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Throw that Banjo! The story of the Infamous Brooklyn Banjo Toss

by Carlo Patrão

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1.
Throw that Banjo! 06:51
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Throw that banjo! – The story of the Infamous Brooklyn Banjo Toss

April 30th, 2017 – It's early afternoon on a Sunday when a small group gathers around a jug band playing near the Smith–Ninth Street subway station exit. Eli Smith, the co-founder of the Brooklyn Folk Festival and long-time banjo player, welcomes everybody to this year's edition of the Banjo Toss Competition, one of the most anticipated events of the three-day folk festival. The jug band leads the parade from Smith-Ninth Street to the Gowanus Canal, a federally designated Superfund site known as "Brooklyn's nautical purgatory." The rules are straightforward: whoever throws the banjo the furthest into the canal wins the competition. Banjo tossers test their throwing techniques and evaluate wind conditions, the jug band sets the rhythm, and the banjo finally makes its dive into the waters of the Gowanus Canal. Plastic gloves are provided to each participant to avoid contact with the toxic waters.

Eli Smith is a banjo player, writer, radio host, researcher, and folk music promoter. In this piece, Smith guides us through the idea behind the Banjo Toss Competition and what it takes to be the best banjo tosser in Brooklyn.

This interview was recorded at the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
2017


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released June 14, 2017

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Carlo Patrão Queens, New York

Radio works, sound collages and field recordings, both local and cosmic

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