About Me
Born and raised in the Motor City and the son of migrating work seeking young southern parents arriving in the big town on a wing, a prayer and big hopes, Randy has definitely seen his share of struggles. A tail end boomer child growing up in the midst of the fast paced car pumping juggernaut called Detroit and soaking up the last bite of pinto beans and onions with a burnt wedge of cornbread. That's right, he grew up country Detroit City style. Concrete, grit and steel smoothered suasage gravy.This life along with a never ending supply of Motown, Beatles, Bob Seger, Johhny Cash, Merle Haggard and many others including the nieghboring hayseed John Mellencamp, helped sculpt the heartland writing and singing style of Randy Wayne Sitzler.The attention to detail and images created in his story telling lyric hits home with common folks. The daily trials and tribulations of their lives are laid out honestly and accurately in his songs whether he's talking about winners, losers, liar or lovers. Poetic blue collar language that people from any soil can relate to. Simply put, he tells the truth in his songs. These truth's are evident in both Randy's recordings,"Hard Days in The Heartland" and "Pontiac Trail". In 2001 Randy hooked up with Texas singer/songwriter Walt Wilkins and Nashville fiddle player Tim Lorsch of Bull Creek Productions to produce "Hard Days in The Heartland". The production team assembled a skin tight earthy band consisting of Chas Williams on electric guitar, Ron DeLevega on bass, Mickey Grimm on drums and Mike Daly on peddle steel to set the pace for a heavily themed Americana recording that takes an intense and powerful journey through the heartland of America with songs such as "The Legacy", "Blue Collar Redemption", "Billy Crockers House" and the title track "Hard Days in The Heartland". After "Hard Days" weeded it's way through the Nashville songwriting community people began to take notice of this new heartland writer and prompted Nashville hit songwriter, Rick Beresford ,to state, " Randy's music is a true testament of the Midwest life and rooted in the earth of great American tradition".In 2003 Randy released his second effort " Pontiac Trail". He again handed the producing raines to Walt Wilkins and Tim Lorsch of Bull Creek Productions. Neither Wilkins or Lorsch hesitated when it came time to decide what band to use. With the addition of Rick Plant on electric guitar, Van Manakas on slide guitar and firery background vocals by Tina Mitchell Wilkins and Britt Savage, Wilkins and Lorsch captured and cemented the sound of Randy Wayne Sitzler. "Pontiac Trail" hit the ground flying and attracting the attention of Nashville publisher, Larry Shell of Americana Entertainment, who instantly signed Randy to a songwriting deal and before the Ink was dry Americana radio promoter, Al Moss was asking Walt Wilkins,"is this record as good as I think it is?" Wilkins replied,"yes it is!" Randy eventually went on to sign as a member of Nashville SESAC and received a SESAC songwriting award in 2006 for his song "Kentucky Fried" recorded by young country star Buck Jones.There's a gritty poetic elegance to Randy's songs that evoke honest true emotions. These things he writes about are real. Real things that happened to real people and that real people can understand. His writing touches the core of people. The very foundation they stand on and survive on. Their jobs, homes, family and friends. And it would be safe to say that Randy has experienced the very things he writes about too. Whether it's lines like,
"We're looking like the paint that's been peeling from the barn" or "One of these days when fate meets hope I'm gonna grab it and hold on real tight", there's always a sense in Randy's songs that there's a hand full more of good than there is bad.
