steve martin banjo
As Brance mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Steve Martin will be hosting this weekend’s (1/31) edition of Saturday Night Live, airing on NBC at 11:30 p.m. [...] He will also be featured as a musical guest, performing Late For School, a song he wrote from his newly released banjo CD, The Crow. [1]
“I started (playing banjo) when I was 17,” Martin told Billboard.com. [2]
But just so you know, Martin isn’t just another Hollywood celeb trying to go country. [3]
Steve Martin and I have been friends since high school in 1960. [4]
He went country a long, long time ago when he got hooked on banjo as a teen in the early ’60s. [3]
“I know what my specialty is — playing songs I write, and if I’m asked to step outside that specialty, I can get a little nervous. [2]
And seeing him on The Late Show With David Letterman a few years ago, I was again pretty blown away watching him keep up with Earl Scruggs on “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” [3]
Steve will both sing and play banjo on this song during the program. [...] Plugs for his new movie, Pink Panther 2, pop up throughout the piece, but Steve also reminds readers of this widely-read publication (72 million weekly) about his upcoming banjo CD, The Crow - though he says it will be title Beverly Hills Banjo. [1]
Martin says five of the songs on “The Crow” — named after a track he wrote and performed on Trischka’s “Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular” in 2007 — date back to the late ’60s and early ’70s, while others are more recent. [2]
Using a css-compliant browser is essential for your ability to use this site. [5]
“It was great to have the Kel Kroydon banjo on hand for the Steve Martin Album. [...] There was one time, during the opening of one song, where Steve had to play the exact same notes and rhythm as Russ Barenburg was playing on guitar, with just the two instruments opening. [6]
The recording has been completed, produced by fellow banjo man John McEuen, with assistance from Tony Trischka and Pete Wernick. [1]
Sources:
[1] The Bluegrass Blog: bluegrass music news
[2] Steve Martin picks and grins on banjo album - Yahoo! News
[3] Steve Martin’s Banjo Album a Plucky Move | CMT Blog
[4] banjo
[5] Steve Martin
[6] The Bluegrass Blog ” Steve Martin banjo CD forthcoming: bluegrass music …