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The banjo was once a popular instrument in the Balkans, especially in the mountains of southern Bulgaria. In every peasant's home, the banjo occupied the place of honor above the hearth, and on each of the 364 saint's days, the village's best banjo player was adorned with sprigs of kularska (alpine mallow), supplied with a leather flask of slivovica (plum brandy), and hoisted to the top of the staro glevono (tall mast in the village square), from which he or she played the beloved Banyolsko Horo while the villagers spun in a frenzied dance below.
The banjo's tragic demise in the Most Regrettable Accordion Invasion of 1936 means that only in a scant number of remote mountain villages can one hear the once-treasured banjo melodies, sung in quavering voices by the few who are old enough to remember those golden days Before the Squeeze. It is to those faithful guardians of tradition that my work is dedicated.
In case you haven't noticed, you've just read a spoof. It's a joke. No es verdad. C'est une farce. Non è vero. Das ist nicht wahr. The images are Photoshopped.
Lessons, tunes, and tab
YouTube channel
Tune collection and blog
Biography
Chicago
1977: Banjo for Christmas! Banjo banjo banjo! Modal tunes rule.
1978: Bulgarian music! Bulgarian dance! Five nights a week! No time for banjo.
Madison, WI
1979-96: Balkan and more Balkan. Some Swedish, French, English. Dance and music camps. Gigs with things you blow in, things you hit. Also things you want to hit but shouldn't, such as the hurdy-gurdy. Lots of "Balkan lounge funk" percussion with the Reptile Palace Orchestra. Lots of hurdy-gurdy and winds with other groups and as a busker. Very little banjo.
The woods of Indiana
1997-2005: A place with no FrancoBulgarianSwedish musicians! But lots of old-time music. Hello, banjo. Remember me?
2006: I miss the hurdy-gurdy tunes. I miss the Balkan tunes. Must play them. Must play them on banjo! Banjo banjo banjo!
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