Our Town: Banjo Hero

That twang, that unique sound of the banjo seemed to resonate with Charles Wood, a typical teenager from Seneca, South Carolina. Having played the piano since he was five, there was something about the sound of the banjo that connected with him.

As a student at Seneca High School, the banjo captivated Wood. He received one of the round-bodied instruments for his fifteenth birthday, found a recording of Foggy Mountain Banjo by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and dissected every tune note-for-note. Knowing he needed to master the unique skills of banjo playing, Wood became a student of renowned player Al Osteen. Osteen, who has been involved in bluegrass music in the Upstate since the l960s and teaching banjo since the 70s, is legendary in bluegrass circles and considers Wood one of his top students.

When Wood turned eighteen, he began playing with Curtis Blackwell (a former member of the legendary Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys) and his band The Dixie Bluegrass Boys. Although he graduated from Clemson, he will tell you that this is when his real education started. The Dixie Bluegrass Boys toured extensively along the East Coast where Wood was exposed to various styles of banjo music, soaking up all he could learn. And, unbeknownst to him, he was catching the attention of the teachers as the bluegrass community began talking about the youngster from South Carolina and his deft skills. Charles Wood was quickly becoming known as an up-and-coming banjo all-star.

Wood’s first award came in 1992 when he crossed into the Peach State and won the Georgia State Banjo competition. In 1998, he won the banjo competition at Merlefest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the festival honoring another one of his music heroes, Merle Watson. As if that wasn’t enough, in 1999 Wood was named the Winfield National Banjo Champion in Kansas, an accolade he won again in 2006. (By rules of the national competition, you are only eligible to win every six years.) He had solidified his place alongside bluegrass royalty.

Then there was excitement along the way. In 2005, Wood received an unsuspecting e-mail from actor, comedian, and now Grammy-winning musician, Steve Martin. It seems Martin had purchased one of his CDs and was interested in learning more about Wood’s music and banjo playing. After about a month of informal talks, Martin invited Wood to New York to hang out, play some banjo, and make an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman playing alongside Martin, Earl Scruggs, Pete Wernick, and Tony Ellis. It seems Steve Martin, because of his celebrity, was not used to playing with other musicians and needed a stellar group to help
him along.

While these banjo aficionados were stressed about playing on national television, according to Wood, Martin was the most anxious. “Steve was nervous about playing along side Earl Scruggs and the pressure doubled being on Letterman’s show. Surprisingly, I was pretty calm and thought it was a blast,” explains Wood.

Letterman helped ease the tension by introducing the group as, “men with banjos that know how to use them.” They launched into “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” a Scruggs original, with precision, and Wood performed a solo that captivated Letterman and his entire studio audience.

The real reason for the visit to New York was for the New Yorker Festival. Martin had agreed to present “The Great American Banjo: A Conversation with Music,” featuring the crew that performed on Letterman and, as noted in the press releases, “an up-and-coming young phenom named Charles Wood.” The event held in a Manhattan theater sold out in three minutes.

“The trip to New York hanging out with Steve Martin and those banjo legends for five days was awesome, probably the most fun I’ve ever had,” says Wood.

This all led to an appearance on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, two tours in Austria and Germany with The Lonesome Road Band, and teaching at the Munich, Germany, Banjo Camp in October 2009. “Bluegrass is an exotic music form in Europe,” explains Wood. “The European audiences get very quiet. They are captivated by the sound and listen intently.”

Today, Wood continues to tour with several bands and mostly performs solo around the Upstate. He also finds time to teach at Fifth String Music in Greenville and has students of all ages. He is currently working on a new CD due in late spring.

Lucky for us, we have him right here, in our own backyard.

Catch Charles Wood
March 26
South Rock Grill
7-10pm
Hendersonville, NC

April 2
Just More BBQ (plays here frequently)
6:30-9pm
Pendleton, SC
justbarbeque.com

April 17
Hagood Mill
11am-1pm
Pickens, SC

For more info and details visit,
www.charleswoodbanjo.com

Photographs courtesy of Charles Wood