When the Apples Bloom in New York

Homegrown String Band 3.0 at The Darlington Arts Center May 9, 2015

The Homegrown String Band™ Trio will be appearing at the Darlington Arts Center in Garnett Valley, PA on Saturday May 9th. There will be an open mic starting at 7:30, our show starts at 8:00 pm. General Admission Tickets are $15 ($10 for members) This is a real nice intimate listening room in the Philadelphia area, check it out!

Darlington Arts Center

 977 Shavertown Rd

Garnet Valley, PA 19060

 Tel. Tel: (610) 358.3632

Email: info@darlingtonarts.org

HGSB @ T.O.B. Distinguished Artist Series - 5/02/15

On Saturday May 2, 2015 The Homegrown String Band will be rolling in to Syosset for a special performance at The Syosset Public Library. The show is part of the Town of Oyster Bay's Distinguished Artist Series. The concert starts at 7:30pm and is free to the public, seating available on a first come first serve basis.

Syosset Public Library

225 South Oyster Bay Road

Syosset, NY 11791-5897

(516) 921-7161

Spillway Dam Clawhammer Banjo Bridge

I just received this interesting handmade banjo bridge in the mail today. It was made by Don New of Wappapello, MO. He calls it The Spillway Dam Clawhammer Special. The unique design puts solid wood between each string and the banjo head. It also has a raised fifth string that keeps that string even with the other strings where the pot and the neck join, which is where most clawhammer playing takes place. So far I really like the way it plays. The thumb feels great and there seems to bit an increase in bass response and maybe a more even (mellower?) tone to the banjo.


Any fellow banjonauts (nuts) who want to check it out can see and hear it at one of our upcoming shows:

May 2, 2015, 7:30 pm at  The Syosset Public Library in Syosset, NY
May 9, 2015, 7:00 pm at The Darlington Arts Center in Garnet Valley. PA

Bridgewater Library Friends Concert Series - April 17th

On Friday April 17, 2015 The Homegrown String Band will be going over the river to Bridgewater, NJ for an evening of traditional and original American music presented by The Friends of the Bridgewater Township Library. The show starts at 7:30 pm and admission is free.

Bridgewater Township Library

1 Vogt Dr.
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
(908) 526-4016

Sauerkraut Season

Making Sauerkraut photo by Rick Jackofsky

Sunday's gig at The Oceanside Library went great! We'd like to thank everyone who came out for the show as well as Eleanor and the rest of the library staff. I think the band played really well thanks, in part, to the large enthusiastic crowd and the acoustically friendly room . On the way home from the show we stopped at the local Stop & Shop to pick up twenty pounds of cabbage priced at 17 cents a pound in honor of good old St. Patrick. I spent all day Monday boiling sap to make maple syrup, then on Tuesday I set to shredding the cabbage. I started a 5 liter crock of sauerkraut along with 3 quarts of curtido. Curtido, a popular dish in El Salvador and other parts of Central America, is one of my favorite fermented foods. The best way to describe it would be, a Latin American version of kimchi, a spicy mix of lightly fermented cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, and chili. I'll leave the sauerkraut bubbling away for about two months, but the curtido will be ready to eat in a week or so.

Homegrown String Band at The Oceanside Library

I’ll be taking time out from my maple sugaring to join my fellow Homies for a gig this weekend. Maybe we’ll play  Maple Leaf Rag or  Sugarfoot Rag . . . well probably not, but we will be playing some original tunes as well as a few by the likes of Jimmie Rodgers, Leadbelly, The Carter Family, and Bob Dylan.

 The Homegrown String Band at The Oceanside Library 

Sunday, March 15th at 2pm

Free Show - Doors Open at 1:30.

30 Davison Ave Oceanside, NY 11572 (516) 766-2360