www.alanfriendmusic.com
Playing Since: 1970
Experience Level: Expert/Professional

Interests:
[Teaching] [Jamming] [Socializing] [Helping]

Gender: Male
Age: 85

My Instruments:
Open-back Mike Ramsey model built at a workshop, Open-back Baldwin with Ode pot. I play clawhammer and old-time finger-picking styles

Favorite Bands/Musicians:
Too many to list

Classified Rating: not rated
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Profile Info:
Visible to: Public
Created 5/30/2007
Last Visit 3/22/2016

ALAN FRIEND has been playing banjo, guitar and concertina, and singing traditional songs from America and the British Isles for many years. He is a member of the New York City-based old-time band "The Chelsea String Band" and the contra dance band "The Contrapolitans." He was a founding member of the former old-time band “Steal the Donut” and the traditional singing group "Buttermilk Channel." Alan has performed in concert solo and with numerous bands and singing groups at festivals such as the New Jersey Folk Festival, West Virginia’s Pipestem Festival, the Park Slope Old-Time/ Bluegrass Jamboree, the New England Folk Festival (NEFFA), the Northeast Music Art and Dance Festival (NOMAD), the Kings County Opry, the Brooklyn Folk Festival and the Eisteddfod-NY Festival of Traditional Music. He has also played at coffee houses and clubs from Montreal to Washington, D.C., on local radio stations and at numerous community events. Alan gives banjo, traditional ballad and old-time string band workshops as well. His recently released CD, “Had a Dog,” features songs and old-time tunes from the Southern Mountains, with guests on fiddle, guitar and harmony vocals. Alan is an Executive Board member and past President of the Folk Music Society of New York, Inc., also known as the New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club. Alan's feature article on old-time banjo master Paul Brown appeared in the June, 2006 issue of Banjo Newsletter and his article on old-time musician Pete Vigour in the April, 2008 issue and his article on the NYC Banjo Scene in the July, 2009 issue. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.