Groundbreaking banjo player Bela Fleck has won 15 Grammys (no, that is NOT a typo) in his nearly 40-year-long musical career, and shared the stage with such heavyweights as jazz pianist Chick Corea and bassist Victor Wooten in that time.
This time around, Fleck is hitting the road with his wife Abigail Washburn and their young son Juno, who turns one on May 19. The banjo duo of Fleck and Washburn will be making their Canadian debut at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC this Saturday at 8pm. Juno, however, will be sound asleep by then.
Q: You have recently welcomed a new member to your family and are now touring with your wife. What is it like touring with your wife and son?
BF: Oh it's so sweet. The best part is not having to leave them. And I love the music Abby and I have developed. Our baby takes his bath backstage in a blowup yellow Ducky, we put him to bed before the show on the tour bus. Lovely.
Q: What did you think the first time you heard the banjo?
BF: I didn't know what it was but I loved the sound. I had to get a banjo!
It was Earl Scruggs and he has that impact on banjo players to be.
It took a few years, but when it got one, it was love.
Q: What is the secret for keeping a band going for over 20 years?
BF: Everyone needs to feel musically invested. And taking breaks helps. It's good to know that you'll have a chance to express the sides of oneself that doesn't fit that situation. Otherwise a band can become a prison, and people need to escape.
Q: What music are you listening to right now/ What is in your CD player?
BF: Loving the Nickel Creek reunion CD. It's very good, and I have memories of those guys from when they were very young. I'm also loving Deerhoof.
Q: You originally started as a bluegrass musician, but since have branched out from there. What artists influence your music?
BF: Wow, so many - from Chick Corea to Glenn Gould, BACH, Mozart, the police, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell. Where to stop?
Q: What are you most proud of in your musical career?
BF: Lately I'm excited about writing for symphony, my new banjo concerto, playing with Chick Corea, being in a band for 25 years, and playing with Abigail.
Q: Growing up did you imagine yourself as a professional musician? What did you think you would be when you grew up?
BF: I thought I'd be a Sci Fi writer! I never thought I'd be good enough to make it as a musician. I just worked as hard as I could on it - I'm still a bit surprised.
Q: What should we expect from your new record that you are making with Abigail?
BF: It's gonna be very cool, very rooted in tradition, actually - but with a lot of our personalities embedded.It's spare, just the sounds that the two of us can make, with no extra production, but a lot of attention to detail, feel and mood.
• Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn perform at UBC's Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 8pm.
