My college band and I once got onstage at a local bluegress show, each carrying a banjo of some variety. I think we had three five-strings, one fretless, and a mando-banjo (a bass banjo would have been the icing on the cake, but I guess we can't have everything). THose of us who couldn't play played "air-banjo".

About thirty seconds into the song, the emcee came out and told us there was a local ordinance against having more than two banjos within 500 feet of each other at any given time, and we'd have to either break it up or leave (at which point the rest of us went out and came back with whatever instrument we really did play).

The audience howled. We were the "kids with the banjos" for the rest of our college careers. It really did wonders for town-gown relations.



Not really a USE for banjos, but . . . I guess it shows they can be good for something.