“Talking about music is like dancing about architecture,” a wise man once said. That man was Steve Martin, who is pretty damn funny. He's also a skilled banjo player and has agreed to show how it's done at “Steve Martin's Big Bad Banjo and a Conversation with Dave Barry,” a benefit for the Library Foundation of Los Angeles. “I am very excited to raise money for the Los Angeles Public Library and plan to try to keep it all,” commented Martin in one of the drier-witted press releases to come from the library. Martin will perform songs from The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, which is number-one on the Billboard Bluegrass chart. He'll sit down with humorist Dave Barry, who says, “In today's economy, we need to support our public libraries. And when you say 'public library,' the phrase that immediately comes to mind is — 'banjo music.' So I'm really looking forward to asking Steve Martin probing questions about his new album, such as: WHY?” The event launches the the Library Foundation of Los Angeles' Aloud at L.A. Live series.

Mon., May 11, 8 p.m., 2009

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