Banjo with Jeff E.

I've been in love with the five-string banjo since I first heard those hard driving soundsof "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" in the old Bonnie & Clyde movie. I knew I just had to "learn how to do that." It was my fervent passion to collect every Earl Scruggs record I could get my hands on, play it over and over, transcribe as much as I could hear, and spend days trying to soak up every note. This was before we had computer software to slow it all down, so you had to want it bad. Here I am nearly 50 years later, and in that time I've given lessons to hundreds of people in the Kansas City area. Dobro, mandolin, lapsteel and even a little guitar are things I do besides the banjo, though with that as my main instrument. I realize it's not everyone's goal to be a professional player- some want to just learn a few tunes for fun, others have the goal of equipping themselves with the tools needed to make music with others. Still others banjo as a second or third instrument to play in a band (or for fun, for that matter). Because of the many experiences and various situations I've encountered in my multi-year banjo journey, I feel I'm pretty well equipped to help you whatever your goals and expectations. Kansas City is a great town and a lot of different sorts of music is played here. I've played in a jazz oriented band with bluegrass instruments, a 30's era Hawaiian ensemble (dobro and steel guitar), a movie style cowboy band (steel guitar), and a 20's era jugband (banjo & dobro). I always come back to the five-string banjo, though. One of the things I've been enjoying lately is being a teacher of the Wernick method. This is a class that instructs people how do basic jamming (play along with others ) on their instruments. It's a great class and many get their first experience playing with others there. Thanks and sincerely hope to hear from you!