Comedian and Banjo Player Steve Martin Turns Music Journalist

CHILMARK, Mass., July 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Martin, who has garnered worldwide acclaim as a comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician, recently added music journalist to his resume. Martin interviews banjo player and composer Tony Ellis in the July issue of The Banjo Newsletter. In a wide-ranging conversation, Martin queries the Ohio-based banjo player about his influences, and how his style has evolved from the early 1960s, when he spent two years with the legendary Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys. Martin also talks with Ellis about how his music has inspired Martin's own banjo playing, particularly Martin's composition The Crow, featured on his 2009 Grammy-winning album The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo.

Martin, who has long been a fan of Ellis' music, says in the interview, "I came upon your music by accident, and I thought, 'Wow, this is the kind of music I remember when I first started playing in the 1960s.' When I heard your song The Wild Fox, it just sounded great, and made me fool around in double C tuning. I immediately wrote my tune The Crow -- and my new banjo career was off and running…"

Ellis' four critically-hailed recordings of original music -- Dixie Banner, Farewell My Home, Quaker Girl, and The Quest -- combine elements of bluegrass, old-time fiddle tunes, 19th-century parlor music, minstrel, Celtic, ragtime, and more. He has composed more than 80 tunes and received 11 awards from ASCAP. His music has been included on Ken Burns' Baseball series, on the popular TV series Party of Five, and more. He was the 2003 recipient of the Ohio Heritage Fellowship.

Steve Martin is best known as the star of such critical and commercial successes as Father of the Bride, The Spanish Prisoner, and many more. He stars in the upcoming The Big Year. A longtime banjo player, Martin has focused increasingly on performing and recording in recent years. This year he released Rare Bird Alert, a new album of original songs backed by the Steep Canyon Rangers.

About The Banjo Newsletter

The Banjo Newsletter is a 44-page monthly magazine for 5-string banjo players that has been published continually since 1973. In 2008 the International Bluegrass Music Association awarded Banjo Newsletter its Distinguished Achievement Award. For more information, please visit www.banjonews.com.

Contact: Donald Nitchie, Editor;  508 645 3648 (phone and fax);  E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE The Banjo Newsletter