John Quincy Adams:
An American Citizen
Time frame: 1842

The Banjo:
An American Gypsy
Time frame: 19th Century

  Jacques Portier:
Old Nor'Wester
Time frame: 1830's

The Great Depression:
How do you spell relief?
Time frame: 1930's

I am often asked why I make Banjos.  For me it is all about connections.  Understanding where humanity has travelled sheds light on the present and points the way forward.  When making banjos, I feel the connection of history.  I feel that I am helping in my own small way to connect others with the roots of a rich musical heritage. 

The banjo is an inextricable part of folk music.  The roots of American folk music are legion, yet the synthesis of cultural disparities in this art form is typical of how the “melting pot” synthesizes and transforms disparate cultures into something uniquely American.  The banjo is both the voice of an ancient African hunter-gatherer and the voice of the urban American performer of the industrial age.  It is the voice of the slave and the voice of the master.   

With today’s revival of “roots” music the banjo is experiencing a rebirth.  Across time and space, the fretless banjo echoes the human experience, singing a different song to each generation that is at once both unique and yet familiar.  As we pluck its strings we become part of an unending human chain. The gut string fretless banjo sings to us at a visceral level connecting us to those who have gone before and creating a bridge to not only those in the here and now, but to those who are yet to come.