‘Banjo Recital’ by Emily Winfield Martin a. k. a. The Black Apple
(via belaqva)
‘Banjo Recital’ by Emily Winfield Martin a. k. a. The Black Apple
(via belaqva)

Don Stover, “Sourwood Mountain”, from the album West Virginia Coal Miner’s Blues (link for download in a previous post).
Don’s banjo playing sparkles and shines in a way that few are able to replicate, with a combination of tone, drive and attitude that make it special. Or, that is the theory I’m going with.
The Carolina Chocolate Drops have been playing this song in recent years and they do a great version of it as well.
OK, that isn’t how one should play banjo but I like this anyway. Saw this band many times in the 90s and they were always great.
The Coctails on MTV News in 1994. Amazing.
Don Stover
Out of print LP that can be downloaded here:
http://maskedcucumber.blogspot.com/2010/03/don-stover-1973-west-virginia-coal.html
Don Stover
An experiment, if you will - an instrumental banjo version of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Suicide Solution”, a song he wrote about Bon Scott from AC/DC. I can’t remember where I heard the line “banjos make poor electric guitars”. Its true.
With some work this could have been tighter but I wanted to see how it sounded at this point. The timing lags a bit and the transition to the bridge (at about 1:29) is kind of clunky. So be it. You won’t hear any wicked Randy Rhoads guitar licks played on banjo here, not even close.
If you’re not familiar with the original I would recommend this version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcIerloK3-U
Mandatory banjo viewing.
A banjo mash-up of The Carter Family/Judas Priest, “Wildwood Flower” and “The Hellion”, respectively. Timing is a bit sloppy but it was done in a single take.
Had not heard of these women but this is a catchy song. There’s a lot to like here, singing into an old phone hand set, banjo through a wha-wha pedal, nice harmonies, a giant golden egg on stage (?). The banjo is actually played more like a guitar, which can be annoying, but I’m liking the song so much I’m not going to let it bother me.
“Cat Caught A Toad”, a quick (read: sloppy) little Monday morning instrumental. No toads were harmed in the recording of this tune.