Tony Trischka’s latest banjo venture is now live online. It’s the Tony Trischka School of Banjo, an interactive instructional video course for banjo players at any level.

The site offers prepared banjo lessons from Tony, with students invited to submit videos of themselves playing the lesson material, to which Tony will respond individually.

Registration costs $60 for 3 months which not only allows them access to the online lessons, but also to participate in the online forums, create their own student page, plus the ability to easily upload their own lesson videos using the site’s video management system.

Tony was eager to see things launch when we discussed the new site last week, and he assured us that students could expect individual attention to their lessons, even when he is on the road.

“The primary videos have already been shot – about 150 digestible lessons from beginning to advanced – with more to come.

Tablature is included with the lessons, and I will respond to each video sent to me.”

Here is an introductory video that offers a few more details about Tony, and this new learning system.

http://ttsb.awimedia02.net/media/6/4/7/101_2647_2740_ttsb_promo_take5_104_108_1683.flvYou can find all the details about the Tony Trischka School of Banjo online, where you can register to get started right away.

There is an embarrassment of riches this Friday (5/15) for folks who can tune in to online radio and TV during business hours. We’ll highlight each of several special programs featuring bluegrass artists in the next few postings.

First up is Carol Beaugard’s Lonesome Pine RFD which airs on WFDU in the New York City metro market. The show airs from 9:00 a.m until noon (EDT) and Carol will speak with both Tony Trischka and Claire Lynch about their plans for the rest of ‘09.

Tony will be on the line at 9:15 to talk about the Tony Trischka School of Banjo, a new online instructional site which will launch this summer. Carol also plans to ask him about his work on Steve Martin’s recent banjo CD, The Crow.

Then at 11:00, Claire Lynch will join Carol to break the news about a new Rounder project she expects to have this fall.

Catch Carol et al. on Lonesome Pine RFD at 89.1 FM in the NYC area, and streamed live online at WFDU.fm.

The promoters of the Gathering Of The Vibes festival have come up with a clever way to get you to tune in for their live webcast tonight (4/2) when they announce this year’s lineup.

After the announcements, they will run a video of a live performance at The Gathering in 2004 by The Masters Of Bluegrass: Bryn Bright, Sam Bush, Vassar Clements, Peter Rowan, Gordon Stone, and Tony Trischka.

The webcast begins at 8:00 p.m. (EDT) on the festival website.

The 2009 fest runs July 23-26 in Bridgeport, CT.

Tony Trischka was recently awarded for his CD, territory. The CD won the award for Best Americana Album at the territory was released in 2008 on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. The CD contains 21 tracks including both 3-finger style and clawhammer style banjo playing. Many of the tracks are performed solely by Trischka, while others consist of fiddle/banjo duets or other duel banjo numbers with a variety of accompanying instruments.

Guests include Pete Seeger, Bruce Molsky, Bill Keith, Paula Bradley, Mike Seeger, and Bill Evans.

The CD contains extensive liner notes by Bob Carlin covering Trischka’s background and bio (titled: Tony Trischka Territory), and A Short History of the Banjo. Also included are Trischka’s notes on each of the 21 tracks. His notes detail the many alternate tunings represented on the recording, give background info on each song’s history, and stories of the collaborative efforts with his guests.

One highlighted quote from the liner notes is Tony’s explanation of why he plays the banjo.

It’s like the banjo chose me…

I didn’t really have a say in the matter.

territory is available from Smithsonian Folkways Records as a physical product or a download. The notes are provided as a free PDF download on the same page, along with audio samples of each track.