By Jonathan Burger, Craven Arts Council & Gallery, Inc.
Where are you from and how’d you end up in eastern North Carolina?
I grew up right down the street in Morehead City. Dare and I were high school sweethearts (still are), and we moved to Asheville for a couple of years after I graduated from law school. Once our oldest child was born, we knew we wanted to move closer to where all our family is, so our kids would grow up near the people that love them best. That was twenty-three years ago, and it was the best decision we ever made. We can’t imagine living anywhere else.
Do you have any formal training as a musician, or are you mostly self-taught?
Every kid in my house grew up taking piano lessons, and at least started with the school band. I played saxophone, all the way through high school and one year of marching band and jazz band at Carolina. I tried to sell my saxophones in my junior year of college, and the only guy that called me about my classified ad was a man asking if I wanted to join his salsa band. I told him of course I would, and had tons of fun playing with Conjunto Sarengue for the next four years. I picked up the banjo when our middle child turned nine years old. We bought her a guitar for her birthday, and she took to it like a fish to water. I wanted to play something with her on the porch. The piano wasn’t easy to bring out to the porch, and the saxophone just didn’t mesh well with her guitar strumming. So Dare got me a mandolin for my birthday. I tried it, but it seemed like my hands were just too big for the spaces between the frets. I was in court in Wilmington one day and wandered by Finklestein’s, and saw a banjo in the window. I bought it, and haven’t looked back. I am self-taught on the banjo through books and online videos, other than my time at the Swannanoa Gathering. I have attended eight years, and always have the best time learning from some of the best banjo players in the world.
How many instruments do you play, and do you have a favorite (why or why not)?
The banjo is by far my favorite. There’s just something about the sound of a banjo—it’s hard not to smile when you hear it. I find that same joy when I learn a new song.
Do you have a favorite song or type of music to play?
I am a firm believer that every song can be a banjo song, and have a lot of fun adapting other types of music, and finding a place for the banjo. I love exploring new tunings for the banjo, and learning different styles of playing it that have been developed throughout the years. My favorite style of playing is oldtime clawhammer. It feels like it allows the banjo to be the percussive instrument that it wants to be. Starting in March 2020, during the pandemic, I challenged myself to learn a new tune every other day, and I have kept that up. I call them “daily dollops of banjoy,” and post them on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. That challenge has pushed me to learn so many new songs, and has been tons of fun. Front porch time with our puppies and a banjo is my favorite way to start each day.
In addition to your music, you also perform in local theatre. What relationship do you see between these two aspects of your life?
I believe that creative artistic expression is essential for all of us, perhaps some more than others. I get such joy out of performing with other people, and I love the collaborative process of creating together. Performing with the Bonafides (and before that, Strung Together, Conjunto Sarengue, and our school bands) gives me the same joy as performing in our local community theaters.
Is there another artist whose work you admire or inspires you?
Goodness, so many. The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Billy Strings, John Hartford, Dom Flemons, the Wailin’ Jennies, just to name a few.
Do you have any advice for a musician or actor just starting out?
I have taken a circuitous route. I know I am in a fortunate position in that I am able to pursue these passions without being dependent on them to support my family. I know it is different for a working actor or a working musician. We have a child who has just graduated with a degree in animation and who is seeking a job, and another who is pursuing acting and directing as a career. I know they will likely have to take jobs that are not exactly what they are looking for at first, but I tell them the same thing I would tell anyone: pursue your dream every day, and work hard at all opportunities that come your way.
What performance, award, or artistic endeavor are you particularly proud of, and why?
I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Strung Together, the band Dare and I formed with our three kids and two of their friends. We performed regionally with those kiddos for years, and recorded five albums of music. When Hurricane Florence devastated our little corner of the world, it affected every one of our band members’ families and their homes. We were able to use our music to help raise money for the recovery, and it was a strong bond that helped all of us through that terrible time. There are songs Strung Together recorded that I can’t listen to without getting very emotional. Those recordings are a time capsule, a strong and permanent reminder of a period in our lives when the five of us were all together under one roof and making beautiful music together. Music heals, music strengthens, and music overcomes. To that end, Dare and I have been helping our son Mason with a project. He is starting a non-profit called Angel Band of New Bern. He is developing a program that will connect volunteer musicians with people who need cheering up when they are sick. Our goal is to provide a way to help spread joy to those that need it most, by singing songs of hope and healing. We’re working on the website now, and expect to have it up and running by the end of the summer.
In one sentence, what is art to you?
Art is our best way to share our inner feelings with everybody else.
I know you’ll be performing at the New Bern Civic Theatre this August, but where else can people see the Bonafides play?
We are so excited to play our Fleetwood Mac tribute show again on August 19th at Civic! We are also performing it at the Old Theater in Oriental on November 18, and we’d love to bring it to some more theaters around North Carolina. We’d also love to perform our “Made Here, Played Here” show at some more theaters, which celebrates music written in North Carolina, and the artists who created it. We’re also going to work on a show for your At the Gallery series in 2024. We have so much fun researching and learning about musicians, and crafting stage shows that highlight the musicians and their music.