Navy Band alum

[LineInTheSand]

As I've alluded to here, in the last year, I started playing the five-string banjo last year, February 2014. I dove straight in, started listening to bluegrass and consumed any good banjo music I could find. I've been taking lessons once a week since February, and I even went to a big bluegrass festival in upstate New York last summer.

In that time I discovered a bluegrass band that I just love, "Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen." Frank played in the U.S. Navy Band's "Country Current." Frank is NASTY on the mandolin (usually you'll see him playing it), but also plays a bit of guitar, banjo and fiddle. Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen's banjo player, Mike Munford, is unreal. He's amazing. I think he's one of the best banjo players alive today.

If you haven't heard of them, give them a listen.

Here's a slower one with singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeL7bOuJ8DM

And here's a good driving one... from WAMU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNYQXQGglsA

 

[AF6872]

They sound great and I have always enjoyed the banjo. Can they play Deliverence against a gitar?

 

[LineInTheSand]

Can they play Dueling Banjos? Yes. Mike Munford can play anything.

I have a book called "Masters of the 5-String Banjo" which I'm sending to each of the living masters to have them sign their pages. One of the guys who is in the book (but not one of the main featured masters) is Eric Weissberg. Weissberg is the banjo part you hear in Deliverance. He already signed his photo in my book.

In reality, the guitar is just trying to keep up with the banjo in Dueling Banjos.