Rob,

I finally did what I should have done in the first place. I watched the video.

I found two musical references to Prince Charles.

The first comes at about 2:20 when he says,
"Your fingers are so stiff you can't go back and sort of play prince Charles kind of guitar"
I'll give you irony on that one. Apparently GSS didn't get it.

The second reference comes at about 2:46 when he says,
"...unlike the Prince Charles Pick the Travis pick I'm sorry..."
That I will call a slip of the tongue.

IMHO, the first reference is based upon a romantic myth.

The style of banjo playing Steve is talking about became associated with rural Americans (including but not limited to farmers) in the 20th century, but they didn't invent it. It's roots can be traced to a technique called "stroke style" from the American minstrel tradition of the 19th century.

The minstrels were professional touring musicians, some of whom were prolific producers of instruction manuals. The target market for such "tutorials" was the urban gentry, not the rural poor.

If an Appalachian farmer played the stroke style or one of its descendents, it would not have been because his hands were stiff at the end of a long day, but because he learned that technique from his or her banjo mentor.

For what it is worth....
My American banjo-playing friends and I tend to use the terms "clawhammer" and "frailing" interchangeably.
If I were to be over-precise, I would call my style "thumping" like the Pocahontas County WV banjo players I emulate.

Russ (Permanent GUEST and banjo player)