I was borned on Ripshin Mountain in 1937 and raised in a log cabin that my father built in about 1920. This cabin was located near what is now called "The Miller Farm" .. that is part of the Roan Mountain State Park. I still live within 3 miles of my old home place.
In my younger days I plowed the ’tater patch with a mule (sometimes a horse) and also done some logging with a horse, which ain’t much fun. At different times I have made my living in maintenance work, as an auto mechanic, a machinist and a welder.
The oldtime mountain music has always been a big part of my life. My father played a tune or two on the banjer or on the fiddle. Back in the 1920’s through the ’40’s my uncles had a band with the banjer, fiddle and guitar. My Aunt Hattie sang with her brothers in this band, and they played on the radio station in Bristol. People have recently told me that they remember them playing on Saturday nights and that they could hear their music a mile or two away.
I have played guitar (a little) most of my life. Several years ago I started playing the banjer and just a few years back I picked up the fiddle and have been learning to play it. Then in about the year 2000 I started up my own band "The Roan Mountain Moonshiners" and surrounded myself with good musicianers--Mary Mays from Upper Slickum, TN (guitar,banjer,lap dulcimer, doghouse) and rhodyjane meadows from Big Stone Gap, VA (doghouse, banjer, autoharp, lap dulcimer). When Amy Michaels (from Creston, NC) joins us on the clawhammer banjer, the music is hard to beat and the girls’ singing sounds sweeter than peep frogs in the spring. (It tickles us when good friends, such as Bob VanHorn, Art Lang, Burl Mast, Bill Gilbert & others "sit-in" with us, also.)
We play "get-up-and-go" east Tennessee-style oldtime mountain music with the fiddle (and sometimes the banjer) cross-tuned. The Moonshiners are available for public festivals and concerts and other things of that nature, and for private functions as well. Send a message if you’d like for us to come play for you, and we’ll see what we can work out.
I welcome all musicianers to join "My Friends" list. I think everybody does a good job with their music, but I like the oldtime mountain music the best.
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