Produced by David Wells

"It’s a rhythm thing," proclaim Mark Johnson and Mike Munford, as they kick off this video of
wall-to-wall 5-string banjo picking with a combination bluegrass-clawhammer version of Clinch
Mountain Backstep. From then on, it’s just one wild banjo ride. As its predecessor, Banjos
Ringing (reviewed in BNL in February, 1998), did for the 1997 MBA I, the "Bash" includes
workshops, jam sessions, and concerts of the November, 1998, MBA II.

But while Banjos Ringing has an historical theme with both student and faculty comments
interspersed in the music, "Bash" lets the music do virtually all of the talking. The tape begins with
some pastoral shots of the lovely Bishop Claggett Center, meeting place for both MBA I and II,
while narrator, Lisa Vogel, makes a few comments on the gathering’s purpose and scope.

With these preliminaries completed, the various performances get under way. As each person or
group begins, Vogel gives a brief introduction while the performer’s name appears on screen. The
result is two hours of great music with minimal interruption. Eddie Adcock’s rendition of The
World is Waiting for the Sunrise, for instance, and Reed Martin with some "tap your feet" versions
of Pretty Polly and Altamont, are just two examples.

Billy Cline wrote the video’s script, as he did for Banjos Ringing, and David Wells shows, once
again, his abundant skill with video and sound equipment, as well as his ability to edit many hours
of raw footage. Wells is himself a master 5-string picker and thus knows what other banjo
enthusiasts like to see and hear. With each copy of the tape, he includes a delightful little booklet
containing a roster of faculty members and a brief vita of each. The vitas give means of contact and
a tally of various recordings, videos, and instructional materials each artist has for sale. Finally, key
performances by the faculty are listed, together with time locations on the tape.

Both clawhammer and bluegrass methods of play are fully illustrated on the tape. If you are now
learning to play bluegrass banjo, watch Béla Fleck’s performance of Cripple Creek. He sets a
moderate tempo and keeps the melody in the foreground, but with constant change of licks and
modulation, he shows how even the simplest tune can be enhanced and stretched for pleasing new
sounds.

Clawhammer banjo is no better illustrated than with the old-time tunes played by Mike Seeger,
Leroy Troy whamming out Girl I Left Behind Me, Bob Flesher’s versions of The Old Gray Goose
and Oh Susannah, and two reels by melodic-clawhammer expert Ken Perlman. The fantastic
melodic runner, Bill Keith, spins off three fiddle tunes (with Ira Gitlin on bass and John Rossbach
playing guitar). Dwight Diller takes us back in the mountains with Muskrat, and Bill Emerson and
Mark Johnson (with Mark Newton on guitar) play Emerson’s classic, Home of the Red Fox.

In the final analysis, Banjo Bash in Buckeystown precisely illustrates the remarkable faculty which
made MBA I and II such great learning experiences for the many students, including myself, who
were fortunate enough to attend. For pure enjoyment, there are few videos that rival this one for
showing off this slam-bang, rip-snorting machine we love.

This review appeared in the June 2000 issue of Banjo Newsletter.