I’m always conflicted about adding banjo to a recording because it’s such a specific and recognizable sound. Nobody hears a banjo and thinks, My goodness, what is that instrument? But I think the sound works in “The Kindness of Strangers.” It helps keep the song lighter.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.aaronespe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/banjo-body.jpeg?resize=900%2C675&ssl=1)
I bought this banjo in Fargo, North Dakota. I was walking down Broadway with my mother-in-law. Through the big window of a small shop called Gruber Guitars, I saw a wall full of instruments. That was the last time I was banjoless.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.aaronespe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/banjo-headstock.jpeg?resize=900%2C675&ssl=1)
(FYI, you can also hear this banjo in “Only Time.”)
Love,
Aaron
P.S. Here’s some more pics for you gear geeks (who I love).
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.aaronespe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/banjo-body-side.jpeg?resize=900%2C675&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.aaronespe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/banjo-body-back.jpeg?resize=900%2C675&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.aaronespe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/banjo-headstock-back.jpeg?resize=900%2C675&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.aaronespe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/banjo-full.jpeg?resize=900%2C675&ssl=1)