Stories From The Middle

JD McPherson is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  He is known for playing old school rock and roll, rockabilly, and rhythm and blues music.  In high school he played in a number of local punk rock bands and began writing his own songs.  He has stated that he has always been in a band of some sort since he was 16 years old.  McPherson hooked up with Jimmy Sutton, of the small independent record label Hi-STYLE Records, and agreed to produce McPherson's debut album: this became 2010's Signs and Signifiers and included the hit Northside Gal.  Since then he and his band have released 3 more full length albums and tour the world year round.

Max Baca was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His grandfather was an accordion player as well as his father. At the age of five, Max started learning accordion and by 7 was playing bass in his father’s band.  By twelve, Baca was playing bajo sexto and performing with his brother Jimmy in their own group Los Hermanos Baca. The Band had a regional hit which eventually led to Max joining the Texas Supergroup, The Texas Tornados (which included Doug Sahm, Freddie Fender, Augie Meyers, and Flaco Jiménez). Thanks to his mentor Flaco, Max recorded with The Rolling Stones, met and performed with many of his hero’s and eventually formed his own band, Los Texmaniacs, who have toured around the world and won a Grammy for Tejano album of the year in 2010.

JP Harris was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1983. When he was seven his family moved out to Las Vegas. After leaving home, he spent time in Oakland, CA, drawn there by the California punk bands of the 1980s and early 90s. Throughout this time, Harris freight hopping across the US, eventually finding his way to Vermont where he lived for over a decade working as a musician, carpenter, and banjo builder.  He moved to Nashville, TN in 2011and tours with his band JP Harris and the Tough Choices and has released 3 records.

Born and raised in Lafayette, LA, Tif ‘Teddy’ Lamson grew up playing and performing music since early childhood. In 2008, she co-created the music group known as GIVERS. They self-produced and released an EP which led to their signing a record deal. After the release of their debut LP, IN LIGHT, the group became a staple on the national festival circuit and performed on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live! TV Show. Tif went on to be featured on artists' records such as Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Anders Osbourn. She currently resides in New Orleans where she continues to explore musical endeavors including projects such as Neva Wright and the My Bads, Jelly Toast, a third GIVERS release, and a myriad of other projects I’m sure we are to learn about

Bill Kirchen has released 11 CDs under his own name, and recorded and/or played guitar live with a who's who of Americana and Rock 'N' Roll, among them, Gene Vincent, Link Wray, Bo Diddley, Hazel Dickens, Doug Sahm, Hoyt Axton, Emmylou Harris, Maria Muldaur, Dan Hicks, Steve Earle, Redd Volkaert, Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello.  In 1969, during his student days at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor he started a country band that formed the basis for Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen and moved to California.  There they developed a reputation as musical "outlaws" and drew praise from musicians like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings.  Kirchen was named "The Titan of The Telecaster" by Guitar Player magazine & his sound has be en dubbed "dieselbilly" and incorporates elements of country, blues, rockabilly, Western swing and boogie-woogie, laced with themes of American truck driving music

Bill Kirchen has released 11 CDs under his own name, and recorded and/or played guitar live with a who's who of Americana and Rock 'N' Roll, among them, Gene Vincent, Link Wray, Bo Diddley, Hazel Dickens, Doug Sahm, Hoyt Axton, Emmylou Harris, Maria Muldaur, Dan Hicks, Steve Earle, Redd Volkaert, Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello.  In 1969, during his student days at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor he started a country band that formed the basis for Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen and moved to California.  There they developed a reputation as musical "outlaws" and drew praise from musicians like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings.  Kirchen was named "The Titan of The Telecaster" by Guitar Player magazine & his sound has be en dubbed "dieselbilly" and incorporates elements of country, blues, rockabilly, Western swing and boogie-woogie, laced with themes of American truck driving music

Tom Mitchell is a guitar player and singer rooted in the styles of the 1920’s and 30’s jazz, western swing, country blues and old-time music; he’s happily been both sideman and leader for a great variety of musical endeavors. He spent ten years recording and touring  around the world with legendary hipster Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks and was on recordings which featured guest appearances by Bette Midler, Tom Waits, and Elvis Costello.

His Work with Grammy nominated Ann Savoy  and her Sleepless Knights brought two fine CD’s and a movie soundtrack spot for the movie “All the Kings Men." Tom makes his home in Baltimore where he loves playing with the Blue Rhythm Boys and the Redwine Jazz Trio. 

Shovels & Rope are an American folk duo from Charleston, South Carolina composed of husband and wife Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst. Combining threads from their individual solo careers, Shovels & Rope blends traditional folk, rock and roll and country rock. Their life in music has taken them from bouncing troublemakers at their own gigs to touring the country in style in a phat tour bus with their young family.

Jay Ungar was born in the Bronx (New York City). He frequented Greenwich Village music venues during his formative period in the 1960s. In the late 1960s, he became a member of Cat Mother and the All Night News Boys and later, the Putnam String County Band. Although he performs with David Bromberg, he is probably best known for "Ashokan Farewell" (1982), composed as a lament, and used as the theme tune to the Ken Burns documentary The Civil War (1990).