I started piano when I was about 7 and then moved on to the trumpet in middle school which I played all through college. A friend of mine put it perfectly the other day: font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">
"I’m average at a great many things and great at an average number of things. And some things I really suck at." Ashley McGee KimI would add that there are some things I will do out of passion regardless of which category they fit into! I was no hero in music for sure but always had that passion for singing even though I was never in a choir or band.
I was in college when my brother, Zeb, who was already a very accomplished self taught guitarist, gave me my first guitar for Christmas. Although I loved getting the guitar, I hate to get things I know nothing about so he agreed to get me started with some three chord wonders. I took those chords and was able to at least give myself a little back up to sing my dear heart out (in the privacy of my own room...when no one else was even in the house).
When we moved to Durango a few years ago, I decided to jump out on a limb and try out a jam session. I was terrified, however there was such a support for anyone wanting to learn I mustered up the courage and managed to pull off a few songs to sing and tried my best to keep up with the chords I knew. The people there we so great and always welcomed me with a huge smile like they were glad I had come.
In the meantime, Crystal, one of the sister-in-laws introduced me to the Walkabout Dulcimer. It was love at first sight and I was very near selling all of my possessions to get my hands on one. Lo and behold, Dad came to visit with one in tow for my birthday almost two years ago and I was set. Besides being in love with the lonesome Appalachian sound, I figured if no one else played it, no one know how good (or bad) I was at it!
Afterward came another great act of courage was when I looked on Craig's List one day to see if anyone was in need of a singer and sure enough there was a band there. I still can't believe I even did this. I went to try out but the majority of the band was ready to play out the following weekend which I wasn't ready to do. So our Mandolin player suggested he and I ask a few of the regular jammers to join us for regular rehearsals and see if we couldn't work up a set or two of music with no hurry to play a gig. A band was born!
We played for about a year and got our very first gig at the nursing home in town. A few weeks later we played at the assisted living and then landed a gig at one of the bars in town. Most recently we were asked to play at the Rochester hotel during the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown this spring and also got a spot on the showcase stage of the meltdown. We had a terrific turnout at both venues. The whole weekend was so fun I can't even begin to tell you. We are working through some of our kinks of being in front of an audience and building confidence. I hope you can see us more this next fall playing around town. In the meantime, if you weren't at the meltdown, here are some clips from the weekend.
