As a small child I remember standing in front of the record player, jumping up and down to the sounds of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Mac Wiseman, and the Osborne Brothers. I just couldn't hold still! My dad played guitar and banjo so that was the music around our house. To say the least, I feel very blessed to have had a dad that was into that kind of music and every chance I got I was listening to him play or i was into his record collection!I knew that dad kept his banjo behind the couch in the living room and one day while he was at work I decided to get it out and play it. Well looking back, I can't believe my mom actually let me get it out because I was only 5 years old! Maybe she was tired of hearing dad play it and hoped I would break it or something! haha I don't know...but nevertheless I got it out. Well...by the time dad got home that night, I had learned to play the first part of Dueling Banjos, which was one of my favorite tunes to jump up and down too! It wasn't up to speed but it was at least the right notes. Dad said he couldn't believe what he was hearing. So he immediately started showing me some things to help me along. My fingers were so small, we couldn't find finger pics to fit so dad had to make me some out of copper tubing out in his workshop. Fortunately my dad was great at building and doing things because he also had to build me a bench to help me hold the banjo too. You can see the bench in the photo of my dad and me playing. I had to set the banjo over to the side of me so I could reach the end of the banjo neck! I spent most of my free time playing the banjo along with records. I never had any lessons except for the things my dad showed me. I learned everything from listening to records or playing with other musicians when I had the chance.As I got older, I became interested in other instruments. At about 8 or 9 years old I learned to play a tune or two on the fiddle but didn't really get interested in working on it until I was about 13 or 14. That is when I say I really started playing the fiddle. I spent alot of time with it, drove my parents crazy with it I'm sure but they were always very supportive. We spent alot of time while I was growing up going to bluegrass festivals or to friend's houses for jam sessions.
Somewhere along the way I picked up playing the mandolin and guitar too but I don't really remember those began. Just being around them I guess made me want to see if I could play them.I'm originally from Arkansas but I've been living in the Nashville area for about 7 years now. Living here has given me the opportunity to work with and become friends with alot of my musical heros and I now have some new musical heros! I love it here and I'm very blessed to have gotten to do the things I've done.I am playing all the instruments and singing all the parts on these songs. They are very raw tracks. I recorded them on Garageband only using the microphone built into the computer. They are not mixed except for me trying to get closer to the computer when I was taking a lead break. haha Hopefully sometime this year I will get to do a real record! For now this is what I've got so I hope you enjoy it.Thanks for stopping by and listening.
Garry
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