Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches is a most unusual NYC band. Led by banjo/guitar player Nick Russo and singer-songwriter Betina Hersey, they have an appetite for all kinds of music -folk, blues, country, '20s and '30s pop and jazz, and roots music in general - expressed in both originals and cover songs.. Their real wild card is a Gullah -Geechee accent brought by percussionist David Pleasant. Pleasant wasn't with them for this visit to Studio A, but they did bring veteran percussionist Newman Taylor -Baker on washboard and Neal Murgai on sitar.