New City Public Library Saturday June 10, 2017 • 2pm

Edwards Farm Day June 4, 2017 - 2 to 5 pm

This Sunday, June 4th, from 2 pm to 5 pm The Homegrown String Band™ will once again, be part of the festivities at The Sayville Historical Society's annual "Day on the Farm." Try your hand at grinding corn, churning ice cream, quilting and old-fashioned games. Pet the baby animals and enjoy the Homegrown String Band's high-energy music.

Edwards Farm is located on Edwards Street at the corner of Collins Avenue, one block south of Main Street, Sayville, NY.  11782

Two Massachusetts Shows April 29th and 30th 2017

We have two shows in Massachusetts this weekend. Saturday night, April 29th @ 7:30 pm, we will be performing at The Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth, MA and Sunday afternoon, April 30th @ 3 pm, we'll be at The Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA.

HGSB Live @ The Levittown Public Library

Friday April 21, 2017 at 7:30 pm The Homegrown String Band™ will be performing as part of the Levittown Public Library's "Live @ the LPL" coffeehouse/cabaret style music series. Seating is limited. Call the Library for more information and seating availability.

LEVITTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY

1 Bluegrass Lane

Levittown, NY 11756

(516) 731-5728

The Crandall Folklfe Center - Glens Falls, NY April 6

On Thursday April 6, 2017 The Homegrown String Band™ returns to the Folklife Center at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls, NY. The show, part of the Live! Folklife Concert Series, is free, and starts at 7pm.

Crandall Public Library
251 Glen Street 
Glens Falls, NY 12801 
518.792.6508

Franklin Square Public Library April 2, 2017 @ 2pm

Sunday April 2, 2017, at 2pm, The Homegrown StringBand™ will be performing "their "Unbroken Circle" program at The Franklin Square Public Library. The show will feature original arrangements of traditional tunes that have been covered by: The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, and others. Tickets are free. Call the library for more information.

The Franklin Square Public Library

19 Lincoln Road

Franklin Square, NY 11576

516-488-3444

Bigfoot Clawhammer Banjo Bridge

The Bigfoot Banjo Bridge
by Don New

I've been using Don New's barnwood Clawhammer bridges for about a year now. His clawhammer-specific bridges feature a raised fifth string which means that, at about the point where the neck and pot meet, the fifth string is even with the other strings. When I replaced a Snuffy Smith bridge on my Wildwood Troubadour with one of Don’s clawhammer specials I noticed a little more bass response, but what I really liked was the raised fifth string especially when dropping thumb. I liked it so much I ordered another one for my Mike Ramsey fretless banjo. The story should end there, clawhammer banjo player lives happily ever after, right? But recently Don contacted me to tell me about a new design. He calls it “The Bigfoot” and says it’s his best sounding bridge. How could I resist? The one I got has the same, wider "Crowe" spacing, as well as the raised fifth string feature of the “Spillway Dam” bridge I've been using, but the Bigfoot has more open space under the strings. It also has three big maple “feet” attached perpendicularly to the barnwood portion of the bridge. I decided to give it a try figuring if there isn’t a big improvement in the sound I would put the Spillway bridge back on. Well, I was pleasantly surprised, although I shouldn’t have been surprised at all; Don said it would sound better and it did. It has even better bass response and significantly more volume. It also seems to somewhat tame the overtones and even out the response between the fifth string and the other strings. Don goes by the name Stringbean45 on Ebay where he sells his bridges and some other banjo related stuff.

This review was re"printed" from the March 2017 issue my e-newsletter "Rooster Rick's Clawhammer Banjo Gazette." If you are interested in receiving the monthly Gazette contact me at:
rick@homegrownstringband.com

-Rick