Banjos
I began playing banjo in 1973 after hearing "Dueling Banjos" on the radio. I was a die-hard scrugg (a disciple of the great Earl Scruggs) until tendonitis curtailed my three-finger-picking days. Not wanting to give up entirely, I looked into playing clawhammer-style and ultimately fell in love with the Round Peak style. Brad Leftwich's great instruction book was a turning point in my musical life.
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I also have always had a bad case of instrument acquisition disorder. I believe a person can never have enough banjos, guitars, etc. So, since I am not independently wealthy, I began building my own. You can use the submenus above under Banjo to see a gallery of gourd banjos I have made along with a few clawhammer styles, both fretted and fretless. You can also see a complete tutorial on building a gourd banjo here:
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Below is a picture of me and my daughter, Summer, after I won second place in the Advanced Old Time Banjo category at the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest in 2002.
