ivaw

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On today’s show I speak with Clifton Hicks, a great young banjo player originally from Florida and Georgia who now resides in Boone, NC.  I’ve known and known about Clif for a while now, ever since he sent in his home recordings to Down Home Radio.  I was blown away by his singing and playing and was very happy to finally meet him when I was in Boone at the Black Banjo Gathering in March.  Hicks is a protege of George Gibson and was kind enough to set up an interview for me with George which we heard on the last installment of Down Home Radio.  In this interview Clifton speaks about his family background and introduction to the music, gives some thoughtful notes on his style and technique as a musician and plays a bunch of tunes live on the show.  He also speaks about his experiences as a soldier in Iraq which led him to oppose the war and get involved with IVAW (Iraq Veterans Against the War).  Clifton Hicks is one of my favorite musicians and it was great to finally get him on the program.  He will be appearing at the Jalopy Theater on Saturday May 22nd as part of the Brooklyn Folk Festival.  Check it out!

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