Gary "Biscuit" Davis
Gary Davis started playing the banjo at age 10. A man who worked with his father and taught banjo at night came to his house one night and showed hime right-hand techniques. He practiced the right hand roles for six months before getting another lesson and became very good with roles.
The rest is history.
Gary Davis is the ONLY three-time National Banjo Champion having won Winfield in 1979 (at the age of 16), 1988, and 1996, and owns dozens of state and regional titles as well.
|
 |
Gary got his nickname, “Biscuit” when he was performing with the Smith Brothers as lead guitarist. They had a guitar player that they nicknamed “Cornbread,” so he could be “Biscuit.”
Gary performed for 15 years at Dollywood, playing with Dolly Parton’s kinfolks. He recently was band leader, co-producer and banjo player for Dolly Parton on her bluegrass album “Halos & Horns”. He toured with Dolly for a year to promote that album. He currently works at Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede dinner attraction in Pigeon Forge.
Being a whiz with both guitar and banjo, Gary is on the the most in-demand studio session men in East Tennessee. Gary is fluent in may music styles, from bluegrass to swing and jazz. He is an awesome lead guitar player and brings many lead guitar techniques to his banjo style.
Gary somehow finds time to teach banjo at Biscuit’s Music Barn in Pigeon Forge. Gary is a dedicated banjo teacher and it very patient with children and slow learners. Gary travels the United States to teach banjo workshops and perform on stage.
|
| |
Megan Lynch
Megan Lynch was raised in Redding, California, often considered the hotbed of fiddle music west of the Rockies. She began taking lessons at the age of four and started competing shortly thereafter. Megan won her first National Championship at age 8 and followed that with three consecutive wins at ages 10, 11, and 12. In 2003 Megan made a return to serious competition and captured two more National titles in 2003 and 2004. During the last 24 years of on-and-off competition, Megan has also won 6 California State titles, as well as the Minnesota State Championships.
|
 |
Megan is in high demand as a private and group teacher. She counts dozens of State and National Champions among her students, and has been an instructor at the most prestigious bluegrass and fiddle camps around the world. Her no-holds-barred workshops have drawn rave reviews in the United States and in Europe.
Having moved to Nashville in 2005, Megan currently tours in the duet Bill Evans and Megan Lynch, as well as with country legend Pam Tillis and has shared the stage with bluegrass luminaries Dale Ann Bradley, Roland White, Larry Cordle, Jim Hurst, and Chris Jones. Megan is a former member of Koch recording artists 3 Fox Drive and west coast supergroup Due West. She is the founder and director of FiddleStar Youth and Adult Fiddle Camps. She also co-directs (with Casey Henry) the FiddleStar/Murphy Method International Jam Camp. Megan is a fiddler of varied interests and influences. You never know if she's going to go Texas style, Celtic, Motown, Bluegrass, or all of the above!
|
| |
Bill Evans
Bill Evans is a banjo player, performer, teacher, workshop leader, recording artist, composer, producer, record label owner, American music historian and author of Banjo For Dummies. For a banjo player, Bill has an unusual amount of schooling. He earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology with a specialization in folklore from the University of Virginia as a DuPont Scholar and a master’s degree in music with a specialization in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Berkeley. After completing coursework for the PhD at Berkeley with a specialization in American music and the music of Japan, Bill taught courses in ethnomusicology and American music history at San Francisco State University, Duke University and the University of Virginia and was the Associate Director of the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky. A recipient of a Brown Foreman-Al Smith Artist Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council, Bill has also served as a consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts.
|
 |
As a recording artist, Bill’s CD Native and Fine (Rounder Records) earned an honorable mention for Acoustic Instrumental Recording of the Year from NAIRD. His CD Bill Evans Plays Banjo (Native and Fine Records), featuring all original instrumental compositions, was on many “best of” lists for that year, including those of the Chicago Tribune and County Sales. Bill earned a nomination for “Recorded Event of the Year” from the International Bluegrass Music Association for his work as producer on Suzanne Thomas’ CD Dear Friend and Gentle Hearts. As a performing artist, Bill has played with Dry Branch Fire Squad, Tony Trischka, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Maria Muldaur, Jody Stecher, Kathy Kallick and Laurie Lewis, among others. He tours nationally with his duet partner, Megan Lynch. Their debut recording, “let’s do something…” landed in the top ten on the folk charts in 2009.
Bill is a long-time contributor to Banjo Newsletter magazine and co-hosts an annual banjo camp, the Sonny Osborne NashCamp Banjo Retreat, held each fall outside of Nashville, Tennessee. In addition, Bill participates in workshops all over the world, hosts several popular instructional DVDs for AcuTab Publications and maintains an active private teaching practice at his home in Albany, California. His former students include Chris Pandolfi, Greg Liszt, Jayme Stone and Eric Yates. He is the co-author of Parking Lot Picker’s Songbook: Banjo Edition from Mel Bay Publications.
|
| |
Keith Yoder
Keith Yoder is a multi-instrumentalist who has been teaching music full time since 1994. He currently has students at Yoder Music studying guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, dobro, and drums. In addition to teaching at Yoder Music, Keith has been teaching at camps and festival workshops. Keith was the jam coordinator at Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Camp the last 3 years and will be again in 2010. He has also been a coordinating instructor at AmanaJam, Strawberry Jam Camp, Swan Valley, ID Jam Camp, and Naperville, IL Jam Camp.
|
 |
Keith has been performing bluegrass music for 30 years and currently performs with the McPunk Brothers and Grass Menagerie. He has appeared on many recordings projects and recently completed his third CD “Mosaic”. Bryan Kimsey in a 2009 review in Flatpicking Guitar magazine says “Note-wise, he does a lot of floaties and shows, in general, a complete mastery of the instrument. That could be said of all the instruments he plays, actually. The guy is simply a musical chameleon. You’ll find quite a bit of guitar playing on the is disc and it’s definitely worth checking out.”
Being a player of all the instruments in a bluegrass band gives Keith the ability to more fully understand the role of each in jamming and band situations.
|
| |
Bob Black
“Bob's banjo music is a dipperful of cold well water at the end of a long hot dusty day.” ---Greg Brown
Bob has bluegrass roots going straight back to Bill Monroe, “The Father of Bluegrass Music.” Bob toured and recorded with the late great musical master during the 70’s, learning much about songwriting and performing which he now brings to audiences all over the world.
|
 |
Drawing on bluegrass, folk, and gospel music traditions, Bob creates his own brand of “Midwestern Roots” music, which features both original and traditional songs and instrumentals.
“…a hero of the 5-string banjo…” ---Bluegrass Unlimited
Copper Creek, Rebel, and Green Valley recording artist Bob Black has performed with Ricky Skaggs, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, John Hartford, Ralph Stanley, Rhonda Vincent, The Whites, Frank Wakefield, and many others. He is a singer-songwriter and instrumentalist of international acclaim. Bob has recorded with Norman Blake, Greg Brown, Kenny Baker, Bill Monroe, John Hartford, Bo Ramsey, Sam Bush, and more (over 30 albums in all). He has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry many times.
“…passion, love, and artistry.” ---The Iowa City Press-Citizen
Bob was the recipient of the 2002 Traditional Arts Award, presented by the Iowa Arts Council in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Arts in Iowa.
Expanding the definition of bluegrass, Bob Black weaves modern sounds into the ancient fabric of tradition. Bob has been giving lessons and banjo workshops for over 20 years.
|
| |
Paul Roberts
Bassist, singer-songwriter, and banjo player Paul Roberts provides the solid foundation for Banjoy’s music. Paul has done a great deal of performing with Eastern Iowa’s premier theatrical group, The Old Creamery Theatre. He is also a member of The McPunk Brothers and The Great Bluegrass Herons, and Banjoy. His unusual sense of humor shines through in all his songs and onstage jokes. Featured on numerous recordings, Paul has fans among bluegrass lovers throughout the state of Iowa and beyond. Paul has been teaching students to play the large bass, fiddle, banjo and guitar for 5 years.
|
 |
|
In 2008 Paul won the Banjo Contest at the Iowa State Fair and appeared in The Iowa Theatre Artist Company's productions of The Pump Boys and Dinettes and Smoke on the Mountain. |
| |
|