Banjo legend Earl Scruggs to perform at Royce Hall with Merle Jagger in UCLA Live concert

Few musicians can claim to have altered the course of an instrument’s history. Eddie Van Halen popularized finger-tapping with his “Eruption” guitar solo; Larry Graham brought slap technique to the electric bass with Sly and the Family Stone.

Before them both, there was Earl Scruggs.

87-year-old banjo virtuoso Earl Scruggs will be performing at Royce Hall on Saturday with special guest Merle Jagger in a show presented by UCLA Live.

“Scruggs is the Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix of the banjo,” said Scott Linford, an ethnomusicology graduate student and banjo player for UCLA’s Bluegrass and Old-Time String Band.

“No one played banjo the same way after Earl Scruggs.”

Scruggs first gained fame in 1945 as the banjo player for the Blue Grass Boys, guitarist Bill Monroe’s band and the namesake of the bluegrass genre. He popularized a new way of playing the banjo that allowed for the breakneck speeds associated with bluegrass music.

Called “Scruggs-style” picking, the technique is used by the majority of banjo players today, according to Linford.

“It’s somewhat closer to finger-picking guitar, where you’ve got three fingers and your thumb all working together to just create an absolute barrage of notes,” Linford said. “Two-finger style was relatively popular and three-finger was sort of an aberration, until Scruggs came on the scene in the 1940s.”

Scruggs’ status and influence is not lost on Mark Christian, guitarist and founding member of L.A. outfit Merle Jagger. The opening act for Saturday’s concert, Merle Jagger performs a mix of country, bluegrass and experimental rock music.

“Ever since I was a child, I was fascinated with the banjo, but for some reason the guitar was always my main instrument,” Christian said. “When I was designing the Merle Jagger sound, I was trying to play banjo on the guitar.”

Mark Christian emulates the speedy picking patterns of “Scruggs-style” banjo on his vintage Telecaster, played loud and rowdy through an amplifier, and is supported by bassist Steve Andrews and drummer Tod Burr. Christian said he is honored to be playing a show with the legendary Scruggs.

An allusion to Merle Haggard, Merle Travis and Mick Jagger, the name “Merle Jagger” was Christian’s way of telling the world that they were both a country and a rock outfit (Merle Jagger beat out Bob Dillinger as the name of the band).

Christian got the idea to mix his country influences with rock music after working with members of Dwight Yoakam’s band in the 1990s. He attended a Yoakam concert through this connection.

“I said, “˜Wow, this is like a rock concert.’ The drummer is beating his drums to death, and there is a mosh pit full of cowboy hats in front of the band. I said, “˜Where do I sign up for this?'”

Instrumental in the programming of this concert was Phil Rosenthal, director of marketing and communications at UCLA Live.

“I am a lifelong bluegrass fan, and Scruggs is one of the last remaining titans of the genre,” Rosenthal said.

He also added how lucky UCLA is to host Scruggs. At 87, he only performs a handful of times a year. “It’s just very important for us to preserve his legacy, and to support it,” Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal said he is equally enthusiastic about the evening’s opening act Merle Jagger.

“(They are) the perfect local band to open for Mr. Scruggs,” he said. “L.A. actually has a lot of cool alt-country underground stuff going on.”

Rosenthal said he believes that students attending the show will see connections to music that is popular today.

“Yonder Mountain String Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Avett Brothers ““ many of these bands are embracing bluegrass music,” he said.

“A new generation of fans are appreciating this kind of music.”