Sam Roberts saw this article in the Pocahontas times.
Local musician follows dad's footsteps after all
Caleb Diller is son of renowned local musician Dwight Diller. Dwight has taught and played old-time music for 40 years, around the country and across the globe, according to Caleb.
"Of course when I grew up, that's what Dad did, he was a professional musician. He was constantly having banjo camps, people would come from all over the world," said Caleb.
Caleb learned to play music at a young age but never had any interest in bluegrass or old-time music.
"I didn't want anything to do with it. That's what Dad did. Everybody told me, your dad is Dwight Diller, how can you not want to learn how to play the banjo?" said Caleb. "I was into rap and rock and metal and punk, all that stuff, anything but old-time, bluegrass. I didn't want anything to do with it."
Over the years Caleb came to realize that he shared his father's passion for old-time music after all.
"There were always instruments laying around. I grew up with it, it didn't take but just a few minutes for me to get the basic rhythm. He came in one day and I didn't hear him and he heard me in the back and walked in and caught me playing banjo," laughs Caleb. "He sat down with me for a minute and said "now just do this," and just tweaked it a little bit," said Caleb. "I started getting into it more, going and seeing Dad, learnin' tunes, teaching more and showing up at just about every camp."
Eventually Caleb found his own niche with his music.
"I realized as I matured that I didn't have to be my dad, I didn't have to be little Dwight Diller, I could do my own thing. I could still play old-time music and still do it my way and be my own musician," said Caleb.
Caleb now enjoys the opportunities to play music with his father.
"We play together, and I've played with him over the years, he'd ask me to come up and do a couple jams. I've wanted to do that for several years now, get together, and he has, too, get together and do a father and son album," said Caleb.
Caleb harbors no regrets for the way his music evolved.
"I had to do it in my own time, I'm hard-headed as hell, if I had been forced into it, it would've completely backfired," said Caleb.
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There's also an accompanying video here.