Deering Live

We’re back with Deering Live featuring the two leaders of the band Goodnight, Texas, Avi Vinocur and Patrick Dyer Wolf. Goodnight, Texas is an American folk rock band named after the town of Goodnight, Texas, the geographic midpoint between the working locations of songwriters Avi in San Francisco and Patrick in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band uses a number of acoustic instruments in their set, most importantly a Deering Sierra banjo. Tune in to learn about their story, songwriting techniques, how they utilize the banjo, and more.

We're excited to feature longtime Deering Banjo Artist, Tony Trischka back on Deering Live. In this episode we are going to go deep into the creation of his new album, "Earl Jam: A Tribute To Earl Scruggs".  Listen to Tony play some tunes from the record and talk about the story of how it came to be.Learn more about Tony's signature Deering Golden Clipper banjo that he is playing here: https://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/deering-tony-trischka-model-banjos/products/tony-trischka-golden-clipper-banjo

Banjo player, singer, songwriter, percussive dancer, choreographer, and square-dance caller, Oakland, CA-based Evie Ladin returns to Deering Live to share tips and techniques for jams that may or may not be specific to old-time string band music. https://evieladin.com

Self-proclaimed Irish Bluegrass quartet JigJam is back on Deering Live to talk about their new album. 'Across the Pond', the songwriting process, and the unique Irish/Bluegrass crossover. The band has also relocated to the US since their last appearance on the show, so we will find out all about it!

We are happy to welcome back Bennett Sullivan to Deering Live. Bennett is a fantastic bluegrass banjoist as well as great teacher. He is the founder of the online bluegrass banjo teaching side Daily Banjo Licks which delivers a new bluegrass banjo lick right to your inbox every day, with it broken down slowly and with tab in a video.On today’s episode, Bennett will show us some of these licks and more so grab your banjo and watch the show!https://banjolicks.com

Jayme Stone is a banjo player, composer, producer, and educator. On any given day, you might find him in his studio reworking a little-known hymn learned from a field recording, producing a session with musicians from Bamako or New York, creating experimental soundscapes.Stone has developed a process of trawling for understudied sounds in the more arcane corners of the world to see how they’ll land in his musical universe. His many collaborators have included Margaret Glaspy, Moira Smiley, Tim O’Brien, Bruce Molsky, Julian Lage, Dom Flemons, Bassekou Kouyate, and more. Guided by his own aesthetic compass and a desire to let his collaborators “make the sounds that only they know how to make”.Fellow musicians frequently seek Stone’s advice, keen to discover how he’s managed to craft a career that both hews closely to his creative vision and finds success in the world.

Deering Live is honored to host the Steve Martin Banjo Prize 2023!Jamie and David from Deering Live will be joined by special guest Alison Brown as we reveal the 2023 Steve Martin Banjo Prize winners.This episode of Deering Live is presented by the Freshgrass Foundation, The Steve Martin Charitable Foundation, and Compass Records. Special thanks to Tom Adler ( @BanjoChief ) for the use of the Boone Creek video, originally filmed and broadcast by Kentucky Education Televion (KET). Filmed in 1977 at Diner's Playhouse, Lexington, KY, Thank you, Tom! https://freshgrassfoundation.orghttps://compassrecords.comhttps://www.deeringbanjos.com/blogs/deering-live

Rex McGee is one of the most creative and technically able players of the 5-string banjo alive today, though his non-musical career as a pharmacist has kept him largely anonymous from a larger audience.Rex McGee is known by 3-finger style banjo players all over the world as a leading innovator for the instrument. He holds a high reputation amongst his musical peers and this extends to other instruments including fiddle and guitar. His performance skills are complimented by his creative composing and sought-after teaching skills.He has played a number of the most prestigious performing arts centers and festival stages in the country including Telluride and Merlefest, and festivals in Canada and Ireland.There is a cult following for his 2001 record “24 Creations For Solo Banjo”. An incredible piece of work that is a must-listen for any fan of modern acoustic instrumental music and showcases what a solo 5-string banjo can really do.Rex was a mentor for 3-finger banjo wiz Ryan Cavanaugh. Ryan says ”I wouldn’t be the player I am today if it weren’t for him.”

This week we will be talking all things New Orleans tenor banjo with our very own Director of Marketing, David Bandrowski. We will talk about his beginnings as a tenor player in New Orleans, the role of the instrument in jazz, as well as other genres. We will even dig into a few fundamental lessons on the instrument.David also has a phenomenal album out called French Onion Superman which is well worth checking out if you want to hear New Orleans jazz banjo in action.So if you are interested in New Orleans Tenor Banjo and don’t know where to start…start here!Head over to davidbrandrowski.com to learn more.

Skip, Stop, and Alternate - An Introduction to Alternate Rhythms and Rests for the Clawhammerist With Chris CooleIn this week’s show we’ll be talking with Chris Coole about some clawhammer banjo techniques to bring your playing to another level.  These techniques will help you create and play different rhythms other than the standard bump-ditty rhythm. We’ll also be talking about the new recording that is coming out from his band the Lonesome Ace Stringband. Be sure to tune in!

This week on Deering Live we're really happy to feature Chris Pandolfi. Chris is a founding member of the Infamous Stringdusters, a group that has been bringing music that features bluegrass music instrumentation to audiences far beyond the confines of traditional bluegrass, and who won the Grammy award in 2018 for Bluegrass Album Of The Year. As well as playing in the Stringdusters, Chris is busy with his solo musical projects, producing other bands, and hosts a fantastic podcast "Inside The Musician's Brain" (of which Deering is a proud sponsor). Chris has also written extensively on the state of bluegrass and in 2011 he delivered a keynote speech at the IBMA World Of Bluegrass. Chris is also a proud endorsing artist of our ProPik Heritage picks!

This week we are excited to feature award winning banjoist and Compass Records founder Alison Brown on Deering Live. In this episode Alison will demonstrate different ways to play blues tunes on the banjo with different soloing and comping ideas. We’ll also be talking about Alison’s new record that came out this past May called “On Banjo” and more! Be sure to tune in!

Ashley Campbell and Thor Jensen form a unique meeting of musical genres as the duo Campbell/Jensen. This week, they join us to talk about their new self-produced album, the joys of making stripped-back music together, and how their musical differences intertwine to create a beautiful sound.Campbell/Jensen is currently fundraising for the costs of producing the album via IndieGoGo. If you like what you hear, please consider helping them out!