Banjo Studio Podcast

Chad Kopotic is the master builder over at the Deering Banjo Company and has been with Deering for 27 years now. Chad knows pretty much everything there is to know when constructing and setting up banjos. He's a great resource and gives us a lot of great tips on how to properly set up your banjo.

New Orleans tenor banjoist, guitarist, and bassist Don Vappie drops by Banjo Studio to talk with us today. Don has been inducted in the Banjo Hall of Fame and has won the Steve Martin Banjo Award, as well as many other accolades. We get into a number of things including some chord voicings, articulation and phrasing in your music, what it means to be Creole, and more!

Raised in Lafayette, Louisiana but based in New Orleans, Doug Belote is one of the most in demand drummers on the scene today. He has played or recorded with too many musicians to name but some of these include Jerry Douglas, Derrick Trucks, Dr. John, John Oates, Robben Ford, Charlie Hunter, Anders Osborne, Ryan Cavanaugh, and many more (including yours truly). Doug can play anything, from the most avant garde jazz to a rock solid train beat.  Take a listen to Doug's musical story, some of his concept about locking in a groove but playing in the cracks, as well as one of the most hillarious stories about how he got hired to be Jerry Douglas' (the dobro player) drummer and how he thought he was trying out for the Jerry Reed gig!

We're glad to feature shredding 5-string banjoist Ryan Cavanaugh back on the Banjo Studio podcast as we reboot our podcast in this 1st episode of Season 2. Ryan just released a fantastic record called Ryan Cavanaugh Screams Electric with his New Orleans based jazz fusion trio. We get into the process of making this record as well as a number of other topics.

In this episode we interview French guitarist Antoine Boyer. Antoine has his roots in gypsy jazz, learning the guitar alongside his father at an early age. Then is his teens he went on to study classical guitar. In recent years he has moved into more modern jazz sounds by adding electric guitar to his palette of sonic choices.  He is an extraordinary talent with incredible taste and chops. He's only in his early 20s but yet has recorded 6 albums under his name. His most recent recording, Tangram, features Korean harmonica player Yeore Kim. This album is an incredible work and was featured on the Banjo Studio list of top albums made from 2021 [https://blog.banjostudio.com/blog/our-2021-album-picks].  In this interview we talk about his roots, the guitars he plays, what to look for in a gypsy jazz style guitar, recording techniques, and more.