“Kids These Days. . .”

How many times I have said this myself, or heard others lament. . . Well, I have reached a point in my life where it is high time to do something other than talk or complain! Let me tell you about the kids that I have decided to concentrate on—my “rose-colored glasses,” if you will—they’re not that much different than we were at that age.

I have become involved with a kids banjo group from Saint Louis; The St. Louis BandJos. Once a month or so, I meet with them via Skype (I live in rural Arizona). The internet connection is frustrating at times, but I hear what I need to hear; I hear a dozen or so kids—age 10-18—playing fairly difficult music as a group and having a great time. Their teachers, Joe Feager and Don Dempsey, have done a wonderful job of corralling the boundless energy of these youngsters into a cohesive unit, playing the music that we thought was all but done for. Of course, they get to choose some newer tunes to go along with it, but even that is played in a tasteful, old-time manner.

I have recently taken on the private instruction of one of the students, and will soon start with another. From what I can see, both of these young men have shown an unlimited ability to learn new things, and a mature enthusiasm for the banjo and its history. In short, I see them as a potentially-important part of our future. Anomaly or not, they give me great hope for the future of the four-string banjo and humanity in general. I am certainly not the “first” to do this; the late-great Dave Frey had been working with this group via the internet for a couple of years before his passing.

Anyway, the first main point of this essay is that both of these young students are the beneficiaries of educational grants from generous banjo players. Let me say from the bottom of my heart “thank you!” If you too are looking for a young student to help, I know several! They do exist! Joe and Don have told me that assistance has come from everywhere, in the form of old, serviceable instruments and financial support. What a wonderful community we belong to!

I am just one of several banjo players/teachers who I’m sure would thoroughly enjoy helping out with low-cost lessons; what we lack in numbers, we make up for in enthusiasm and the genuine desire to prolong the life of the four-string banjo (If you would like to be involved, know that opportunities exist; the internet makes it possible for this to happen, anywhere in the world!). Please, put us to work—first by identifying deserving students, then making the financial commitment to ensuring their future. Working together, we can make quite a difference.

The second point I would like to make is that the BandJos—along with Buddy Griffin’s Houston All-Stars (over 70 kids in his program!), and Douglas Back’s high-school fretted-instrument orchestra program—have provided usable templates and the inspiration for others to follow (I apologize for the omission of other groups that I am not aware of; please enlighten me, and I will bring them to light). If you belong to a banjo club, and your mission is to “preserve and promote” the four-string banjo, you should be emulating those groups!

I know several clubs provide financial assistance to them (including my own Arizona Banjo Blasters and the Gulf Coast Banjo Society), but take it a step further and get a kid’s group going! Nobody in your club qualified and/or feeling capable of teaching kids? Well, bring in a “ringer” via the internet! All you really need is a person/committee willing and able to get the kids together in one place and get them started.

I am working with Joe and Don on the idea of updating and publishing the kid’s banjo books that they have so successfully used; they were written by the BandJos founder and inspiration, the late Ginny Luetje. Our vision is to create a low-cost system that could be used by other clubs, with the help of its publishers (if needed).

I have also begun work with a slightly older group of “youngsters” in the St. Louis area; there are several “20-somethings” who are members of the St. Louis Banjo Band. They are from the young Swing Dance/Trad Jazz scene that is active in the area; this is a growing movement among the Millennial Generation—one that we should be jumping on board with and helping out with financial assistance and old/experienced-person guidance.

Think about it: Us second-generation, baby-boomer banjoists learned from the original Jazz Age players! It is our turn to pass the torch onto the next generation (before it burns out); that generation exists, and they are keen to recreate the past in authentic detail. The four-string banjo is an important but mostly-unrealized part of that detail!

I tend to be a bit of a “the-sky-is-falling” kind of guy; all I’ve really needed is a little proof that the end of the four-string banjo world is not necessarily at-hand. We have the power in our hands to turn it’s undeniable decline around. All it takes is a little money, energy, and being in the right place at the right time—again, the internet is the great equalizer. I am committed to at least trying to make a difference! How about you?