Biography
Tony Trischka was born in Syracuse, New York, and graduated from Syracuse University (in Syracuse, New York) with a B.A in Fine Arts, and was inspired to play the banjo in 1963, listening to the Kingston Trio's "Charlie and The MTA".
Trischka was a founding member of the Syracuse band Down City Ramblers during and beyond his college years, along with such musicians as Harry "Tersh" Gilmore (aka Lou Martin), Tom Hosmer, John Cadley, John Dancks, Greg Root, Greg Johnson, and Joel Diamond. Along with Gilmore and Hosmer he was also in the trio calling itself The Inedible String Bland. Both bands primarily, and frequently, played at Syracuse's premier music club/restaurant of the 1960s, Cap'n Mac's Clam Shack.
In 1971 he made his recording debut on 15 Bluegrass Instrumentals with the Ithaca, NY based Country Cooking, (Peter Wernick, Kenny Kosek, Andy Statman, John Miller, Harry "Tersh" Gilmore) and at the same time, he was also a member of Syracuse's Country Granola (Herb Feuerstein, Johno Lanford, Greg Root, Danny Weiss, etc.). In 1973, he began a two-year stint with the New York City band, Breakfast Special (Kenny Kosek, Andy Statman, Roger Mason, Stacy Phillips, Jim Tolles). (This was Trischka's "food band" period.) Between 1974 and 1975, he recorded two solo albums, Bluegrass Light and Heartlands. After another solo album in 1976, Banjoland, he became musical leader for the Broadway show, The Robber Bridegroom. Trischka toured with the show in 1978, the year he also played with the Monroe Doctrine. Beginning in 1978, he also played with artists such as Peter Rowan, Richard Greene, and Stacy Phillips.
In the early 1980s, he began recording with his new group Skyline, which recorded its first album in 1983. Subsequent albums included Robot Plane Flies over Arkansas (solo, 1983), Stranded in the Moonlight (with Skyline, 1984) and Hill Country (solo, 1985). In 1984, he performed in his first feature film, Foxfire. Three years later, he worked on the soundtrack for Driving Miss Daisy. Trischka produced the Belgian group Gold Rush's No More Angels in 1988. The following year, Skyline recorded its final album, Fire of Grace. He also recorded the theme song for Books on the Air, a popular National Public Radio Show, and continued his affiliation with the network by appearing on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, From Our Front Porch, and other radio shows.
Trischka's solo recordings include 1993's World Turning, 1995's Glory Shone Around: A Christmas Collection and 1999's Bend. New Deal, a studio album that followed in 2003, was a bluesy adaptation of bluegrass standards that included a vocal cameo by Loudon Wainwright III. Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, with an appearance by comedian Steve Martin, came out four years later.
Trischka was banjo teacher to Béla Fleck, regarded, along with Trischka, as one of the world's top banjoists.
In the late 1990s, Trischka teamed up with David Grier, Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, and Todd Phillips as "Psychograss" and formed the "Tony Trischka Band" with saxophonist Michael Amendola, guitarist Glenn Sherman, bassist Marco Accattatis and drummer Grisha Alexiev. The quintet's debut album Bend explored yet more territory uncharted by banjo.
In January 2007 Trischka released, to critical and popular acclaim, Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, featuring new music and performances by a stellar line-up of musicians including Earl Scruggs, Béla Fleck and the multi-talented Steve Martin. On April 26, 2007, he performed live on the Late Show with David Letterman with Steve Martin and Béla Fleck.
On October 4, 2007 Trischka won three International Bluegrass Music Awards, for Album of the Year, Recorded Event of the Year, and Banjo Player of the Year.
In 2008, Trischka released an album on Smithsonian Folkways entitled Territory, which in 2009 won the 8th annual Independent Music Awards for Best Americana Album.
In 2009, Tony Trischka launched the 'Tony Trischka School of Banjo', an online banjo school.
In 2010 produced Steve Martin’s Rare Bird Alert (March 2011-Rounder) which features performances by Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks.
In 2011 Tony acted as the musical director of the documentary "Give Me the Banjo", which first aired on PBS in the fall of 2011.
Trischka resides in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
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