Eclectic Tony Trischka raises banjo consciousness

By Jonathan Britton   –   www.lansingcitypulse.com

“I really had no control. Once I heard Dave Guard of the Kingston trio play, I knew what I had to do.” For Tony Trischka, playing banjo has been a compulsion from the start: “I played around with flute, piano and guitar when I was a kid but as soon I heard the banjo I knew I had found my home.”

Trischka has been pushing the boundaries of banjo playing and traditional music in general for decades. “I entered a banjo competition years ago and Ralph Stanley was one of the judges,” he says. “I played a very traditional fiddle tune and decided to insert a bunch of Middle Eastern sounding chords and lines. Needless to say I didn’t even get close to placing.”

He’s played with everyone from Earl Scruggs to Ornette Coleman and has played every imaginable style and genre of music. From bluegrass to completely improvised jazz, Trischka has covered it all.

When a banjo player talks about influences you expect to hear a who’s who of bluegrass greats, but although Trischka admits to being influenced greatly by Earl Scruggs, his other influences are not the usual suspects. “I come from a different place than most banjo players,” he says. “I am really influenced by the Beatles — “Strawberry Fields” had an unbelievable effect on me. I love The Beach Boys and Frank Zappa. From a compositional point of view I’ve always loved Aaron Copland.”

Earl Scruggs, however, remains a constant inspiration. “Scruggs causes me to lose sleep. I heard a record of his a few weeks ago and I had to listen until I learned all of those licks. I lost a lot of sleep over that one.”

Trischka has inspired a host of new musicians, including Tony Furtado and Bela Fleck, who was a student of Trischka’s for a period.

Trischka’s ability to ignore history and tradition and move beyond accepted boundaries has garnered him heaps of praise as well as his share of criticism. “Big time,” he says. “I’ve had my share of criticism from the bluegrass community. I’ve had plenty of withering reviews from established and respected bluegrass publications.”

The traditional music world hasn’t always welcomed artists that are willing to moved beyond recorded history. “From the start I was always hearing different things. I’ve never listened to Middle Eastern music but it somehow shows up in my music. I didn’t grow up in Kentucky or the South so I didn’t have the background that forced other musicians to adhere to set rules.”

“At my solo shows you’ll hear a little bit of everything,” he adds. “I’ll do a Beatles medley, some classical stuff, of course some bluegrass. I’ll do a free improvisation, maybe some Irish stuff and some new stuff.” Expect the unexpected.

Despite, or perhaps because of Trischka’s reputation for peering outside of the box, he remains a busy man. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff in the works,” he says. “I’ve got a double banjo album I’m working on with a ton of great banjo players, another solo banjo album in the works and a lullaby album as well. I’ve also got a book of fiddle tunes for banjo coming out with Mel Bay Publications. I stay pretty busy.”