The Story

Absolutely THRILLED to announce new guest, Catherine Britt, to The Story!

When you look at modern country music you can identify a diverse range of styles that have evolved from the traditional roots form. From pop country to bush ballads, acoustic folk-leaning songs to rousing country rock and the polymorphic blend of Americana. One Australian artist that can lay claim to all of these strains is Catherine Britt, a songwriter who has already packed a respected and highly acclaimed career into her first two decades as a recording artist.

From Newcastle to Nashville, Catherine made the move to the home of country music at just 17 years old. It proved to be a brave decision that gave her immeasurable experience as a musician, insight into the machinations of the industry and a contract with the legendary RCA Records. Upon returning to Australia in 2009, Catherine set about recording her debut full length album Dusty Smiles and Heartbreak Cures, the first of five consecutive albums nominated for Album Of The Year at the CMAA (Country Music Awards of Australia). The accolades didn’t stop there. Along the way she has received five Golden Guitar Awards, the CMA Global Artist Of The Year award in 2010 and six ARIA Award nominations for Best Country Album.

The critical acclaim for her albums and reputation as a performer has seen Catherine tour and perform with some of the biggest names in music, including Sir Elton John, Don McLean, Kasey Chambers, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Chris Isaak and Keith Urban.

Not content with just carving out an enviable career as a songwriter, performer and recording artist, Catherine has also been involved in the wider country music community as a radio broadcaster on ABC’s Saturday Night Country show, TV host on CMC’s Alt Country program and most recently as the editor and owner of Rhythms, Australia’s premiere roots music magazine.

Life has a way of throwing curveballs, both good and bad, and the few years have seen Catherine fight and win a battle with breast cancer, give birth to two boys, and leave her marriage.

“Over the years being an artist has meant different things to me and I’ve had different goals. My goal from when I was a young girl was to make money from music which I’ve been able to do and I’m really proud of. At different points of my life I’ve felt the pull of wanting to be famous and chasing that dream, living in Nashville and then realising that that wasn’t what I wanted to do. It’s constantly changing but my ultimate goal has been fulfilled and I can never see myself not making music. It’s what I’ve always done and it comes naturally to me and I feel like it’s what I’m meant to do, that and being a mum.”

You can find Catherine and her projects here:

Website : http://www.catherinebritt.com

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/CatherineBrittFans

Youtube :

https://www.youtube.com/c/CatherineBrittMusic

Twitter: @catherinebritt

Insta : https://www.instagram.com/catherine_britt/

Apple Music : https://music.apple.com/us/artist/catherine-britt/31726801

Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/2U7nIOFSqqsKaBdSIdL0iZ...

Go see her at Tellus350 Aug 21st, 6pm! Buy Tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/.../catherine-britt-tickets...

Super excited to announce new guest, Real Fake Flowers, to The Story!

The Hottest Genre Band!

Releasing their debut album soon!

“Real Fake Flowers” based out of Princeton, New Jersey consists of Kiffer and Nate who started the band in late 2019 and gained traction with their single “Siamese”. A duo who is not afraid to take inspiration from anywhere and apply it to their own music. The main goal of their project is to keep you on your toes, and to expose everyone to genres that they may not have listened to prior.

Rock, indie, pop, and all that Jazz. What can’t they do?

You can find the Real Fake Flowers here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1KmYvsdeVPuhqn5dXPnMbP

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/realfakeflovvers/

Website: https://realfakeflowersband.com/

An honor graduate of Ball State University in Indiana (B.S. in Music Education), Kathleen first taught music at McCullough Junior High School in Marion, Indiana. After relocating to Pennsylvania, Kathleen received her Master’s degree (M.A.) from West Chester University and taught music in the Central Dauphin School District, the School District of Lancaster and Lancaster Country Day School……a total of 37 years!

Kathleen, an oboist, performed with the Lancaster Symphony for 23 years. She also performed as a regular member of the Harrisburg Symphony (8 years) and York Symphony (12 years). Through the years, Kathleen has performed with the Allegro Chamber Orchestra, Lancaster and Reading Pops Orchestras, the Lancaster and Capital Woodwind Quintets and the Fulton Theater and Opera Lancaster’s pit orchestras. She is a member of the National Association for Music Education, the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, Pennsylvania State Education Association and The International Double Reed Society. She is also a member of Pi Kappa Lambda (National Music Honorary), Kappa Delta Pi (National Education Honorary) and Pi Lambda Theta (Women’s Education Honorary). She has been listed in The International Who’s Who in Music, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in American Music: Classical edition and was nominated for Arts Educator of the Year in Lancaster County in 1993.

Kathleen is currently serving as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Oboe at Franklin and Marshall College. She was the director of the Intermezzo Winds (under the umbrella of Allegro’s NextGen Youth Music Organization) in 2018-2020. She also was a former faculty member of the York Music Center Summer Camp and Strings Excell Music Camp. She is currently serving on the board of the Lancaster/York Musicians Union.

Super excited to announce new guest, Adam Kissinger, to The Story!

As a Berks County native, local culture has always been a huge inspiration that Adam often filters though a counter-cultural lens. Hence, DeitschePunk aptly describes his approach to most things in the world of art and expression, as well as his aversion to all things mainstream. He firmly believes art is about telling the story, not selling the story. Please, buy him a sandwich.

Steeped in classical traditions of performance, Adam studied dance since the age of 3, acting, music, and voice since middle school, began getting paid for acting (or what most other actors mistakenly call "professionally") around the age of 12, and went on to study theatre at Kutztown University back when they had a theatre department, RIP. After school Adam pursued his teaching certification in the Alba Method for emotional expression, and spent the next 12 years waiting for people to admit they have emotions. He's still waiting.

From Columbine up to Covid, Adam performed in several bands in the Reading music scene from high school through college, worked with as many local theatre companies as would let him, and worked at too many college theatre programs right before their funding was cut. He has seen a lot of local art programs die.

During Covid and since (just kidding, we're still in Covid), Adam was a member of the Pandemic Players PA, a frequent participant of the Bones Culture music collective (shout out Ben Oaks), and he also stumbled into home recording his music but will never call himself a producer. Currently, he is the Tech Director for Penn State Berks until their theatre dept dies, a very proud member of I.A.T.S.E local 97, and co-founder and creator with Rad Scrapple, and the Actor's School of Lancaster, whose goal is to transform actors into artists.

You can find Adam and his projects here:

Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Y5a6dsoexgrEbmRNN8EgF

Bandcamp : https://adamkissinger.bandcamp.com/

Scrapple : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoD4c9Q8dwQaeX8kacxE6yQ

Actor's School : www.lancasteractingschool.com

TikTok : search Rad Scrapple

Super stoked to announce Connor Devlin, to The Story!

Connor Devlin is from Schuylkill Haven PA. Played with the Reading Buccaneers and Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. Played with and directed bands at Hershey Park, directed at Dorney Park. Connor started Big Boy Brass in 2016, started Street Beans in 2022. Currently, Connor plays with both of his bands and freelances all the time with a lot of great bands.

Connor went to Millersville University for Music Ed, taught public school in Harrisburg school district for 5 years and then retired to pursue music full time.

Insta : Connor.Devlin

Big Boy Brass Insta : big boy brass

Street beans Insta : streetbeansband

Big boy brass has music on all streaming platforms.

Absolutely THRILLED to announce new guest, Daryl Davis, to The Story!

Daryl Davis is an international recording artist, published author, actor, and leader of The Daryl Davis Band.

Born in the Electric Blues Capital of the world, Chicago Illinois, Daryl absorbed the influences of the South from musicians who traveled North from the Mississippi Delta, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Missouri to this Blues Mecca.

Daryl Davis earned his Bachelor of Music Degree from Howard University in Washington, DC where he was a member of their world famous and renowned Jazz Vocal Ensemble. In addition to being a vocalist, guitarist, and composer, Daryl is a keyboardist extraordinaire. Upon graduation, Daryl went on to work with such artists as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley’s Jordanaires, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Platters, The Drifters, The Coasters, Bo Diddley, Percy Sledge, and Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave), to name a few.

He’s not white. He’s not even light-skinned. Make no mistake about it; he’s black. Yet Daryl Davis has come in closer contact with members of the Ku Klux Klan than most whites and certainly most blacks — short of being on the wrong end of a rope. What’s more? He continues to do so, making him one of the most unique lecturers on the speaking circuit today.

On a quest to do nothing more than explore racism and gather information for his book, Klan-Destine Relationships, Daryl Davis eventually became the recipient of numerous robes and hoods given to him by KKK members who rescinded their beliefs after coming to know him. He had inadvertently stumbled upon a successful method of forming friendships between sworn enemies.

As a race relations expert, Daryl Davis has received acclaim for his book, Klan-Destine Relationships and his work in race relations from many respected sources including CNN, NBC, Good Morning America, The Learning Channel, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and many others. He is also the recipient of numerous awards including the highly prestigious Elliott-Black Award and the Bridge Builder Award presented by the American Ethical Union and Washington Ethical Society respectively, to name a few.

Check out Daryl here:

Website : https://www.daryldavis.com

Insta : @Realdaryldavis

Super excited to announce next guest, Greg Flury, to The Story!

Greg has been playing the cello for over 15 years. It is his passion and is one of the largest defining factors of who he is.

Greg participated in the Allegretto Youth Chamber Ensemble, county and district orchestras, and many other various ensembles before moving on to studying cello performance at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College.

Since graduating in May of 2016, Greg has participated regularly in college and community orchestras around the central PA area including York College Orchestra, Elizabethtown College/Community Orchestra, Millersville University Orchestra, Hershey Symphony Orchestra, Gettysburg Metta Chamber Ensemble, and Allegro Symphony Orchestra.

Find Greg and his projects here:

Website : http://gregoryflury.com

LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryflury/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Gregory-Flury-2186955278238639/?ref=pages_you_manage

Super excited to announce new guest, John Flavin, to The Story!

John Flavin is the lead singer and manager of The Ogham Stones, a 7-member Celtic Rock band in Lancaster, PA. The band formed in the Fall of 2010 and performed their first gigs on Saint Patrick’s Day, 2011. They released an album “One, Two, Feck You,” in 2015. John is also a registered member of “One Of The Thousand,” the biggest rock band on Earth. On October 20, 2020, he participated in the Rockin’ 1000 Global Gig, which set a Guinness World Record for “Most Videos In A Music Medley Video.”

For most of the 1990s and early 2000s, John was a bartender and manager at The Chameleon Club and was lucky enough to meet and work with many of his favorite bands and performers. He continues to work with Rich Ruoff (Chameleon founder and owner) as a Stage Manager at Lancaster Roots & Blues festivals.

John is also the organizer of Lancaster StrummerJam, a music event that celebrates the life, vision, and music of Joe Strummer of The Clash. This event benefits The Joe Strummer Foundation, an international charity that promotes music and musicianship around the world. This year, Lancaster StrummerJam. will be held on August 21 (Strummer’s birthday) at Phantom Power in Millersville.

Check out John and his projects here:

Website: www.theoghamstones.com

2022 Lancaster StrummerJam Event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2115510415268783

The Joe Strummer Foundation:

https://joestrummerfoundation.org/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/38XHS4ussKmXW0mkzLiYQk

Super stoked to announce new guest, Shane Speal, to The Story!

York, PA's Shane Speal is the world's foremost master of the cigar box guitar, a primitive stringed instrument cobbled together from discarded wood, guitar strings, and empty box. Shane Speal is responsible for the modern resurgence of the cigar box guitar, a once forgotten instrument of American blues and roots music. He has been featured in the LA Times, Guitar World, and Premier Guitar magazines and his concert has been featured in several documentaries, including PBS' Songs Inside the Box.

Speal is the author of the book, Making Poor Man's Guitars (2018, Fox Chapel Publishing) which features plans on how to make cigar box guitars, beer can microphones and many other DIY musical instruments.

Shane Speal fronts the junk rock band, Shane Speal's Snake Oil Band, a hard rock blues outfit featuring cigar box guitars, electric washtub bass, harmonica and homemade drums.

You can find Shane and his projects here:

Tiktok : @cigarboxguitar

Websites : http://www.shanespeal.com

http://www.cigarboxguitars.com

Youtube : http://www.Youtube.com/shanespeal

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/cigarboxguitar

Insta : @cigarboxguitar

Search Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora for "Shane Speal"

Super stoked to announce new guest, Shane Speal, to The Story!

York, PA's Shane Speal is the world's foremost master of the cigar box guitar, a primitive stringed instrument cobbled together from discarded wood, guitar strings, and empty box. Shane Speal is responsible for the modern resurgence of the cigar box guitar, a once forgotten instrument of American blues and roots music. He has been featured in the LA Times, Guitar World, and Premier Guitar magazines and his concert has been featured in several documentaries, including PBS' Songs Inside the Box.

Speal is the author of the book, Making Poor Man's Guitars (2018, Fox Chapel Publishing) which features plans on how to make cigar box guitars, beer can microphones and many other DIY musical instruments.

Shane Speal fronts the junk rock band, Shane Speal's Snake Oil Band, a hard rock blues outfit featuring cigar box guitars, electric washtub bass, harmonica and homemade drums.

You can find Shane and his projects here:

Tiktok : @cigarboxguitar

Websites : http://www.shanespeal.com

http://www.cigarboxguitars.com

Youtube : http://www.Youtube.com/shanespeal

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/cigarboxguitar

Insta : @cigarboxguitar

Search Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora for "Shane Speal"