Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 8, 1992 TAG: 9203060223
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By JOE TENNIS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
Most people, says New River Community College's Artist in Residence, think of hicks, "Hee-Haw" and hillbillies when mention is made of the stringed instrument with the long neck and circular body. And Carlin, a banjo player, is sick of the stereotype.
"In the mass media, it's generally used for comedic reasons," he said.
"But if I had a simple goal, it's for America to be aware of and recognize the contribution of the banjo and to give it more respect."
Carlin, 39, formerly of Lexington, N.C., came to the college in January as a resource person for the school and its surrounding community. He'll remain in the Artist in Residence program until May.
A native New Yorker, Carlin was a member of the prestigious North Carolina Visiting Artist Program. Through that program, he presented programs on Southern traditional music and the banjo traditions of rural America to audiences in the schools and community.
On March 14, he'll lead an old-time clawhammer banjo workshop for players of all levels at the New River Fairgrounds gym. The class is free and starts at 9 a.m.
At the workshop, players can learn about strings, banjo set-up, right-left hand position, getting the most sound out of the instrument, how to play by ear, how to play with others and how to play back-up music.
Staying faithful to timeless Appalachian traditions, Carlin has taken the distinctive Southern clawhammer style to audiences all over the United States, Canada and Europe.
"Because I'm dealing with a traditional form, I try to express some of the feelings and some of the history. I guess I'm also trying to express myself," he said.
As part of his position at NRCC, he stages two types of shows: performances and what he jokingly calls "informances" - a combination performance and information session.
"My first goal is that people come away from my performance feeling very entertained. But quickly following that, I would like them to feel a love for this kind of music and to appreciate it as much as I do. . . . I have specific clothes I wear on stage so people know I'm serious about this. And I try to be relaxed, be humorous without being a buffoon."
The banjo is traditionally an African instrument. And, during his informances, Carlin shows off his banjo collection - from an African prototype called a Halam to an 1830s Goard banjo to a Civil-War-period model, a modern fretted banjo and a modern fretless.
He will perform, free, for schools, churches, civic clubs and other community organizations. "It's a real mix. I'll do a Rotary Club one day. . . . and the next day I might be in an elementary school," he said.
He won't say which type of venue he prefers. "I don't think I have a preference. . . . Obviously, it's most fun when you have an audience appreciating what you're doing."
Carlin has appeared on the Nashville Network's "Fire on the Mountain," as well as on various public radio programs including "Weekend Edition" and "A Prairie Home Companion." He worked as a staff folk-music producer for a National Public Radio affiliate in Philadelphia for 13 years.
Carlin has produced and performed on 20 record albums for Rounder Records and Smithsonian Folkways Records. His latest recording, with Grammy award winner John Hartford, is "The Civil War Music Collectors' Edition," recorded by Time-Life Music.
Over the years, he's become well known across the country. But, he said, "It's still pretty strange to me to be recognized. Whatever fame or fan recognition, it has to do with purely economics. It has very little to do with me personally."
Recently, Carlin was stunned when he walked into a music shop called the Fret Mill in Roanoke.
"The owner knew who I was before I said who I was. It's real strange to have strangers come up to you and they know who you are and you don't know who they are," he said.
Carlin started picking banjo when he was 15. His mother figured he was destined to play the instrument because she took him to see Pete Seegar when he was 5, Carlin said.
"I loved music early on. Any stringed instrument."
But, he said, a banjo "definitely wasn't the cool instrument to play when I was growing up" in Princeton, N.J.
These days, his forte is interpreting others' work. "I think my talent is as an arranger and expressing myself through other people's compositions."
He has played other instruments - including the string bass - but says the banjo "is the best instrument for me to express who I am."
by CNB