News/Thoughts

Monthly Archives: December 2020

Alabama Duet’s Rockin’ Americana

In the last issue we profiled a pair of artists who made up the duet group billed as Sugarcane Jane. Digging around a bit and watching several You Tube® videos on the internet, revealed a musical pair that has an oldies sounding southern rock vibe that captured my ears. Their music is a combination of simple and direct lyrical expression ...

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Kenny Curcio

Philadelphia, PA singer songwriter Kenny Curcio’s life changed forever when his dad gave him a guitar for a Christmas present. “When I was 12 years old my father bought me a guitar,” Kenny said. “He was sick at the time, and a few months after that Christmas he unfortunately passed away. The guitar was the last gift I received from ...

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Guitar Player of the Year, Jake Workman

Growing up Out West in Utah, Jake Workman never expected, much less aimed to be, an internationally recognized musician. Yet today he’s held the coveted lead guitar position with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder for half a decade and recently snagged the International Bluegrass Music Assocation’s 2020 Guitar Player of the Year award, a rarity for a first-time nominee in ...

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The New Upside Down

This was supposed to be my best musical year; my biggest tour schedule, the most packed songwriting workshops, the year I padded my songwriting partnerships with new co-writers. Well, I am living proof that the best laid plans can be overturned by the will of the world. Since March of 2020, I have watched with horror as all of my ...

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Singing In The Gospel Choir

Did you ever ponder the origin of things and wonder why some things, although quite similar, have small differences. No? That probably is a good thing because I have this worrisome habit, and it troubles me sleepless sometimes. Let me tell you about my latest quixotic quest and the particular windmill involved. As a child of the 40s and 50s, ...

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Staying Visible Stay Connected

I have been scratching my head over what to write about in this On The Road article while not being ‘on the road.’ It is indeed a strange time for touring musicians. Like most of us road-dog touring artists, the dates and tours are cancelled. Even at that, no one is sure how 2021 will play out. So the question ...

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Darrell Sings Hank

Darrell Scott is more than just a song writer. He is a master story teller. His studies of literature and poetry at Tuffs University as a college student served to solidify his career as a wordsmith of the highest order. He’s written songs for many other artists along the way including Faith Hill, Keb, Mo’, and Montgomery Gentry. One of ...

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New Ground for Greg Blake

Greg Blake grew up near the mountains in West Virginia. His young life was filled with the sounds of old country, mountain bluegrass, and gospel harmonies so prevalent in that part of the country. Some of his earliest memories are of himself sitting on the front porch of his grandparents’ southern West Virginia home, playing with his Matchbox and Hot ...

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Picker, Jon Stickley

Imagine that your life had a personal soundtrack. What would it sound like? Jon Stickley, a native North Carolinian and longtime national touring artist, has been interpreting his surroundings for so long that it’s natural that his music would evolve into a personal soundscape, lush with many miles of experience with his own Jon Stickley Trio. “I think the music ...

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Writing Slowly

This time of Covid, which is how I will always think of these days, has slowed everything down to the old days. The old days meaning a past I never lived until now. Part of me is very thankful for this time. I’ve been cooking every night, no going out to a restaurant or grabbing some fast food. To keep ...

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