Folks are inspired into a life of music by many things; often it’s a family history of music or peer exposure in high school or college. For Phillip Pappas, college was about Physics. Although he had started playing guitar when he was 15, life was to be about pursuing a Physics job. But something wasn’t right, and he realized that ...
Read More »Tag Archives: Greg Tutwiler
From Wood To Strings
Award-winning Rick Lang calls New Hampshire home, even though his songs have given him world wide credentials. With over 70 song cuts to his credit, Rick’s songs have been recorded by Bluegrass artists, Southern Gospel artists, and even Jazz singers. Of course, Rick is not just a songwriter, he has also recorded six studio CDs, including his latest released in ...
Read More »Johnny Chops
You might call Johnny Chops, an alter ego of sorts for Austin based singer-songwriter Johnny Richardson. His band, Johnny Chops & The Razors serves as the outlet for everything that he doesn’t get to do when he’s out on the road with his “day job,” playing bass guitar for the Randy Rogers Band. Their latest self titled CD is filled ...
Read More »Put Him On A Boat
Mike Aiken and I have known each other for many years. Most recently, Mike has been penning a column for Americana Rhythm called On The Road. What I find fascinating, and what I think many people don’t know about Mike, is that a good percentage of His life is, and has been, spent living on a boat. So we thought ...
Read More »Birthday Bash To Bluegrass Fest
Sam Karr, founder of Sam Jam, says he’s been a fan of Bluegrass music and festivals nearly all his life. “I grew up with my father and his friends all going to Bluegrass festivals, and them taking all their kids along with them,” he recalled recently. “The bands we listened to became some of my favorite groups, and I grew ...
Read More »Banjo Nickaru’s Get Us Out Of Fearland
Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches is led by New York, multi-instrumentalist, Nick Russo. Nick’s band has found a niche with their music, combining elements of country, bluegrass, western swing, rockabilly, blues, Dixieland, jazz, and even traditional folk music. A band who was not long ago noted as having “unfailing high-spirit,” by the London Times, the gang has found a way ...
Read More »The Highland Travelers
Adam Steffey started playing bluegrass music in the early eighties, as a freshman in high school, on a mandolin his grandfather got him at a flea market. “I was actually a late starter,” he commented. “So many kids these days, they are eight years old and just blastin’ already. But I took an interest in it right away. I took ...
Read More »The Gig Life
Editor’s note: We met Emily three years ago while she was co-producing a small jam festival with her boyfriend. Over these past years as I’ve seen her grow and mature, not only as a musician, but also as a person, I’ve found her story to be not unlike many young aspiring musicians. She also aspires to be a writer, so ...
Read More »Still Singin’ The Blues
Bluesman James Armstrong hails from Santa Monica California. Born into a family of music in 1957, it seemed his destiny to follow in the family footsteps. “My father was a jazz guitar player and my mom was a blues singer. When I was five years old dad and I had a duet in which I played drums and he played ...
Read More »True Grass Again
Many revere Lorraine Jordan as the keeper of tradition in bluegrass music. She originally hailed from the coast of North Carolina but currently resides in Garner, NC, which is just outside of Raleigh, NC. She holds court in her namesake coffee shop/music venue, Lorraine’s Coffee House, when she is not out on the road with her band, Carolina Road. She ...
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