Vernon McIntyre Jr.

American bluegrass banjo, guitar player and vocalist. Born in Maryland. For a time, was married to bassist Elizabeth McIntyre. He is now married to Kitty McIntyre, who is the fiddler in Vernon's current The Appalachian Grass. Junior McIntyre ended up in Cincinnati after playing banjo on the streets of New York City and around the Middletown-Hamilton area with Charley Fugate and the Virginia Playboys and with the Jackson Brothers. Played on Vine Street in Cincinnati before getting a chance to play banjo with Earl Taylor at the Ken-Mill when Walter Hensley left to return to Baltimore. He played there with Earl, Jim McCall, and his father, [a2143573] 'Boatwhistle', for more than six years. Played with a Dayton-based group called the Easterners. He and Jim McCall eventually formed [a2143714], which became one of the best bluegrass bands to call Cincinnati home. After he and Jim split, he kept the Appalachian Grass name and was still fronting a band with that name in 2016, playing guitar and singing lead. He is highly regarded as a banjo instructor with players such as Jason Wolfe of the Rumpke Mountain Boys and Trina Emig of Ma Crow and the Lady Slippers. In addition to still touring, Vernon is the co-owner with his wife and her brother, band bassist Andy Schaeffer of the Famous Old Time Music Company, a musical instrument store specializing in guitars and banjos, located in Millville, Ohio. He continues to tour but also teaches banjo, guitar, mandolin, and bass at his store.