Some of you may wonder why I started The Banjo Reserve. Perhaps I should start by telling you a little about myself …
My name is Jim Van Zile, I am a very lucky husband, father of three great kids, former Graphic Designer, currently a part-time Realtor with a fantastic Broker at Empire Realty Group, and a full-time IT Business Analyst / Project Manager at a large nation-wide printing company. I am pretty blessed to say the least.
Raised in Rochester, NY, I relocated my family to Bedford, NH in 2003, where we lived for the next nine years. This area of New England was an incredible place to raise our family, and a stunningly beautiful area of the United States.
After spending the better part of 50 years in the North, we decided to give the South a try. In the Spring of 2012 we moved to Apex, NC, a western suburb of Raleigh. Having already experienced a couple previous job relocations, we were no strangers to settling in a new area and starting over. Family, friends and acquaintances in the area were welcoming and very generous. The relocation to North Carolina resulted in many positive experiences and opportunities for our family.
October 2013, Raleigh co-hosted their first International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) World of Bluegrass conference & music festival. I had no idea who the IBMA was, or any expectations of the event itself, it was a music festival and a nice weekend…let’s check it out. Numerous street stages, vendors and pop-up jams, I was completely amazed at the camaraderie among the musicians and the enthusiasm of the crowd. You could not help but become consumed and inspired by the atmosphere of this event, and the Bluegrass genre. I am a proud IBMA Member and have attended the IBMA WOB festival almost every year since.
With the exception of a few years of drum lessons as a young teen, I have wanted to learn and become proficient with an instrument. And by proficient, I mean not look and sound ridiculous playing it! It was here at this IBMA WOB event I decided I was going to learn how to play the Banjo. There was no hesitation, no excuses, no doubt, I am going forward with this. I immediately bought some books, watched videos and started learning whatever I could about the Banjo. With some minimal guidance, my wife and kids bought me a Recording King RK-R20 for Christmas.
My Internet searches turned up a lot of great information, ArtistWorks with Tony Trischka, Banjo for Dummies by Bill Evans, and the Banjo Hangout website were fantastic resources. I came to the conclusion pretty quickly that private lessons would get me on the right track. A contact at Pincone, the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music in Raleigh, put me in touch with Hank Smith, an incredibly talented and diverse professional musician and equally as patient! Hank is co-founder of his band Hank, Pattie & The Current.
Lessons with Hank were very informative and naturally lead to discussions about various styles and the musicians that have mastered them. My fascination with the information about the Artists, and my natural tendencies to capture, organize and expand on this information motivated me to create a database. My creative disposition took my interest in the Artists to another level, in 2015 the banjoreserve.com was launched with none other than Hank Smith as my first Featured Artist.
The mission for the banjoreserve.com is simple, to provide an informative resource and promotional tool for Banjo Players. The Banjo Reserve brand is about encouraging others, creating a positive and supportive community for Banjo Players at all skill levels.
In 2016, we moved back to Rochester, NY to pursue new opportunities. But, our journey has not ended here. With children and grand-children living in New England, we will most likely have one more relocation in our near future!
Thank you to all my friends, family, participating Artists, The Banjo Reserve friends, and social media followers. Your support and encouragement is motivating and greatly appreciated. I hope to meet many of you along the way. Please feel free to contact me anytime!
