Terhune

Terhune is a project/hobby of Al Terhune, former Hoosier (Fairmount) who in New York City in the early 80's formed a pop rock band with Fairmount friend Vince Engle, Brooklyn native Jesus "Paco" Diaz--bass, and Detroit native Matt Hathaway (who took over when Glenn Giordano left the band)--drums, named "East of Fairmount," kind of like The Eagles meet Television. NYC was only a possibility through the friendship forged with New York lumanaries David Loehr (James Dean Gallery) and Lenny of New York (Shirts by Lenny of New York, Fairmount shop Rebel Rebel), who introduced Terhune and Engle to people like Cherry Vanilla, Leee Black Childers, Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn, Mike Quashi, David Smith & Neil Peters, Gabriel Rotello, Emilio Mercado, Manny Parish, and Hoosier guitarist/producer Billy Elworthy (Grant Funk Railroad, Frankie and the Knockouts). Upon arrival in NYC, Terhune was befriended by singer-songwriter Elliott Murphy, and the two could be seen at each other's shows, culminating in Murphy performing three of his songs with East of Fairmount backing him at the the nightclub Kamakazi at a show that featured friend Lenny of New York's rock and roll stagewear. Also performing with East of Fairmount that night was the beloved Miki Zone of The Fast. Famed New York City musical figure Danny Fields (Iggy and the Stooges, Ramones, MC5, Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, Steve Forbert) also became friends with the group, coming to many shows and getting their name in Lisa Robinson's New York Post weekly music column. Fields was courting the band to manage when the band -- as many do -- suddenly went separate ways, right on the heels of a successful Loehr-managed tour with former David Bowie employee and RCA recording artist Cherry Vanilla. Sad to say, the band was also recording the basic tracks to their first album at the Hit Factory on spec time, with Elworthy at the helm. Fifteen years later, Terhune ended up in Seattle where the alternative country scene, unbeknownest to him, was slowly brewing in the aftermath of the Alice in Chains days. A home recording enthusiast since the late 80's in Los Angeles, Terhune was rediscovering his Kentucky/Indiana roots by using more acoustic sounds in his recording, and was especially influenced -- like most everyone in alt country, by Uncle Tupelo. When he heard the pedal steel guitar in Tupelo, although it was a sound he'd heard his whole life, it was at that point he knew that sound was what he wanted to use in his own music/recording. With pedal players rather scare in 1998 Seattle, Terhune found himself recording and touring with Gerald Collier and shared-manager Sub Pop group the Supersuckers, ending up on most of the Suckers "Must've Been Live" release and Collier's "Low Tar Taste" ep. Terhune has recorded pedal and lap steel with many local bands, but the past few years he's concentrated on recording in his studio, Chinaberry Tree Studios, and learning the fiddle, banjo, accordion, and resonator guitar, along with perfecting his pedal and lap steel playing. He plays GFI and ShoBud pedal steels. Lap steels are his passion, and he owns several, including an early 50's Gibson Grande identical to the one Don Helms used (and still owns) with Hank Williams, and a 1937 7-string Gibson EH100. Terhune has written over 5,000 songs, and has recorded over 24 CDs in the past seven years and leisurely sold hundreds (not thousands) on the internet over the past few years to people all over the world.