Ask Dr. Banjo:

Masters of the Five String #2

Added April 2007

Jon writes:

I've enjoyed and referred to "Masters of the 5-String Banjo" for years. My question is, have you given any thought to authoring "Volume II" now that we're well into the post-Bela era? I would love to see the same treatment given to the new generation of masters, such as Scott Vestal, Sammy Shelor, Jim Mills, Robbie McCoury, Jeff Scroggins, Chris Pandolfi, Jens Kruger, Matt Menefee, the list could go on and on.
Jon

Jon,

It would be a great book. I have been asked about this a number of times, and my consistent answer is that I'd like to see someone else take that job. Having done the first book, I know how much effort this can take, and it may surprise you to know that the payoff was pretty low for the time spent. As a labor of love, I'm certainly glad and proud to have done it, but the next book will have to be done by others. A couple of competent people have considered doing it but have shied away from the work involved.

If you know of anyone seriously interested in doing the follow-up, I would welcome hearing from them. It’s a great way to have interesting conversations with banjo heroes, and learn a lot in the process.

Pete Wernick

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