Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Who are your favorite artists to listen to on the mandolin?

Ben, have you heard his latest Album, “Way Out West”? It is a fascinating collage of the sounds of the evolution of sound - inspired by the west.

Not as traditional - but sooooo cool!

This was my FIRST album from Marty… but now, I am discovering others from him and the Fabulous Superlatives!

It is awesomeness that you MET him? :sunglasses:

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Yeah, I’ve played with artists that shared the bill with him at various shows and several times at the Opry, where he hosts segments often. He and Connie are very sweet people. He’s confident and cocky, but not conceited, if that makes sense.

One time I was playing a country festival with him up north somewhere…one of those big 3 day events. I couldn’t believe that had Marty booked, and he was early in the day. It was a real shame, especially since the patrons there had no clue what kind of talent was on stage. Marty recognized this as well and started mouthing to the folks, really going off about how country music sucks nowadays. After a while he essentially said screw it and stopped playing since no one was listening, walked off stage, then yelled that he didn’t really care cause they had already paid him. It was classic!

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What a STORY! Thanks for sharing that, Ben.

Frankly, I think I know exactly what you mean regarding the confidence. The thing to consider is that he has the skill and the capability to back it up. So when you have somebody who is confident in their skill and they deliver and demonstrate that skill regularly, that person has every right to be cocky. Then, to NOT be conceited but just be a regular person is the best combination of traits. YOU strike me this way but I digress…

As for the story about that show, it is a real shame that people take Kellen for granted… Especially regarding the performing arts.

It saddens me and I am disappointed regarding the reception Marty received up here in my neck of the woods on that day.

To turn a positive spin on that, I am glad that we have Banjo Ben Clark to EJAMAKAIT us in all things Banjo and Bluegrass.

You are an early riser, aren’t you? :thinking:

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3:20AM every morning, yep.

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Wow… does life exist at that hour? :sleeping:

On the other hand, if your workday is anything like mine, having those quiet moments is when you can really get work done… Or have time to check the forum. :+1:

Actually, I had little room to joke about your waking hour. I think that is awesome, By the way. I was up until 2:30am working - then up at 6:00am - so I can confirm life exists THAT early - or maybe I should say late?

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Check out Emory Lester and Mark Johnson. Emory plays mandolin, guitar and bass, and Mark plays clawhammer banjo like I’ve never heard anyone else play. I first heard Big Sciota by them on the satellite bluegrass channel and subsequently bought every cd they’ve got out. I love the sound of the mandolin, especially a nice tremelo and Emory’s playing inspired me to take up the mandolin again (I’d tinkered with it years ago). I ended up buying 2 Gibsons, and after listening more and more to Mark’s banjo decided I didn’t need 2 mandolins and did some dealing on ebay and basically traded my newer Gibson for a Deering Sierra. I played clawhammer for a few years and then got interested in Scruggs style which has been my main playing interest for a few years now. Ben’s site has been a real blessing in this endeavor. I too always like hearing new music and have been checking out some of the stuff that’s been mentioned on this site. There’s so much great music out there! And to get back to the original question of this thread-----I’d have a hard time picking out a favorite player on any instrument.

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Up here in the Pacific Northwest when we are not chasing the elk around, we are blessed to see a lot of great pickers at festivals. I’ve seen many great players, but I always walk away from a John Reischman show thinking that what it’s supposed to sound like!

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The real question is when will you let this picker help you chase elk around?

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I guess the bigger names that come to mind would include Bill Monroe of course, along with Ricky Skaggs and Marty Stuart. On the bluegrass circuit I sure like Wayne Benson and Alan Bibey. There are so many good lesser known mandolin players out there that I’ve come across looking around on the internet. My favorite is a guy named Chad Fadely from up around Montana I think. There are a lot of clips of him on youtube and he has a few CD’s out notably one titled “iMando”. If you like good bluegrass instrumentals do yourself a favor and check him out.

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By the way Ben, if I were gfausset I’d sure swap you out an elk hunt for a few private mandolin and guitar lessons! Sadly all we’re famous for down here in south Arkansas are ducks (but plenty of 'em!).

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Ducks for pickin’ sounds pretty promising, too :wink:

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How about Alan Bibey? He does a great job on the grasstowne IV album. One of my favorites

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He is incredible!

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Incredible Player!

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Spot on. Nickel Creek got me into Mandolin I guess back in 2003 or 4. Before then, bluegrass was for my guitar. But listening to Thile made me REALLY want to dig into the mandolin. Then, you hear some stuff from, say, Punch Bros. and the melodic lines are…well…let’s just say they’re often not traditional…at all.

Someone mentioned Bela Fleck - I’ve seen some stuff with Fleck/Thile, and while impressive, just doesn’t do anything for me musically. Like, compare the Fleck/Thile stuff to Fleck with the Super Pickers from way back (Fleck, Bush, Rice) and the picking is GREAT, but also has melodic lines that are easy to follow and love AND are technically inspiring.

Also reminds me of Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds - technical wonders, but the music sucked.

I think some of these guys are so good they just get bored. That’s when you see all the jazz inspired stuff and obscure note relationships start coming into the mix.

What’s the old saying… One bad note is just a bad note; two bad notes is jazz. :slight_smile:

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As Bulldog mentioned a while back Chad Fadely, a really good mandolin player. Just watching him play draws you in… great technique and tone. He’s somehow associated with Greg Boyd’s House of Fine Instruments in Montana. That’s at the top of my list of instrument stores to visit… but I live in Ohio… maybe someday. I’m at least on the west side of Ohio, close to Indiana… not that that helps.

Another one that I completely forgot (don’t know how) is Jesse Brock. I’m not sure if he was mentioned or not, but what a great player he is! You all should check him out if you haven’t yet.

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A few of my favorites are Sierra Hull, Ronnie Reno and Mike Andes. Sierra and Reno together are hard to beat and Mike is as much fun to watch as he is to listen to.

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Went to a place called the caverns in Pelham, TN this past weekend and saw David Grisman and Del McCoury play. It was a great show in a really cool place! I never thought I’d go to a concert in a cave, and I’d go again even if it was fifty below zero. I was wearing a @BanjoBen hat and Mr. Grisman asked me if I played mandolin. He then gave me the pick he used in his show that night and a book of tablature he made a few years back, signed it and took a picture with me. Good moment. I think I got a picture with Ricky Skaggs in my banjoben hat somewhere too! I learn so much each time I see a mandolin player in person. They all have such different styles. I want to see about Adam Steffey and Wayne benson next! I missed Marty Stewart when he was touring a few years back and Sam Bush, who both came through Macon, GA on tour. Unfortunately for both shows I didn’t even know they were in town until the day after! Ugh!!!

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That is too cool, wow!

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I recently saw where Ricky Skaggs is coming to Lincolnton, GA in May. It’s about a 2 hr drive.

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