About Kat Eyz and Mike Smith

Mike Smith started playing 5-string banjo almost 30 years ago. He won the Illinois State Banjo Competition in 1994 and again in 2006, playing a tune he wrote called Cody Blues (which was written for his son Cody). Since 2006 Mike has enjoyed serving as a judge at the Illinois Banjo and Fiddle Contests. He has played with The River Ramblers Bluegrass Band since 1987.

Mike has been building banjo bridges since 1990. In 2006 he added a line of banjo and guitar capos to the Kat Eyz product family. In 2008 Mike was able to realize a long-time dream: designing his own lineup of professional-grade Bluegrass banjos.

Mike is regular contributor on the Banjo Hangout – the first and still largest online community for all things banjo – where members from hobbyists to seasoned professionals give Mike and his Kat Eyz products consistent kudos.

Why "Kat Eyz">

Well, it's because of the unique shape of the cut-outs of the Kat Eyz banjo bridges. They kind of lok like cat eyes. But a) "Cat Eyes" is booooring as a name, and b) if you Google for "Cat Eyes" you get everything from eye makeup to clip art. Google for "Kat Eyz" and you get Mike's stuff! And BTW, if you are Googling, it's "Kat Eyz" (2 words), not "KatEyz" ;-)

Site Credits

• Sound clips of Kat Eyz Bengal, Cougar, and Jaguar banjos were played by Doug Knecht, Illinois banjo picker par excellence.
• Web site design and coding by Robert Palomo, who describes himself as "An American of Hispanic descent living in Russia and playing the banjo". His firm is Thirdline International Technical Communications. He is a fellow member of the Banjo Hangout community.
• Photos of Kat Eyz banjos, Kat Eyz bridges, and Kat Eyz capos by Lou Szoke.