I've been fascinated with Danny Barnes for years, especially since hearing his post-Bad Livers solo recordings. His blog delivers a constant supply of insightful, thought-provoking articles on the intersections of art and commerce in the life of a musician. Danny's music is both ancient and futuristic, simultaneously strange and familiar. Danny Barnes

We welcome Danny to the Moonlight Mile stage Saturday, March 22nd at 7:30 p.m. for an interview followed by his show. It's not your typical solo banjo performance, mind you.

“Typically, when you’re rollin’ out there (on stage), people start thinking about wagon wheels and rolling hay or something like that, you know. But actually, harmonically speaking it’s kind of an advanced instrument," Danny told the Eugene Register-Guard recently, "“The way it’s pitched and the timbre — you can play with an orchestra, a punk rock band, a traditional jazz quartet, a country band, a rock band. It fits in almost anywhere, because it’s somewhere between a drum and a melodic instrument.”

Get your tickets here or at the door at Moonlight Mile studio, located at 565 Long Shoals Road, Suite 203, Arden NC 28704. We recommend advance purchase as there is room for only 50 guests.

Update on 2014-03-21 13:17 by Joe Kendrick

I warmed up for our upcoming conversation by recording this Danny Barnes' interview on WNCW

Danny outlines his music style "barnyard electronics", talks about themes of struggle and common dignity on his new record, how Earl Scruggs made one of the last great innovations in banjo music after revolutionizing it decades earlier, his love of Aphex Twin and grindcore and much more. -joe

Artist stereotypes do not apply

How many times have parents cringed when their children fell in love with a musician? Let's be honest, the world has looked askance at artists of all stripes (with notable exceptions) for most of our history. Musicians tend to be thought of as people who may be great at their art but who are nonetheless pretty bad at life skills like paying bills, getting to work on time, and sticking with the missus.

Aaron turns all those stereotypes on their head; he is not only a fantastic songwriter and musician, but he also runs his own construction business and is a devoted family man living a stone's throw from where he grew up in the western NC mountains. He is as meticulous and intense about his guitar and ballads as he is about his green built homes and raising his two girls.

As you'll see in our pilot episode, Aaron does both life and art exceptionally well. The folks around him are a big part of that.