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      You are here: Home / Music / Dueling Banjos: An Adirondack Reflection

      Dueling Banjos: An Adirondack Reflection

      March 25, 2013 By Geo Davis Leave a Comment

      Note: The following post is excerpted from “Dueling Banjos: An Adirondack Reflection” which first appeared on Rosslyn Redux.

      I’ve loved “Dueling Banjos” since I was a boy, but there’s another less obvious reason that this song, synonymous for many people with John Boorman’s Deliverance, strikes a chord. (Forgive the pun!)

      Dueling Banjos: An Adirondack Reflection, Inspired by Mark Kroos
      Inspired by Mark Kroos (via Rosslyn Redux)

      I was reared in the rural Adirondacks, and as an adult I returned to the Adirondacks with my bride. And while many express envy for our nature-centric, outdoorsy lifestyle, I’ve become accustomed to Deliverance jokes when people wonder aloud what it must be like to actually live and work “in the sticks“. Geographic disparity aside, whistling or humming a few bars of “Dueling Banjos” has become a sort of universal reference to back-country social backwardness.

      I suspect that this may have bothered me when I was younger, away at summer camp or boarding school, but specific memories of feeling slighted haven’t stuck with me. I do recall feeling excited to come home to the Adirondacks, and I do remember how much visitors enjoyed playing in the Adirondack Mountains and Lake Champlain and the Boquet River. For me “Dueling Banjos” became a sort of insiders’ anthem to all that was good about rural living.

      That belly-button gazing aside, the merits of Mark Kroos‘s solo rendition of “Dueling Banjos” need no propping up from me. This guy’s a genius! I headed off to his website to learn a little more.

      Mark Kroos plays 2 guitar necks at the same time… His primarily instrumental style is characterized by open harmonies, polyphonic textures, incredible tapping technique, and is as entertaining to watch as it is to listen to… (Mark Kroos)

      A great start to this early spring week! Thanks, Mark Kroos.

      [Read the full post here: “Dueling Banjos: An Adirondack Reflection” on Rosslyn Redux.)

      Related articles
      • “Deliverance” Dueling Banjos, Version 2.0 [VIDEO]
      • “Dueling Banjos” Go Pluck-For-Pluck On Turntable Tuesday
      • Guy plays “Dueling Banjos” solo on double necked guitar (Video)

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      Filed Under: Music Tagged With: Adirondack, Adirondack Mountains, Boquet River, Deliverance, Dueling Banjos, Lake Champlain, Mark Kroos

      About Geo Davis

      Geo Davis (aka virtualDavis) is a writer, storyteller and unabashed flâneur. He taught and coached at Santa Fe Preparatory School and The American School of Paris, co-founded Maison Margaux: "Paris à la parisienne" in Faubourg Saint-Germain, and owns Adobe Oasis in Santa Fe, NM with his bride.

      Geo chronicles adventures (and misadventures) of rehabilitating an historic Essex home at Rosslyn Redux: Reawakening a home, a dream and ourselves; blogs about doodling and other esoterica at virtualDavis.com; posts sometimes unnerving, occasionally euphoric, and always pollyanna "midlife mashups" at 40x41.com; waxes nautical at Sailing Errant; and delves into matters of parenting, babylandia, and childfreedom at Why No Kids? He meanders on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube and Flickr.

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