I finally was able to ask for help and began to change my life in 1998. I then started pursuing the thing I love best of all, sharing my songs and stories with anyone who wanted to hear them.
I
have since then been nominated for a Grammy, won awards for my acoustic guitar playing and have been blessed to have worked with some of the top performers in the industry.
I was blessed to have gained recognition as an authentic performer. Naturally I was influenced by many of the great Appalachian performers of old, and then later by many styles of music.
After years of touring in America and being on the bill with Ricky Skaggs, Doc Watson, Marty Stuart and many others I was invited to tour parts of Europe in
2003.This was really exciting turn in my career and opened up a whole new audience for me.
I performed at German American Institutes throughout Germany, festivals and venues in Switzerland and later I was invited to appear throughout Ireland for the Children’s’ Book Festival as a storyteller. Then I was invited to music festivals in the UK where I performed my original material as well as traditional songs.
This experience made me realize I desired only to tour in the UK and Europe as much as possible because at home Nashville spends millions of dollars every year to convince people that if music isn’t commercial it isn’t any good. I do not get the same pleasure playing there I once did, but in the UK and Europe they really do not give a damn what Nashville thinks, they decide what they like. If you put your heart into your performance and share something they enjoy they come out and listen to you.
I guess I must have been right for since then I had the honour of appearing at the Bath International Music Festival along with the great Ralph Stanley, representing the southern Appalachian Mountains, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, the Beverly Folk Festival, the Wadebridge Folk Festival, the Canterbury Arts Festival and just to many to mention. I played shows for many years around America and loved it, but now my desire is to play in the UK, and other parts of Europe.
My favourite memory of performing is at the Dahlonega Bluegrass and Traditional Music Festival in Georgia. Doc Watson and I were in conversation in a tent set up behind the main stage for the artists to warm up, relax or whatever. I had not talked to him for some time, and we always got together at an event where we were both performing. I was sharing with Doc the many places where I had played since I last saw him and he responded ‚You are just a Smoky Mountain Gypsy!‘, and that name stuck.I have used it proudly ever since.
I guess if I were to attempt to describe how I feel about performing I would simply have to say I can‘t imagine life without it. I love doing what I do. I love the stage, the people especially, for it is the highlight of my life when the friends at a performance enjoy what I have to share with them. That is the ultimate fuel for fodder for a songwriter, storyteller and guitarist like me.
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