TOM NECHVILLE
Tom Nechville, inventor, designer, and builder of the revolutionary Heli-Mount banjo, ENTERPRISE Bridge, Meteor Electric Banjos, the Banjovie mini banjo, Flex-Tone banjos, and more, . began playing the 5-string when he was in his early teens. Tom is president of Nechville Musical Products, and is also a professional banjoist, having been part of the Midwest bluegrass bands such as Backroads Junction, Strawberry Jam, Middle Spunk Creek Boys, and Tamarac. He is a professional member of the American Society of Independent Luthiers, the International Bluegrass Music Association, the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association, and the National Association of Music Merchants. In 1991, and 2011 Tom received patents on his Heli-Mount banjo designs and technology and has spent over a quarter century designing and building custom instruments for serious banjoists worldwide. Tom travels extensively and holds the record for the most travel with the fewest hotel bills. One night in the new millennium, after having unknowingly stopped to rest along the barbed wire fence outside a Flint Michigan prison. He was awakened by an officer asking for his identification. His wallet being in his pants at home didn't help sell the story of Tom being an international banjo executive on his way to Canada. After an embarrassing interrogation, Nechville put on a small concert for the troopers to prove his identity. Tom resides in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his wife Jane. They travel the world attending music events and spreading the joy of the Banjo Revolution. Look for them at the next Bluegrass festival you attend.