Dutch singer/songwriter and guitarist Ad Vanderveen first rose to prominence in 1990 with his band Personnel. This country/rock band released two albums on Polydor and enjoyed great success throughout the continent of Europe. Personnel Only was recorded in Switzerland and included the hit single Everybody Knows. Its follow-up Continuing Stories was recorded in Nashville with an all star cast including Al Kooper, Flaco immense, Al Perkins and Leland Sklar. This...

Bill Erickson calls Cherokee County, Oklahoma home but the truth is, he is a first generation, genuine, California Okie, a progeny of a Swedish immigrant and Leflore County, Oklahoma native. Born in Sacramento in 1952, he was brought "home" to Oklahoma in 1956. His folks, along with characters throughout his life, give impression of the genius in his lyrics.

Toying with songwriting for several years before taking it seriously, Erickson's talent may have...

For years people have talked about legendary "Texas" songwriters like Eric Taylor and Willis Alan Ramsey. Well the folks in Oklahoma have a legend of their own and he is none other than Bob Childers. Never heard of him? You probably have and just don't know it.

The story of Bob Childers begins with his birth in West Virginia. Bob grew up in a decidedly non musical family. He discovered music in his early teens and has been at it consistently for over thirty...

"Starting out, I played a lot of Bob Dylan, but what really got me going was John Prine. I was the John Prine jukebox. I met him once and told him 'I'm your biggest fan, I play twenty six of your songs' and he looked at me and said, 'Really, I only play twenty two.' I'll never forget that."

Sometimes music comes to us as a big present - a big packaged affair featuring any number of we known artists - but other...

Iain Matthews was born Ian Matthews MacDonald on June 16th, 1946 in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. His music career began in the mid 60's as the vocalist with the surf band "Pyramid". In 1967 he was recruited to sing with "Fairport Convention" alongside fellow folk legends Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson. His next group, Matthews Southern Comfort, scored a number one hit single in England with Joni Mitchell's Woodstock.

By late 1970 Ian...

Jeff & Vida are one of New Orleans best known acoustic roots acts, performing original material spanning from Appalachian Bluegrass to Alternative Country. Their live performances showcase Vida’s powerful voice, Jeff’s superb picking on guitar, banjo and mandolin and tight, well arranged harmonies. The frequent addition of Mike Kerwin’s slap-you-in-the-face stand up bass playing adds another dimension to the band’s rich texture and dynamic edge. With ballads...

It's Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The unsuspecting tourists stumble into a bar on Decatur Street where a skinny man picks a banjo and everybody, including the bartender, is dancing. A woman wearing thimbles on her fingers bangs on a washboard, while the bass player finishes his beer without missing a note.

The Mike West Band plays hillbilly music, New Orleans hillbilly music. With mandolin, acoustic guitar, banjo and spoons, they recreate an old-time sound and give it new...

Smart and sad and weird...the Ruby Warblers strike out with a restless caterwauling freedom. The women in her songs may be beautiful lost ballad heroines, but Myshkin's first person narrators are stronger. Heart busted open, she revels in the blood red life pouring out. --- Village Voice 10/16/02

New Orleans, own gypsy-torch-punk diva Myshkin has relocated to the west coast, revamped the Ruby Warblers and put out the best record of her...

Randy Pease is an oddity in the musical world. An intelligent man who writes intelligent songs. Long before Randy came to record for Binky Records, his songs were being done by most of Binky's artists.

Pease began his musical career as an integral part of the Oklahoma "red dirt" music scene that would later spawn the likes of Jimmy Lafave, Tom Skinner, Bob Childers, and even mega-star Garth Brooks. Randy pursued both his songwriting and his education...

The New Orleans Times-Picayune calls Peter Orr "a flat-out, hands-down superb entertainer". Since its inception in 1998, his band the Fens has set a record by getting fired the most times from Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville (for onstage fistfights, for disrespectful renditions of audience requests, and for telling some yahoo from Ohio, "Yell 'Brick House' once more and I'll brain you with this pint glass"). Orr's songs have a distinct...

Lee Hunter and Arvid Smith are musical alchemists. With their finely crafted songs and inspired arrangements of traditional tunes from both sides of the Atlantic, their music is a joyous collision of down-home, back-porch, "Oh Brother" simplicity and world beat vibes. Theirs is a forward-looking vision, soulful and heartfelt with complete reverence for the tradition, that captures the folk roots of a Doc Watson and the expansive world-music palette of a Loreena McKennitt, with a...

When one thinks of the music capital of the United States, Stillwater, Oklahoma likely never comes to mind. But in the early 1080's Stillwater was a hotbed of musical talent. Austin rocker Jimmy LaFave began his career there. Legendary songwriter Bob Childers did, too. Even mega-star Garth Brooks got started in Stillwater. But the voice that most embodies Oklahoma "red dirt" music would have to be Tom Skinner.

The musical story of Tom Skinner began up the road...

There ain't nothing nice about Truckstop Honeymoon. They play banjos and wash tubs. They sing hell-bent songs about Jesus and adultery. They sing from their stomachs.

Katie Euliss learned guitar, piano and bucket bass in the streets of New Orleans. She scammed enough money from tourists to buy Lucky Strikes and smoked oysters for six years.

Then she met Mike West. Part entertainer, part snake oil salesman, Mike lived by pickin' banjo and sellings...

Mike "Two Tone" Malone can belt the blues with the best of 'em. Kinda strange for a hulking white boy.

Malone began playing music two decades ago while serving in the military. His travels exposed him to numerous cultures, all of which were later incorporated into his music. By the 90's, Mike was working as a paramedic in South Louisiana. He found himself in great demand on the local club scene for both his solo acoustic shows and his intricate full-band...