setup technician, personally en...
This is a re-mix of an interview from 2018 that was originally released as a 2-part episode. Ryan Cavanaugh is best known for his innovative approach to playing jazz on the 5-string banjo, his tenure with legendary saxophonist Bill Evans’s band Soulgrass, and his genre-defying solo recordings. Through his mastery and creativity, he has truly pushed the boundaries of what is possible on the instrument....
Graham Sharp is a prolific, award-winning banjo player, singer, and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the Steep Canyon Rangers, as well as several of his own solo records. One constant of the Rangers' sound through the years is the presence of Graham's expert banjo picking, whether that means hot licks on a fast bluegrass tune, tasteful support of a down-tempo song, or even navigating dou...
It's a Re-mixed episode! The new-and-improved version of this classic interview with the great Mike Munford. Mike is best known for his recordings and performances with Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, as a banjo setup guru, and an afficionado of prewar Gibson flathead banjos. His thrilling style of playing earned him the 2013 IBMA Banjo Player of the year award.
Sponsored by Peghead Nation, Elderly Ins...
Bob Carlin is among the world's top innovators and prolific performers of clawhammer banjo, and is best known for his solo recordings, collaborations with artists such as Bruce Molsky, Cheick Hamala Diabate, John Hartford, Erynn Marshall, and as a longtime member of the legendary Hartford String Band. He also enriches the banjo world through his substantial work as an author, folklorist, and instructo...
This episode features Tim Ellis, a wonderful bluegrass banjoist best known for his years performing & recording with Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys. He has also worked as a sideman for various other professional groups and recording sessions, and released an album under his own name titled "Banjo Serenade."
Sponsored by Elderly Instruments, Peghead Nation, Bluegrass Country Radio, and Sullivan Ba...
Today we have a follow-up episode to #152, which featured the engineers behind the innovative ToneDexter product, by Audio Sprockets. In this one, host Keith Billik demonstrates what ToneDexter can do, by programming wavemaps using every combination of 3 different banjo pickups (by K&K, Schatten, and EMG) and 5 different microphones (by Rode, Behringer, Shure, Audio Technica, and Mesanovic).
This Bonus episode is a recording of a "Fireside Chat" session from the 2024 Great Lakes Music Camp, featuring legendary banjoist (and Bluegrass Boy) Bob Black! Bob shares his stories and experiences of his time playing and working for Bill Monroe in the mid-1970's.
Contact the show:
pickyfingersbanjopodcast@gmail.com
Bob Black on the web:
This episode will tell you everything you want to know about ToneDexter, an innovative product from Audio Sprockets for live acoustic musicians that gives you the tone of a microphone, with the simplicity of using a pickup! Here to discuss that, as well as ToneDexter's many other features, are James May and Josh Bennett, the engineers and developers behind the product.
Stay tuned for part 2 of the Ton...
Bob Black is a legendary bluegrass banjoist, best known for performing & recording with Bill Monroe, Kenny Baker, William Lawson, his current band Banjoy, and many others! He is a true master of the traditional bluegrass style, and was an innovator of the melodic style of playing fiddle tunes on banjo. He is also an author, and has written several books about his time as a Bluegrass Boy, a biography o...
Brad Campbell began playing professionally when he was just a teenager, and went on to tour, record, and perform with bands such as Gary Adams & the Bluegrass Gentlemen, Wendy Smith & Blue Velvet, and finally landed his dream gig playing with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Brad is the very definition of hard-driving bluegrass banjo with huge tone and impeccable timing!
Sponsored by Elderly Instruments,...
This episode is a new-and-improved remix of Episode #26 from May of 2019, featuring banjo phenom Jens Kruger. Jens is the longtime banjoist and composer with acclaimed bluegrass group The Kruger Brothers, and has inspired a generation of musicians with his dazzling, inventive, and soulful playing. He is also an innovator in banjo design, and works in that capacity for Deering Banjos.
Sponsored by Pegh...
Johnny Baier is one of the world's foremost performers, entertainers, and educators of the 4-string tenor and plectrum banjos. A true virtuoso and student of the traditions of the instrument, Johnny lays down some serious knowledge for any of you unfamiliar with the 4-string banjo world! He is also the director of the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City, a 2019 inductee into the American Banjo Muse...
Welcome back to Ned Luberecki, the star of Episode #13! Since our last interview, Ned has continued boldly taking the banjo to places no man has gone before! His primary performing gig is with the Becky Buller Band, which just released "Jubilee" which reached #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass charts! Ned is also a 2024 inductee into the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame! Whew!
Sponsored by Elderly Instru...
Rachael Davis is an incredible singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist - including some mad clawhammer banjo skills! She is currently Nashville-based and has toured far and wide, but she was raised in Michigan, where she became and remains a folk music legend! She is best known for performing & recording her original solo material, with Shout Sister Shout! (swing & jazz with members...
Randy Barrett is a great banjoist in both 3-finger & clawhammer styles, a singer, songwriter, educator, and author. He is best known for his three solo recordings, and his performances with Big Howdy, a Washington, D.C.-based bluegrass band, and as President of Bluegrass Country Radio. His recent book "On Banjo" was a collaboration with, and an examination of the banjo style of, the late great Ben Eld...
In this demonstration episode, Keith runs down the list of all the major effects food groups and gives a live demonstration of what they all sound like with acoustic banjo!
03:01 - Intro, overview of episode
15:15 - Dry Banjo Sound (EMG ACB Barrel pickup through Grace Design Felix Preamp)
16:38 - Octave effect (TC Electronics Sub n Up)
21:19 - Envelo...
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