Chris Pandolfi
Re-feeling the Feeling
June 19, 2008 | by brett | Permalink
Instead of staying at home on our one and only night in Nashville, our fearless ambassador, Emilee, drove us to the International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA) welcoming party at a hotel in downtown Nashville. The entire hotel was invaded by banjo players, fiddlers, and other bluegrass fanatics that wanted to get close to the artists they loved. In the lobby, players performed and fans mingled. Inside hotel rooms on every floor, impromptu performances naturally occurred while Nashville’s city lights gleamed in the distance. Emilee floated throughout the rooms, introducing us to potential interviewees.
One person we met was Chris Pandolfi, a banjo player from the Infamous Stringdusters group. Before he and his group won three awards the next night at the IBMA, including Song of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year, he agreed to an interview during our time in Nashville.
“If you could go back to when you were twenty-three, and offer yourself just one piece of advice, what would you say to the twenty-three year old Chris?” I asked.
Chris Pandolfi doesn’t fit the stereotypical banjo player profile of a toothless, shoeless Bubba playing the banjo in overalls. He graduated from Dartmouth University where his friends went on to six figure salaries in investment banking. He took a theoretical approach to playing professionally by pursuing a higher education, becoming the first banjo principal at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Eventually he moved to Nashville and helped begin what is now an award winning bluegrass group. Now twenty-seven, what would he say to himself at twenty-three?
“The twenty-three year old version of me was a lot braver than the current version,” Chris admitted. “I’d like to see what he’d say to me.”
His answer was in response to all of the expectations and pressure he had put on himself over four years. He was at a point in his professional career where he became daunted and self critical of his work. It wasn’t like he was twenty-three and possessed the excitement of learning a new instrument. He hit a wall comprised of pressure and expectations which he could not break through without doing something new.
Chris decided to buy a drum set. It was an instrument he always admired, so he temporarily put down the banjo and picked up a pair of drum sticks, playing all day and all night. He found in playing the drums, he made amazing strides in playing the banjo.
“It’s helped me go back in time and rediscover what it feels like to learn a new instrument and be so unafraid of the conventions. There’s no pressure. No professional expectations. It’s just this new outlet. I’m able to re-feel that feeling of life. And that’s the most potent feeling ever.”
Chris spoke like his twenty-three year old self was actually speaking to the twenty-seven year old version. He continued to subconsciously offer himself advice.
“When you’re not afraid, and you’re just chasing after something and don’t know any better, man you’re unstoppable.”
« Previous: Right to Play | Next: Stretch the Line, From Bottom to Punch »
THERE ARE 3 RESPONSES TO THIS INTERVIEW
Re-feeling the Feeling Says:
June 19th, 2008
[…] Aces Full of Links wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Instead of staying at home on our one and only night in Nashville, our fearless ambassador, Emilee, drove us to the International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA) welcoming party at a hotel in downtown Nashville. The entire hotel was invaded by banjo players, fiddlers, and other bluegrass fanatics that wanted to get close to the artists they loved. In the lobby, players performed and fans mingled. Inside hotel rooms on every floor, impromptu performances naturally occurred while Nashville’s city […]
Re-feeling the Feeling Says:
June 19th, 2008
[…] Vixenwriter wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Instead of staying at home on our one and only night in Nashville, our fearless ambassador, Emilee, drove us to the International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA) welcoming party at a hotel in downtown Nashville. The entire hotel was invaded by banjo players, fiddlers, and other bluegrass fanatics that wanted to get close to the artists they loved. In the lobby, players performed and fans mingled. Inside hotel rooms on every floor, impromptu performances naturally occurred while Nashville’s city […]
Steve Says:
June 20th, 2008
This guy is the definition of pursuing the passion. Great video. I enjoyed every minute of it.
RESPOND TO THIS INTERVIEW