CLAWHAMMER BANJO
this sunday I’ll be DJing near Dublin, with Mouse on Mars, Neill Landstrumm, and others, at the Sliabh An Iarainn (SAI ) festival.
Kaboogiewoogie explains: “its situated in a beautiful part of the country on an obliging mentaloid farmers’s land. His name is Pious and is a bit of a legend in the area.” Bog alchemists welcome. DJ Q-Bert & a bunch of cool electronica acts saturday nite.
ok.
old. time. music. now!

While i listen to a some old old time music, i hadn’t paid much attention to new (or at least contemporary) old time music, and so when i heard the opening track of the Old Time Banjo Festival CD i thought, ungenerously, this is gonna be one of those comps with the best tune first. But then i listened to rest and its all as good, or better. ((if you like banjos))
I will give my Moroccan banjoist friends a copy of this. Who doesn’t like banjos? Even Clayton Bigsby likes banjos.
Out of all these players, Chris Coole lept out. witness his clawhammer style!!
clawhammer/frailing is the picking style which came, along with the banjo itself, from Africa. a bit more on that .
[Image: Black Banjo Songsters album art]
two short jams from the above album, Black Banjo Songsters .
that’s all the Appalachia for now – off to Ireland.



August 5, 2007
Nothing to do with banjo:
Just heard the Shadetek remix of the Sizzla track from your radio show last week. Hypnotizing.
Where oh where can I find it?
August 5, 2007
Hey now,
You are spreading the good word of the Banjo…
Theres a lot more out there – thicker, fatter & funky-er
But, the Afro/Appalachian “Black Banjo Songsters is the place to start…
I’d be glad to spread the Clawhammer grooves your way – cause your doing some fine work…
peace, Eph
August 5, 2007
I just read elsewhere about the Carolina Chocolate Drops -a young African-American old-timey string band but I have not heard them yet (or seen them, they’re doing some US East Coast shows this month)
August 7, 2007
ah the appalachian connection.. nice..
September 24, 2009
Chris Coole’s pretty good. He’s a friend of mine. Here’s a live set from last year:
http://scruss.com/music/chris_coole-the_local-20081207/