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The 5th Annual California Banjo Extravaganza Mini-Camp
Saturday, November 12, 1-5:00pm $70.00 advance or drop in
Instruction in both bluegrass & three-finger progressive styles (Danny Barnes & Bill Evans) and old-time/clawhammer (Joe Newberry)! For all levels of bluegrass AND clawhammer banjo players, Barnes, Newberry and Evans will each teach two 75-minute small group sessions and then come together for a final session with all students. This is a hands-on, “bring your banjo and let’s pick” afternoon with topics designed for novice, intermediate and advanced banjo players. Experience this unique opportunity to learn up close from three of the best players and teachers in the world. Audio and/or videotaping is allowed. At the conclusion of the Mini-Camp, store your instrument safely at the Freight, grab dinner in downtown Berkeley and come back to enjoy the California Banjo Extravaganza in concert at 8 PM Click here for concert info
Session I: 1 - 2:15 PM Concepts for Singing with the Banjo with Danny Barnes (old-time & bluegrass, all levels). We’ll look at ideas for orchestrating a sound underneath a vocal line by working with the timbre and pitch range of the instrument in order to complement and provide contrast to the vocal part. It’s a bit of a trick but we have some great role models to learn from!
Putting Drive In Your Left Hand with Joe Newberry (old-time, all levels including novice). The left hand is the Houdini of the banjo, with slides, pull offs and hammer-ons making magic. This class will help beginning banjo players figure out what goes on behind the curtain.
Theory You Can Use with Bill Evans (old-time & bluegrass, all levels including novice). Understanding the relationship between the key of a song, the song’s chords and the scale used for its melody can not only help you learn a new chord progression more quickly but also give a huge boost as you create your own solo. This session will provide many practical tips that you’ll be able to put to use immediately in your next jam session. As a special bonus, we’ll also cover modal tunes!
Session II: 2:45 - 4:00 PM How The Chords Lay Out On The Banjo Neck with Danny Barnes (old-time & bluegrass, novice). There’s a cool way to visualize how the chord forms evolve up and down the neck. We will take a slow simple approach and by the end, we’ll have it all mapped out. The basic chord forms in each key will no longer be a mystery!
At The Corner of 2nd and 5th with Joe Newberry (old-time & bluegrass, intermediate to advanced). A lot of melodies can be found using only open notes, notes on the 2nd fret, and notes on the 5th string. This class will help you find those notes in familiar tunes, and will show you some techniques on picking up tunes in a jam session. Tunes covered include Angeline the Baker, Cripple Creek, Going Up to Hamburg, and more!
Exploring the Fingerboard in Melodic & Single-String Styles with Bill Evans (bluegrass, intermediate to advanced). We’ll map out scales and fretting hand fingering positions in the keys of G, C and D and in the process unlock some of the secrets of finding melodies and creating licks in both traditional and contemporary bluegrass banjo. Tab for all examples included.
Session III: 4:15 - 4:45 PM
Grand Finale with Danny, Joe, Bill and all students: Q & A, comparing styles and approaches, playing your requests and a concert preview. Note: Pre-registration is recommended for this event. Those choosing to register on the day of the event should arrive by 12:15 p.m., while others should arrive by 12:30 p.m. Participants may choose any workshop topic.
What folks are saying about the teachers:
Danny Barnes: “The music is smart and soulful, and the lyrics are profound. It is heaven and earth. It is Americana, from the back porch to the pulpit, shattered dreams on angels' wings. I can’t stop listening. In the haze of over produced, ‘perfect’ recordings, Danny Barnes spent less than two weeks banging out an album that may well save your soul.” Dave Matthews talking about Danny’s CD Pizza Box
Joe Newberry: "Most contemporary old-time artists get their inspiration from recordings either commercial or field made. Most of the time the artists spend their energy trying to copy the sound of their source. Joe Newberry goes one step further... He takes the music and makes it his own, and always respectfully." -- SingOut! Magazine
Bill Evans: “Bill Evans does for the five-string banjo what Van Gogh did for color…treats it in a different way and then shares it with you. And his recent release In Good Company is a virtuoso master class in exploring bluegrass from the tradition to the far edges of alternative.” Tom Franks, FolkWords
About the teachers:
Questions? Email Bill Evans at bill@billevansbanjo.com
Event Sponsors: Bishline Banjos |
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Danny Barnes first emerged on the national music scene in the early 1990’s with the Austin, TX band Bad Livers, a path-breaking band which blended bluegrass, punk and pop music sounds. In the 21st century, Danny has recorded 15 projects and performed with rock icon Dave Matthews, modern jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, Darol Anger and many others. Danny has also performed with Robert Earl Keen and the Jeff Austin Band and is the winner of the 2015 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. A true banjo iconoclast, Danny is also the innovator of a musical aesthetic he calls “Barnyard Electronics,” combining his banjo with computer software and sampling. A true original, the Banjo Extravanganza is incredibly excited and honored to have him joining us this year!
Joe Newberry has made music most of his life. This Missouri native and North Carolina transplant grew up in a family full of singers and dancers, took up the guitar and banjo as a teenager, and learned fiddle tunes from great Missouri fiddlers. Known around the world for his exquisite clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful singer and songwriter who has been a frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. His song “They Called It Music,” co-written with Eric Gibson, was the 2013 IBMA “Song of the Year” award winner while his composition “Singing As We Rise” won the 2012 IBMA “Gospel Recorded Performance” award for recording artist Ricky Skaggs. He performs with mandolinist Mike Compton, fiddler Bruce Molsky and with old-time music legends Bill Hicks, Mike Craver and Jim Watson.
Bill Evans has spent a lifetime bringing together folks who love and play the five-string banjo here in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as all over the world. His books Bluegrass Banjo For Dummies and Banjo For Dummies are among the most popular instructional books in the world and he has produced nine DVDs for Homespun Tapes, AcuTab Publications and the Murphy Method. Bill’s CD In Good Company topped both folk and bluegrass charts and his most recent release is Songs That Are Mostly Older Than Us with legendary fiddler Fletcher Bright and acoustic icons Norman & Nancy Blake. These days, you’ll find him performing solo with The Banjo in America, as well as with flatpicking legend Dan Crary, banjo great Alan Munde as with his monthly residency in Kensington with local bluegrass all-stars Bangers & Grass. Over the last fifteen years, Bill has performed on the Freight stage with David Bromberg, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, the Steep Canyon Rangers, J. D. Crowe, Kathy Kallick, Claire Lynch and Jody Stecher, among many others.
