Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer have a new video podcast available on their web site - Cathy & Marcy in BANJOLAND.

It’s a fun romp through the world of banjos, designed to introduce the instrument to younger folks without a clear understanding of the history and variety of the banjo family.

Cathy and Marcy have long been involved in performing and recording folk music for children, including two Grammy Award winning CDs in the Best Musical Album For Children category.

They demonstrate a number of fun banjos - banjo ukulele, cello banjo, fretless banjo - and even one made from a lunch box!

They even created a promotional trailer to spread the word about the new video podcast, which reveals a closely-held secret about Banjoland.

The folks at Gold Tone have introduced a number of new banjos - cello banjos, that is.

These jumbos are made with a 24.75” scale, fitted with high-tension nylon strings. They were introduced at the January 2008 NAMM show in Anaheim, CA and Gold Tone co-founder Wayne Rogers tells us that their first shipment of 100 sold out immediately, with back orders for another 100 now in force.

The 4 string model is tuned in 5ths like a cello (C G D A), and designed to play melody lines - though players with large hands could conceivably play chords as well. The 5 string is tuned a full octave below the standard banjo, much like the ones used in banjo orchestras near the turn of the previous century.

Rogers describes how this new set of Gold Tone models was born…

“Marcy Marxer was playing an 1920s Gibson cello banjo for accompaniment. After seeing one of her You Tube videos, I was convinced it would be of great interest to contemporary banjoists.

So since we tooled up for the 4 string, we also did a 5 string and a 6 string Lojo… a short high top string with an extra bass string.”

He proudly notes that the 5 string model has already received endorsements from Béla Fleck, Victor Wooten, Rick Shubb, Bob Carlin and Tony Trischka - who will review the banjo for Banjo NewsLetter.

The 5 string (CEB 5) sells for $1199 and the 4 string (CEB 4) for $1099. Both are shipped with a hard shell case and feature a maple rim and neck (ebony fingerboard) and a brass tone ring.

Here is Marcy playing a spirited version on Angeline The Baker on her CEB-4.

The Gold Tone cello banjos are available from selected dealers worldwide.

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer have recently launched their first podcast, Cathy & Marcy’s Song Shop. The target audience is kids, or families with kids. The podcast is intended to be a sing-along, play-along, laugh-along adventure for kids.

The first episode was entitled It’s Better When We Sing It Together and the second episode is It’s a Shame. Each podcast features a song by the same title and the children are encouraged to participate and sing along. The videos are taped with a live audience so there is on screen participation as well.

If you have you children and they are into music at all, this may be something you’ll want to check out. Cathy & Marcy tell me they are planning other Folk and Bluegrass podcasts in the future, so we’ll be watching for that.

Both of the existing episodes, along with all future ones, can be watched online. You can also subscribe to the feed from the same page to have the podcasts delivered via iTunes or whichever podcatcher you prefer.