While South Louisiana is known for jazz, Cajun, and zydeco music, North Louisiana’s influence on blues, rockabilly, and country music is well established by homegrown heroes like Jerry Lee Lewis, Huddie Ledbetter, and James Burton, and current stars like Kenny Wayne Shepherd. The northern part of the state has its own music trail, stretching from Carthage, Texas, west to Ferriday, Louisiana, with musical pit stops along the way.
Daniel Trush was 12 years old when a brain aneurysm changed life as he knew it. He spent the next two years in a wheelchair, and had to relearn how to walk and talk. Before the aneurysm, Trush played guitar and trumpet, and one thing that brought him a lot of joy during recovery was […]
“There really is a rift between athletics and arts at school, and I want to be an ambassador for how we can overcome some of those issues,” he says. “It puts a lot of pressure on young adults, especially when they have outside influences.” Utecht is the son of two athletes, but his mom was […]
Two years ago I moved to Ithaca, New York, and witnessed my first Porchfest. I immediately fell in love with the concept. So, I made it my mission to perform at one, which I did last year. Porchfest is an annual outdoor music festival in which bands and musicians perform on neighborhood porches. It can […]
Six years ago, when Mike Orr made his first cigar box guitar, he wasn’t thinking about beginning a second career. He came across cigar box guitars while surfing the Internet one day, and decided to make one as a Christmas gift for his son. He studied the design and made it his own. Then, he […]
Standing in centerfield felt odd. Like many times before, Bernie Williams looked towards home plate and then glanced up at a crowd of 50,000 screaming fans ready for a season opener. He had never played in this stadium, but that didn’t explain the surreal feeling.
Thanks largely to some of his predecessors’ failed attempts at music careers (just listen to William Shatner’s disturbing version of “Mr. Tambourine Man”), there’s a stigma actors-turned-musicians must overcome to be taken seriously. But Daniels had a weapon—a funny, clever, catchy, and skillfully performed song, “If William Shatner Can, I Can Too.” “That was a […]
Folks from all around the state and far beyond arrive at Triple Creek Music Park. Whether they are musical snowbirds from colder climates who come to spend the winter months, music tours passing through the Houston area, or musically-oriented families looking for a unique getaway, park owners Karen and Marc McConnell make them all feel welcome and get them jamming.
Before the industrial revolution, acoustic guitars were strung with gut strings. In that same tradition, classical and flamenco guitars use nylon strings today, and are most commonly fingerpicked. Typically used for classical music, as well as Latin styles, nylon strings provide a warm, gentle sound, and beginners gravitate toward them because they are easier on […]
If you’re thinking about getting into digital recording, you’ll need more than just a microphone, a computer, and recording software. This article is an introduction to two necessary and closely related pieces of gear–microphone preamps and interfaces. These are often the missing links in people’s understanding of digital audio. So, what do they do and […]