Started playing with an old piano in our basement on Henderson Avenue in 1970; age 3. Several keys were either broken or out of tune but it was a real piano; an upright style that was probably from the early 1950's. Later I got my first real guitar at age 16 and joined a band at 19, learned to play rhythm guitar and eventually lead as well. Eventually began collecting different instruments and experimenting with new sounds. Now a Mountain Dulcimer and Fender Mandolin are the most recent arrivals...love them all.

That would have to have been a country and western theme because my mom was often taking me to concerts by performers she was into...I never did care much for country until The Dixie Chicks came onto the scene. I saw so many country acts that it is really tough to know where to begin. Eddie Arnold was among the early ones, Roy Clark was fun, Tommy Overstreet, Vern Gosdin was the last one mom went to; she died soon after. Died happier having gone out to one last hurrah to see a guy she loved sing and play guitar, I drove her all the way from South Carolina to Tennessee all with me having no valid drivers license and mom suffering from terminal cancer, she would never have been able to make her way home alone if I had gotten arrested for doing that road trip but thank God, we were there and back without any trouble, we both met Vern and mom had a couple pictures taken with him, she got a couple of hugs and we all sat down to some good old fashioned southern cooking and had lunch with Vern, his crew and about 50 of his fans in a really cool setting before the show. He was really down to Earth and a nice person to meet.

Mostly play unplugged and don't think brand matters when it comes to instruments or equipment. Most of my gear is no name instruments and my amps are free-bees from my nephew Shane.

My uncle Mike Auldridge was the biggest influence as a kid because he was famous, had several records out and everyone knew him and loved him. Considered one of if not the best Dobro players of all time. We used to hang out in his basement studio and he and my uncle Tommy Auldridge and sometimes even uncle Jack Auldridge would join in. Tommy played the pedal steel guitar mostly and uncle Jack was a decent drummer and uncle Gene would even chime in on vocals and back up vocals...great memories

Not currently in a band. Was affiliated with Seymour Void in South Carolina, we played for a few years and changed names for the band more than we had gigs. Started off being called Exit 714, Became Liquid Sunshine, Double Entendre, Umero Nuno and now the band members are all into seperate projects. Shaun was the guitarist and piano player depending on the song, Dan Allen Played Bass guitar and sang, I would sing and help arrange lyrics for originals and the first drummer was Timothy Paul. Later many people would come and go; Jamie Slater was with us for a while as a singer/writer and guitarist. Clay Talbot was an occassional drummer who would fill in for Timmy Paul sometimes. Sylvan Grazette Sr. became a flute player and worked with the band for a summer or two. Doug Lumley was a singer/ writer/ guitarist/ harmonica player who had been doing a solo act calling himself Lone Wolf before joining Seymour Void. Also Rich Fling played drums and percussion and Kimberly Wiant joined the band around 1990 and was a great singer and keyboard player and wrote several songs . Jason Gregory and Troy Hazelton were among dozens of other friends who would jam with the band on many fun nights, I try to keep in touch with as many of them as I can...they know they matter to me.

I can jam with anyone, I seldom do jam but my friend Clark Davies nextdoor is a good buddy to jam with, we get together for a couple of cold beers and play for an hour here and there...good fun. Wish my friends from South Carolina were closer or my nephews Nathan and Casey Simpson who are in Texas, they are fun to jam with too.Also my nephew Shane Snow, he is a really good guitarist, we only jam every several months but its always fun.

Biggest crowd I've been in front of was around 50 or so, we never played large venues. Smallest was about 10 folks

Is this desert island come with electricity? cool ! hope there is a phonograph because Abbey Road is gonna be played until the grooves wear out.