| Every Tuesday night for 35 weeks (from September to May) a group of mad banjo players convene to plot a musical regime change. While reluctant to admit it (they’ve been trained to be modest), there could be a banjo revolution in the not too distant future.
Recently, I invaded their training camp to find out who these fanatics are and what motivates them. Their commander-in-chief is Banjistro Barry Luft, who has been honing his musical skills for more than four decades.
"My brother discovered a used banjo in a pawn shop. We split the $35 cost, and the Pete Seeger instruction book," says the easy-going Luft who started playing five-string banjo at the University of Alberta in 1962.
His admiration of folksinger Pete Seeger is an indication that the banjo lessons offered by the Calgary School Board’s Chinook College are more than just music. Seeger was the activist-musician who sang and marched against the American government, namely the communist phobia of Senator Joseph McCarthy, nuclear bomb proliferation and the Vietnam war.
According to Luft, Pete Seeger almost single-handedly revived banjo playing in the 1950s.
"Seeger is the guy who rescued the five-string banjo from oblivion. But he’s not the only one. On the bluegrass side, Earl Scruggs helped renew interest in the banjo." One of Seeger’s biggest hits was "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" written in 1956
There are roughly 25 banjo activists in Luft's current group, including Graham Millington, Liz Clark and Dave Bradt. They distract me from sourcing out revolutionary activity by speaking of the camaraderie that exists in the class.
"There’s magic in the playing. When people get together it’s very social. If people could sit down and play these instruments together, we wouldn’t need a revolution," says Millington.
If there is no need for a revolution, why has Luft trained in foreign countries? My intelligence information says he has attended many banjo camps and travelled to New York City in 1967 to learn bluegrass.
"There were too many notes in the picking so I went back to a claw-hammer style and have developed that ever since," he says.
The claw-hammer method is known for its simple and rhythmic style. It’s popular amongst the working class, the bourgeoisie and professionals. This makes it ripe for fomenting revolution.
Despite my suspicion that the evening course is a hotbed of long-necked social activists, for the record, Luft vehemently denies it.
"Social activism does not depend on the banjo, the only connection is that it is a musical instrument connected to someone who is an issues singer. After the ’80s there wasn’t this association, and presently there isn’t this association. Except for in the minds of people like you and I who remember four decades ago."
Over the decades, by his own account, Luft has taught "hundreds" of players. With an army that size, it’s only a matter of time before the banjo revolution takes hold. A crafty folksinger in his own right, Luft finally admits the radical philosophical underpinnings which drive his campaign.
"Pete Seeger… was heavy on participation. His whole attitude was ‘If I can do this, so can you.’ He promoted group singing. This has always stayed with me. I figure to get people involved in music they have to participate. It’s a doing thing, not a watching thing."
When you go to a concert you watch. This whole business of our banjo group is that we are making the music. That’s participation. And I think there’s a connection with other things, including social issues."
After visiting the class for three consecutive weeks, I’m not certain banjo madness is a breeding ground for revolutionaries, as the class has people of all backgrounds and political stripes. Hard-pressed to find signs of a radical element, I ask one final participant, "Will the banjo change the world?"
The man is bearded – a good sign of radical tendencies. He says his name is Dean Sandham. He says he is a doctor, a critical care physician. Fine, I say, but will the banjo help change the world?
"Absolutely!" he answers, "I find it infectious. It’s associated with positive types of songs, so it's hard to be unhappy when you play. It’s also a great way to reduce stress."
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