FOLK MUSIC

The Old Kazoo Maker was born and raised in the western North Carolina foothills. He grew up in an atmosphere rich in traditional bluegrass/ folk music and was exposed to a treasure chest of Carolina traditional handmade folk instruments, folk artist and musicians. "My first store bought instrument as an old beat up Kay acoustic guitar when I was about 10 years old and learned the three major folk chords. D, E and C. I got my first store bought kazoo at the county fair by throwing a wooden ring around a post that had a red metal kazoo strapped to it with a rubber band. Man I was humming in high cotton!" In the late 90's he began to follow his childhood passion as a folk artist of handmade traditional style folk instruments. In 2010 he moved his focus to creating unique handmade traditional Carolina style folk kazoos and established the Great ASWEGO Kazoo Factory on the Homestead at Lake Senica, Florida. His kazoos are acclaimed around the world for their unique beauty and exceptional sound qualities. They are known as the best of the best wooden kazoo. He is also an independent folk musician and songwriter. In 2010 he released his first album of original folk songs, "Across The River", on the AsWeGo Homestead Studio Independent Label. His second album, "Don't Be Kazooless" is planned for completion spring of 2012. You are invited to visit the Old Kazoo Maker on YouTube and the Factory Blog.

Hi. Im Joe, a young british student with an interest in Folk music. I play Tenor Banjo, Bouzouki, accordion and a bit of guitar and bass. Way it works is, i love music and i enjoy playing whenever people enjoy listening.

Adrienne is a woman with diverse interests ranging from folk music to medieval history. She is an experienced communications professional with over 20 years of writing experience in the academic, corporate and publishing venues.

I was born in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, PA. That was 55 years ago and I have traveled quite extensively since then. I graduated from Elmer L. Meyers High School in 1974 and Wilkes College ( now Wilkes University) in 1978. My passion for writing developed from a very young age and I did quite well in creative writing classes! After receiving my degree in Sociology and in Community Service, I worked for Step-by-Step, Inc. for about 6 years. It was a transitional living agency which helped mental health clients gain as many skills as possible to live within society. It was an incredible experience and much of what I learned as a counselor in that environment has helped me navigate the intricacies of life itself. While working in social services, I always pursued my passion for music. I studied classical voice for 5 years through private instruction and took organ lessons as a child. Although you would think my choice of study would lead me into the classical arena, that was not where my passion took me. I ran the gamut of folk music to classic rock, disco fever, into full blown out heavy metal! I co-found a band that was fairly well known in northeast pennsylvania back in the late 1970 s into the early 1980 s. But, life takes us many places and eventually I was on the round with a resort all-girl band which became my transition into a world far different from the one I left behind! I would eventually work in the resorts of the Pocono Mountains and that is where my next chapter of life and new lessons began. I was immersed in a world of gifted musicians where I learned as much as I could through listening and asking questions. Of course, just being around the greats teaches you more than you could ever learn in a classroom. This is where I learned the truest meaning of being a musician.

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/EDITOR/SCREENWRITER/COMPOSER As an LA-based Film and Video Director, Producer, and Editor, Miller has helmed over 200 MTV, VH-1, and BET music videos, two dozen multi-camera live concert shoots for television and long form DVD, numerous independent theatrical feature films, a weekly children’s educational TV series with the Disney Channel, several award-winning documentaries, and a half dozen Network and Cable TV series pilots. He has also directed over 60 national commercial spots and a host of PBS TV concert pledge specials, as well as original video content for websites and net product. Some of the many top recording artists Miller has worked with include, Brian Wilson, Linkin Park, Sheryl Crow, Alison Krauss, The Black Crowes, LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rod Stewart, Donovan, Deniece Williams, Faith Evans, Shaquille O’Neal, Gerald Levert, Charlie Wilson, The Gap Band, The Curve, The Little River Band, Squeeze, Jeffrey Osborne, Eddie Murphy, OMD, and The Commodores. He has shot live concerts for MTV, HBO, and Showtime, for The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, The Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Wings, The Eagles, and countless other major musical acts, as well as the annual KJJZ Radio “Smooth Jazz Festival” in Palm Desert starring Gerald Albright and Jeff Golub. His very successful Pledge Drive specials for PBS Television include recent shows for show biz icon Diahann Carroll (currently airing); Donovan featuring David Lynch, Laura Dern, and Mike Love of The Beach Boys; a Native American Tribute, “Songcatchers”, starring Rita Coolidge, Buffy St. Marie, Robbie Robertson, and Wes Studi; and presently in post-production, “Rhythm of the Dance”, an Irish dance special. Upcoming PBS shows include a tribute to Jewish Songwriters; a bluegrass homage to Loretta Lynn; and a first annual Folk Music Hall of Fame special. Some of the independent movies Miller oversaw as a Director, Producer, and/or Supervisin

I was born in the south of England but grew up in West Yorkshire. I loved school and moved to Nottingham in 2005 to pursue a degree in English Studies. I fell in love with Old English and continued at university to gain my MA in Old English Studies in 2009. After a year working in the IT industry as a print product manager, I started working at the university. I love my job. I live in a shared house with my boyfriend of five years and two friends. My abiding passions are folk music, theatre, literature and baking. I love nothing more than catering for a buffet for 50 people!

Hannah currently works as a Children's Bookseller and is making it her mission to get adults reading the brilliant teen fiction that is available. She is also interested in Modern American fiction, British history and reading the words of the fabulously witty. She is happiest when listening to folk music and knitting.

Steve Wilson was born in 1955 in San Fernando, California. From an early age, he had an interest in all things musical. He picked up his grandfather's guitar when he was 13 years old and has not been the same since. He has lived in the South Bay, near Los Angeles, California, for most of his life. Indeed, he is one of those rare and endangered creatures, the native Californian. When he's not playing music, he's writing or practicing kung fu. Yeah, he's a busy guy. Idle hands, you know. They do something. I forget what, but I knew when I started the sentence. They say memory is the first to go. I forget what goes next. Years ago, he started writing little blogs on Reverb about his favorite bible stories, trying to explain why spirituality in general, and Christianity specifically, aren't the irrational ideas commonly portrayed in popular media. All those fundamentalists tend to give Jesus a bad name. It's a shame. Anyway, those blogs became rather popular. So he kept writing them. Every Sunday, he posts a blog with a religious theme. They are still quite popular. He writes about more than religion, though. He write about philosophy, history, music, astronomy, science, politics, linguistics, and just about anything else that pops into his head. In 2009, he wrote his first novel, Natural Selection, a murder mystery. It's available on Amazon.com. He teaches elementary school in the Los Angeles area. He's been teaching now for over 25 years. He has also practiced kung fu for the past 26 years. He plays guitar for his church choir and belongs to a local folk music club.

My earliest memory is that of me watching Barney at my foster mothers home in some town near Cleveland, Ohio. I was born one of several children to my birth woman who managed to have a different kid with every man on the block. Drugs and neglagence landed my siblings and me in several differnt fosterhomes. At five we were adopted into a whole new lifestyle. We were all black or mixed children being adoped by an entire white family. At the time I never noticed once that we were differnt colors I was so happy. My new family came with a mom and a dad and four sisers and one brother. when you added my 3 younger brothers and my little sister and me we had ten children total, black and white, living in one house at one time. I got lucky. I look back and think about how i might have turned out if I had stayed in that town. I have always loved animals and have had several. Music is a passion, in particullar, jazz, broadway and folk music. I would like to work with film, and produce and direct social and cultural documentaries I want to travel the world.

I'm a writer, a rapper, a performer.I'm into politics and society. I love hip hop music.

Career professional in non-profit sector, one of AC s Rising Stars (2009) and Featured Contributor in Home Improvement, Health and Wellness, Local, and Arts and Entertainment categories. Washington, DC metro enthusiast, resident and parent. Education, training, leadership, policy, grants, and governance expert. Extensive travel in US and Canada. Lifelong fascination with old houses, historic neighborhoods, renovation and restoration of vintage homes, and the styling of old houses. Co-owner of a 1929 Expanded American Bungalow. Understands the renovation process from DIY and contracting perspective. Special interest in home and garden, green living, and project planning. Non-profit and policy experience relevant to health and wellness, health promotion and prevention, health care systems, issues of aging, alternative medicine and treatments, women s health, and so much more. Special interest in health technology, mind-body health, integrative health care, and quality care. Arts and entertainment enthusiast. Special interest in visual and performing arts, art and performance venues, and arts culture, with special interest in folk rock, folk music, jazz, blues, classical and world beat.

I am a middle aged surgical nurse, midwife and homeschooling mom of 9. I also specialize in herbal and homeopathic medicine, and am an avid gardener. I read, knit and do other handwork, and I love folk music. I am interested in everything, and really good at a few.

I am an 18 year old undergraduate student in the James Madison College at MSU. I've lived in Chicago, and most recently, South Bend, IN. I enjoy poetry, folk music, and long jogs.

Producer and host for the Cleveland Celtic Podcast, avid reader and fan of many kinds of music. Visit podcast website for audio of favorite artists inspired by Celtic Folk music!

I am a professional musician/writer. I play folk music, with my band Chalice of Odin, and write articles for music magazines such as Modern Drummer.

I am a disabled writer & musician with an educational background primarily in composition & criticism/textual exegisis. I read voraciously and am inspired by everything from folk music to Romantic Poetry.

I grew up in a classic American suburb of Minneapolis during the 70 s and 80 s -- or at least through the mid 80 s, by the late 80 s I was all grown up and going off to college. One of my earliest memories was when I couldn t have been any older than three, and I announced to my mom that I was going to go outside all by myself. As I stepped out the door on a cool and blustery day I looked up and saw all these large trees with their branches clashing against each other against the grey sky. Well it was all a little to scary for toddler all by himself so I decided that was enough independence for today and I went straight back inside. That was before we moved within the city to a new development on what was previously a cow pasture. Everything was new and all the trees were small and sparse. We had one of the earlier houses to be built on the block, but soon other houses popped up in a flurry of construction in what was at the time, the early 1970 s, a very fast growing suburb. And most of the new homes had young families with kids moving in, much like our own. As a result I benefited from having a large number of peers to play with. I our family photo album there is a picture of a large section of our driveway filled with bicycles our friends had driven to our house. The occasion for their visit was during a period when our home was the home field for the big sport in the neighborhood -- inflateaball. From what I recall, inflateaball was a game that was much like baseball, only instead of using a baseball we used a lightweight basketball sized plastic inflated ball that was hit with a wiffle ball bat. During my early teens I found the rock and folk music of the late 60 s, aka the hippie music generally more appealing than the popular music coming out at the time. Frankly I found there whole lifestyle and clothing rather appealing. I remembered thinking it would have been cool being a teenager during that era.

I'm a senior year literature major with a love for the outdoors, poetry, and folk music.

Irish by extraction. Midwesterner by birth. Wannabe Classicist. Gaelic Enthusiast. Vagabond Storyteller. Folk Music Fiend. No fixed abode.

I am a Musician and Educator living in upstate, NY. I have gotten a successful start as a music teacher and freelance musician, and spend my free time cooking, participating in outdoor activities, and traveling whenever I have the chance!

Raised as an Army brat. Served two years in the Navy aboard a submarine. Worked as a software engineer for 23 years then worked in aerospace quality assurance for 7 years. Along the way I've done some singing -- mostly Irish folk music -- and some commercial voice-over work. I have lived with and loved many cats over the decades and am the devoted servant of 5 cats right now. I have played Dungeons & Dragons since I was in the Navy in the late '70s and am currently DM for a campaign I first played in the early 1980s. I've been involved in the writing of professional and technical documentation for many years and have taken creative writing classes.

I have traveled extensively, and have a passion for great food and wine! I love Oriental dance and Celtic folk music, and I am fascinated by the history and folklore of nations around the world.

Stacy Ann Clark is a writer, teacher and counselor. Author of hundreds of articles and one book. She is working on her second book. She reads science fiction, does Dances of Universal Peace, she sings, esp. folk music, classic rock & chants. She has meditated since she was a

I was born into a mixed race family brought up on hip-hop and 80's music. Oddly I'm an Indie Folk musician currently with a local band Nice Purse from Minneapolis MN. Laid back but not naive.

Born in 1984, I was home-schooled, raised to love life and to have a reason and passion to learn. I enjoy trying to understand all that I can; With that, I am analytical of myself and of what I learn when observing the world around me. Along with my passion for learning from life, I enjoy drawing, learning music, and doing so with precision; I see no reason not to be accurate and respectful when describing (in any form) something for myself or for others.

Psychotherapist, music fan, theology student, cruciverbalist, ailurophile

I am a semi-retired office slave-do-it-yourselfer-folk musician-home improving relic of the sixties.

I am the skiing channel manager at Helium. I am a contributing writer for Rockstar Weekly. I am an entertainment columnist and writer for DC Metro Theater Arts, where I cover concerts and theater productions around the Washington, D.C. area.I also have a music column there called Capital Sound. I was a writer for the MD Theatre Guide where I reviewed local, regional and national theatre productions in and around the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas. I am active in the local music scene by covering local blues for the Examiner. I also manage two bands. I have many contacts in the music business and I am able to interview up and coming bands such as U.S. Royalty to legendary musicians such as Yngwie Malmsteen. I frequent concerts from small honky tonks to huge multiday festivals. When I get the chance I am an active ski racer and avid skier.I enjoy fishing, hiking, bike riding, an occasional round of golf and travel. I am involved in the community as a volunteer and serve on the Board of Directors of a credit union. I work for a Fortune 100 company in operations. I am also a big sports fan enjoying football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer.

Introspective light-hearted abd optimistic insights, along with profound life lessons shaped and formed by over 40 years of writing music and fiction from the heart; Freedom in expression as the continuing quest to explore who we are; absent of permission to be authentic. En

Jennifer has a BA in Music Performance and English. She loves classical music, freak folk, poetry, and the idea of infinite imagination.