Music
Banjo playing criminal serenades cops
by Jeremy Mersereau
July 29, 2015
A Vancouver, Washington man was taken into custody after this musical standoff.
“He’s such an excellent banjo player, you almost don’t wish for a pair of wire cutters” P.J. O’Rourke once said of Pete Seeger. Harsh!
Consciously or not, the banjo has long been derided by a large contingent of music fans as an irritating, down-home instrument even before the iconic Deliverance scene. Banjo players and appreciators worldwide have been waiting with bated breath for a story to surface that will pluck the heartstrings of the haughty music world and restore the banjo to its rightful, glorious place as the King of String, forever sweeping away its tarnished image as the King of Denim Coverall Wearers. This uh, is not that story.
After Vancouver, Washington police received reports of a naked man wandering around with a knife, they quickly cornered him outside his home. The man emerged from within and attempted to soothe the cops — or at least lull them into not arresting him — with the dulcet tones of his banjo. His plan worked perfectly! Actually, the cops quickly took him down with a non-lethal round and took him into custody, later revealing to media that the man was wanted for assault on a family member.
Apologies to banjo lovers everywhere, as this story doesn’t do much to remedy the banjo’s public image. But hey, that kid in Deliverance sure could play!
Watch a video of the bizarre incident below:
