September 5-7, 2008
Staff Biographies

Greg Canote and Jere Canote The Canote Brothers from Seattle, WA, are as renowned for their affable attitudes and humor as they are for their music. Greg on fiddle, and Jere on guitar, and both on banjo ukes, perform zany concerts, play for dances, lead songs, and promote a good time! The twin brothers started singing soon after they were born and haven't closed their mouths since. They spent their early years in California's Sacramento Valley, inventing songs with their father at the piano and tagging along with their parents' folk and square dance group. They honed their skills performing in many bands and discovered old-time music in the mid 1970s. In 1978 they attended the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, WA, and eventually became frequent teachers there. After touring the country with dance caller and singer Sandy Bradley for four years, they returned to the Northwest for a thirteen year stint on Seattle's National Public Radio show, "Sandy Bradley's Potluck," as Sandy's affable side-kicks. The rigors of finding new material for a weekly radio show kept the twins on their toes, mining and performing gems of American music of the past as well as writing new songs in those styles.

No one plays old time clawhammer style banjo quite like Bob Carlin. Performer and record producer on over seventy-five recordings, three of them Grammy nominated, Bob has brought the distinctive southern banjo sound to appreciative audiences in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan. SING OUT! magazine called his book, "The Birth of the Banjo," remarkable, and his column, "Bob's Tunes," is a regular feature in BANJO NEWSLETTER. Bob Carlin has taught at Midwest Banjo Camp, Suwannee Banjo Camp, Banjo Camp North, and the American Banjo Camp, as well as hosting "The Traveling Banjo Academy" at Dusty Strings in Seattle and around the country.

Janet Davis was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Music was always an integral part of her family life. Although Janet's formal musical training was primarily in the classical field, she showed a keen, early interest in stringed instruments, particularly those involved in folk and bluegrass music. In college, she played the guitar and sang as a folk and blues musician in many of the Austin, Texas clubs, learning from such greats as Lightnin' Hopkins, Janis Joplin and others who played the same venues. Janet is equally adept on both Dobro® and 5-string banjo. Her books are popular worldwide. She has written numerous best selling books for the 5-string banjo as well as dobro. Mel Bay has several of her books listed as "Best Sellers." Janet also teaches and plays ALL bluegrass instruments and several others. She has been a columnist with Banjo Newsletter for 29 years. Janet Davis Music Company is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year.
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Paul Elliott Paul Elliott has been playing fiddle professionally for over 25 years and is at home in a range of styles from old timey to be-bop. Paul has toured and performed with a variety of artists including Michelle Shocked, Buell Neidlinger, The Good Old Persons, and John Reischman. He has recorded extensively for radio, television, and film as well as an impressive list of CDs that includes Scott Nygard's "No Hurry" on the Rounder label.

Bill Evans is well-known within the bluegrass banjo world as a player and teacher. A former member of Dry Branch Fire Squad, Bill currently tours nationally with Peter Rowan, John Reischman, Tony Trischka, and with his solo historical concert The Banjo in America. In addition, he writes a monthly instructional column for Banjo Newsletter and has produced instructional books and videos with Sonny Osborne and J.D. Crowe for AcuTab Publications and Homespun Tapes. He has taught at the Augusta Heritage Center, Camp Bluegrass, and Nashcamp bluegrass instructional camps.

Bill Keith: A renowned explorer of the frontiers of banjo picking and of the instrument's harmonic potentialities, Bill Keith largely invented the three-finger picking style known as "melodic" banjo. He first came to international attention in the early 60s when he played and recorded with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. He co-authored the original Earl Scruggs banjo instruction book and record, and has also written several other banjo instruction books, including the first ones ever published in French and Italian. He has recorded several albums for Rounder, Green Linnet, and Hexagon, and has toured widely throughout North America, Western Europe, Japan, and Australia. He devised and, through the Beacon Banjo Company, still markets the famous tuning pegs that bear his name.

Peter Langston, a strong and imaginative player, seems to play anything with strings on it (even the banjo!), and is equally adept at backup and hot improvisation. He has played in bands on both the East Coast (Metropolitan Opry, Wretched Refuse) and the West Coast (Puddle City, Entropy Service, Portland Zoo), and has performed with such notables as Doc Watson, Reverend Gary Davis, Tony Trischka, Peter Rowan, Alison Brown, Johnny Gimble, and Mike Seeger. Peter has led a double life as a musician and a computer whiz and has taught both audio recording and computer science at the college level. He has been a frequent member of the staff of various music and dance camps, including the California Coast Music Camp, Sierra Swing, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, the Northeast Heritage Music Camp, Alta Sierra, and the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop.

Brad Leftwich is the author of the Mel Bay book Round Peak Style Clawhammer Banjo. Best known as a fiddler, Brad has in fact been playing banjo longer. He first took it up more than thirty years ago, inspired by his grandfather, a banjo picker from Carroll County, Va., and by his father, a singer and guitar player in the old-time style. Brad has learned much of his music from traditional musicians in the region formed by Surry County, N.C., and Grayson and Carroll Counties, Va., and in particular from Tommy Jarrell and other banjo players from the Round Peak community of Surry County. He was a member of the Plank Road String Band in the mid-seventies, toured with Leftwich & Higginbotham throughout the eighties and nineties, and now performs with Tom Sauber and Alice Gerrard as Tom, Brad, & Alice. Web site

Reed Martin is one of those rare, absolutely astounding players who has rarely sought the limelight. He learned to play old time banjo in the early 60s and was soon a regular attendee at all the Virginia and Carolina fiddlers' conventions, where he had the chance to hear and play with such great roots players as Roscoe Holcomb, Snuffy Jenkins, Fed Cockerham, Tommy Jarrell, Kyle Creed, Pete Steele, Buell Kazee, Fields Ward, and Wade Ward. From all these influences and others he has created a completely unique, virtuoso style of clawhammer that is absolutely true to the spirit of old-time music. Reed won the "World Champion Old Time Banjo Prize" in 1979 at the Union Grove Fiddler's Convention, and in 1996 he released a solo CD called simply "Old Time Banjo." He has been on staff at Banjo Camp North, Common Ground on the Hill, Maryland Banjo Academy, Midwest Banjo Camp, and Suwannee Banjo Camp .

Alan Munde needs no introduction to long-time Bluegrass fans. From his early creative work with Sam Bush in Poor Richard's Almanac to his traditional bluegrass apprenticeship with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys to his 21-year stint anchoring the landmark Country Gazette, Alan has blazed a trail as one of the most innovative and influential banjo players of all time. Along the way, Alan also recorded and contributed to numerous instrumental recordings, including the 2001 IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year -- "Knee Deep in Bluegrass." Alan has supplemented his recorded work with several instructional publications for the banjo; from 1986-2006 he taught Bluegrass and Country Music at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas.

Cathy Barton Para has been playing banjo for more than thirty-five years in both the clawhammer and two-finger picking styles. She worked with Grandpa and Ramona Jones in their crafts shop and dinner theater in Mountain View, AR in the 1970s and 1980s, and she toured with Ramona Jones for several years. Her banjo repertoire is influenced by Grandpa and Ramona, and by Missouri fiddlers such as the late Taylor McBaine and Pete McMahan. Her musical interests also include early country music, and music from the Civil War and Lewis-and-Clark eras. She and her husband Dave Para tour the United States, Europe and Canada and are best known for performing songs and tunes collected from traditional singers and fiddlers in their home state of Missouri and the Ozarks region. Cathy won the Tennessee State Banjo Championship two times, she appeared on the "Grand Old Opry," and on the television shows "Hee Haw" and "Nashville Now." She and Dave have made ten duet recordings.

Ken Perlman: Perhaps the best-known exponent of the "melodic" clawhammer style, Ken is known where-ever banjos are played as a master of clawhammer technique and an expert teacher of clawhammer mechanics. He has been a Banjo Newsletter columnist for 20 years; he has written several books on clawhammer instruction including the well known works Melodic Clawhammer Banjo and Clawhammer Style Banjo, he has recorded several series of audio and video banjo instruction, and he has taught at well over a dozen music camps including the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, Common Ground on the Hill, and the Tennessee Banjo Institute.

Laura Smith was born and raised in Hawaii, surrounded by the music of the islands, her Dad's piano and tenor banjo playing, and the rich harmonies of the church choir. She started playing old time banjo in 1973 when she attended the Sweet's Mill Music Camp in California and was introduced to a wide range of live traditional music. She has been playing and singing ever since. Laura sang with Larry Hanks for many years, and together they toured Great Britain. She has taught classes at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop for 18 summers. Classes have included banjo, guitar, song repertoire, and hula. She has also taught at the Georgia Strait Guitar Workshop. Laura has been a public school teacher for the last 17 years and uses music daily in her classroom.

Mike Stahlman: is a Portland, Ore. banjo player whose playing style was heavily influenced by Earl Scruggs and Alan Munde. Mike has taught bluegrass banjo at Portland Community College in Portland since 1997, and currently plays banjo and tours with the Oregon-based Lee Highway. He also plays with The Loafers. Mike has recorded two banjo instrumental CD's -- "Bluebonnet," and "First Dance."

Pete Wernick, "Dr. Banjo," is renowned worldwide for his contributions to bluegrass music: the hot-picking force in several trend-setting bands including Hot Rize and Country Cooking, respected author and teacher, and 15-year President of the International Bluegrass Music Association. In a recording career starting in 1971, Pete has recorded dozens of original instrumentals and songs, including two bluegrass chart-topping hits, and is known for his soulful tradition-based style. Since 1980, Pete has conducted over 100 instructional camps nationwide and overseas, and continues to refine his teaching methods. His instructional videos and books include bestsellers such as Bluegrass Jamming, Bluegrass Banjo, Branching Out on the Banjo, How to Make a Band Work, and many others. Pete maintains an extensive web site, DrBanjo.com, and currently performs with his bluegrass/classic jazz fusion group, Flexigrass, his singer/guitarist wife Joan (.Nondi.) in a bluegrass duet, and occasional reunions with Hot Rize.