In 1968-while in the Air Force and stationed at Mather Air Force Base in Rancho Cordova, CA – I was asked by Tiny Moore to teach 5-string banjo at his Tiny Moore Music. Tiny Moore played with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys from the time he was 16 years old. Tiny and Billy Jack Wills opened and operated Wills Point in Sacramento for several years. Tiny and Billy Jack married the McKinley Sisters who sang for Bob Wills. Over the years Tiny opened his music store and had two different weekly TV shows local to the Sacramento area. Later, Tiny started playing with Merle Haggard and was his bandleader for many years. Through Tiny, I met and played with many well known performers. I taught at Tiny’s store into 1977 when my brother Monte and I started making banjos in El Dorado County in California under the name Hendricks Banjos.
Also, in the early part of the 1970’s, I taught at a music store in Marysville. Maybe for 1 and 1/2 years. That was because I was traveling 3 and 4 day weekend trips playing banjo and guitar as part of The Louise Dunn Show. We always returned to Marysville late Sunday night. So I taught at the local store on Mondays before returning to Sacramento. Then Rob Bonner and I started The South Loomis Quickstep.
When Monte and I started Hendricks Banjos I stopped teaching to concentrate my time at the banjo shop. As always, my performing schedule came first. The South Loomis Quickstep was traveling a lot! A couple of people really kept after me to teach and finally talked me into it. One person in particular, Mike Hawkey, drove from just south of Redding to Placerville for instruction. More and more people wanted instruction from me and it was starting to disrupt my time at the banjo shop. So I decided it was time to find a place to consolidate my teaching.
I rented space at The Fifth String in Sacramento, first one and then two days a week. When The Fifth String moved locations in 1997, I moved to a new store called The Acoustic Shop and stayed there until they closed their doors two years later.
Since then, I rent space in Sacramento and operate my own teaching studio. I teach there on Monday and Wednesday. I teach at home on Tuesday. I am at the banjo shop on Thursday and Friday.
I have done workshops at many festivals in many states.
AS WELL AS
Hosted – Folk Music Showcase and guest hosted on KEZS Weekly Bluegrass Hour.
Studio musician on many albums and numerous radio and T.V. advertising jingles.
Soundtracks – Sacramento Illustrated; Budweiser; Safeway; Ricco’s Pizza; Weeknight Theme; California State Fair; California’s Gold along with various other jingles and commercials.
Featured instrumentalist on television radio programs –
TV: California – 7:30 Special; Good Morning Sacramento; Seattle, Washington – KOMO.
Radio: California – KRAK; KNEW; KZAP; KGNR; KEZS; KYLO; KUOP; Reno, Nevada – KUNR & Portland, Oregon – KBOO.
Past Groups – Al and Friends; Louise Dunn Show; Rawhide 5; Stone County Drifters; Tiny Moore; Jack Traylor; Ray Park; Cousin Emily; South Loomis Quickstep; California Quickstep; Highway 49; Delta Billies; Wild Creek, Mosquito Road.
Guest Appearances – with Buddy Allen; Jimmy Doyle; Newgrass Revival; Meuf Nutter; Chris Hillman.
Performances (to name a few) – California: Sacramento – Rail Fair, Old Eagle Theater, Gold Rush Days, Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau, Torch Club; San Francisco – Mark Hopkins Hotel, Fairmont Hotel; Santa Clara – Marriot’s Great America; Sloughouse – Rancho Murietta; Rocklin – Stanford Ranch; Napa – Silverado Country Club; Texas: Dallas – Hyatt Regency; Nevada – Sparks: John Ascuag’s Nugget; Lake Tahoe – Hyatt Lake Tahoe; Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.
Awards: California – Lifetime Achievement and Membership – California Bluegrass Association; as well as multiple banjo contest.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE
Festivals – California: Midsummer Bluegrass Festival-Grass Valley, Father’s Day Festival-Grass Valley, Huck Finn Festival-Victorville, Plymouth Bluegrass Valley-Plymouth, Ione Watermelon Festival-Ione, Bethal Island Bluegrass Festival-Bethal Island, Freeport Firemans Festival-Freeport; Idaho: National Old Time Fiddle Contest-Weiser; Nevada: Bower’s Mansion-Washoe Valley, Battle Mountain Bluegrass Festival-Battle Mountain, Desert Bluegrass Festival-Fallon, Desert Music Festival-Fallon; Texas: Border Folk Festival-El Paso; Virginia: Wolf Trap Folk Festival; Washington: Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival-Mukilteo; Western United States: Harvest Festival 1975-1989; Canada: Winnipeg Folk Festival; England: Edale Bluegrass Festival; Holland: American Festival of Arts, Crafts and Music-Amsterdam and the Big Bear Festival-Zweeloo.
Fairs – World’s Fair: Knoxville, Tennessee; State Fairs: California, Kansas, Nevada; County Fairs: San Mateo, Tri-County, El Dorado, Tehema, Yuba-Sutter; Placer and Amador; Specialty: Dixon May Fair, Dixon California; Delta Pear Fair, Courtland, California; Walnut Festival, Walnut Creek, California; Calistoga Wine Festival, Calistoga, California; Calistoga Antique and Collectors Fair, Calistoga, California.
I have made custom banjos with my brother/partner Monte under the name Hendricks Banjos in Pollock Pines, California since 1977.
Discography – Paradise 1330 4421; Grass Mountain 1002; Copperwood 3216-08 and M.D. 1979; JVR 73C32; H.F. 1001.
Contest – 1st place bluegrass banjo, Georgetown, California 1985 and 1986.
Judge – Many California statewide competitions since 1975