Posted by banjoboba on Sunday, June 3, 2007
Hi Everyone,
Another year has come and gone for Banjo Camp North in Massachusetts. As usual, it was great.
I saw many old friends from previous years and some new faces too. I had a wonderful time teaching the beginner track plus other classes, and playing at the pre-camp and the in-camp concerts (with Phil Zimmerman, Dave Reiner and John Rossbach as my band).
I have two articles in the Mel Bay Banjo Sessions online magazine at www.banjosessions.com, in the April and June issues. The new issue (June) has the tab and MP3s for "Morocco Moonshine," the song I played at the in-house Banjo Camp Concert. I'm really excited about having the articles published, and will have more published in the future.
Anyway, thanks to all the banjo players that made banjo camp such a blast. See you next May!
6 comments on “Banjo Camp North and Mel Bay Banjo Sessions”
TThorpe Says:
Sunday, June 3, 2007 @6:16:10 PM
Bob,
Sorry I haven't made it to Banjo Camp yet; maybe I'll make it when I'm "really" retired! What a thrill it must be teaching and picking with the great banjo players that attend that event. Morocco Moonshine is a great tune; it sounded terrific last night with the band. How in the world do you ever come up with the titles of these tunes? I know Trishka was at the Camp - did he mention anything about his new CD project or duets he's been performing lately? Maybe he can do one with you. Looking forward to reading more blog entries from you in the future...
banjoboba Says:
Sunday, June 3, 2007 @6:35:48 PM
Hi Tom,
You played some fine Dobro when you sat in with us last night.
It really is a thrill to teach with and hang out with the banjo "big boys" at banjo camp.
Tony Trischka told me at camp how they went to Steve Martin's house in Beverly Hills. He said it was a regular nice type house (but probably is worth more than a block of houses here because of the location), and not a palatial mansion, and that Steve Martin is just a very nice guy. He also talked about the Letterman and Ellen DeGeneres shows he did with Bela Fleck and Steve Martin.
I talked with Alan Munde about where he lives in Texas, and at breakfast Eric Weissberg told us his usual great stories of the road, touring with Bob Dylan and many other people, and his current studio work for a PBS show. They are all just great people and a pleasure to be around.
The name for Morocco Moonshine came from JoAnn Sifo in Dyer Switch. She said the song sounded like a line of people walking through the desert at night, and I thought that Morocco Moonshine summed that up.
TThorpe Says:
Sunday, June 3, 2007 @10:38:46 PM
It's really nice to learn firsthand the origin of a song's title. Now we all know "the rest of the story!" I love hearing the stories from the banjo greats. What amazing experiences they have all had. The road may be hard, but it creates fantastic opportunties for creativity and adventure.
I have a question about Alan Munde, who I think is a phenominal banjo player especially on fiddle-type tunes. Does he use a tone enhancer on his banjo or record with a phase-shifter like Trishka and Bella used to do? His banjo has a unique almost muffled sound to it that makes his playing very interesting.
Before I forget, I thought people might like to have a link to the tab for your "Morocco Moonshine" tune http://www.banjosessions.com/jun07/Altschuler.html
wayne biggers Says:
Thursday, June 7, 2007 @9:53:59 AM
Really liked your song "Morocco Moonshine" and was wondering if you could post this song played with a band. I think it would sound great and the members of banjo-hangout would probably all really enjoy it. Thanks again for a fun song.
banjoboba Says:
Thursday, June 7, 2007 @10:13:16 PM
Wayne,
Thanks so much for your comments about Morocco Moonshine- glad you liked it. I'll see about recording and posting the band playing it- we play it as part of our sets.
banjoboba Says:
Thursday, June 7, 2007 @10:34:53 PM
Tom (TThorpe),
I don't think Alan Munde uses a phase shifter or tone enhancer in his playing. He is about the best around on fiddle tunes, and he has many recordings of them out there.
Many years ago I used a flanger (sounds something like a phase shifter) for my banjo playing on certain songs in the first band I was in. It was an interseting sound. Pete Wernick used a phase shifter in his banjo playing a number of years ago.
Bob
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