There’s a famous Far Side cartoon in which a newly deceased orchestra conductor is being shown his assigned spot in Hell; awaiting him, of course, are rank upon rank of banjo-players. Along with the accordion, the banjo is one of those musical instruments that seem condemned to be the eternal butt of derision. Woodstock banjo colossus Bill Keith – who toured everywhere on the bluegrass circuit as a member of Bill Monroe’s band – once claimed that he was amassing an exhaustive collection of banjo jokes for eventual publication.