Artist on Legacy Road Album
Shane Keister
Keister was born in Huntington, West Virginia and grew up in the small southern Ohio town of Portsmouth. He began playing the piano at the age of three. As a child and teenager, he studied piano under Dorothy Knost. In junior high school, he studied percussion and jazz under Ralph Harrison. In High School, Shane was accompanist for the Portsmouth High School Choir under the direction of Charles P. Varney. He was a contemporary and fellow music student with Kathleen Battle, although he was a few years younger than Ms Battle. Already a technically skilled classical pianist, as early as junior high school he began playing with local rock and roll bands and performing in clubs and local venues. He was one of the first local keyboardists to own and use a Leslie Speaker Cabinet. The bands Keister played in were quite popular and were very busy in the local rock scene. He moved back to Huntington, West Virginia in his senior year of high school where he continued his piano studies with Mary Shepp Mann. He attended Marshall University his freshman year and transferred his college studies to North Texas State University for one more year. Keister moved to Nashville in 1972 and quickly established himself as a very capable and well-rounded studio musician. His career flourished and in the late 80’s, he composed and produced the musical scores for Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam and Ernest Goes to Camp.[1] At the request of the late Ahmet Ertegün, Keister moved to New York in 1989 to work for him as a staff producer/arranger at Atlantic Records. Keister worked extensively with Ertegun until 2000 when he decided to again pursue his career independently. He continues to do studio work today, as a pianist/synthesist and as a producer/arranger. He owns an extensive list of vintage synthesizers, including a Fairlight 2x, a Synclavier, a Wave PPG 2.3, a Memory Moog, and an Oberheim Matrix 12 among many others. His work on records is extensive and constantly expanding.
He won a Dove Award for Instrumental Album of the Year—along with Michael Omartian, Dann Huff, Tommy Sims, Tom Hemby, Terry McMillan, Chris Rodriguez, Mark Douthit, and Eric Darken—for the album The Players in 1997.[2]
He has worked with a long list of musicians over the years, including Elvis Presley, Billy Joel, Michael W Smith and Lou Marini. [3]
Mike Joyce
Occupation:
Musician/writer/producer
Company Name:
Michael Joyce Songs
About Me:
Studio musician playing sessions for hit song writers including Harlen Howard and Max D. Barnes , Kieth Follese to Casey Bethhart Tom Douglas and Craig Wiesman, Rodney Crowell and Rosanne Cash. Road dates with Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill. Roy Orbison, Roger Miller, Hank Williams Jr. Currently playing with Jimmy Hall and the Prisoners Of Love and Rick Huckaby live gigs and still record demo sessions for hit song writers. I have had songs recorded by Gail Davies, The Kinleys The Thompson Brothers and more. I played bass on Radney Fosters Del Rio CD,the highest charting record of his career. I own my own studio and am currently developing young rock acts.
Number of years working in Nashville area:
30
Number of years in the music business:
40
Barbara Bailey Hutchison
This Grammy Award winning singer songwriter has a voice that is familiar to millions of television and radio listeners. She has appeared at the White House three times, performed in nearly all 50 states including Alaska and Hawaii, toured Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and most recently Thailand where she participated in a benefit concert for children orphaned by AIDS.
Barbara grew up in Detroit, Michigan. She launched her career in music while attending Michigan State University, where she gained a loyal following performing in the local listening rooms and coffeehouses. She began touring colleges & universities throughout the United States and was voted "Best Solo Performer", "Best Acoustic Performer", and “Best Female Performer” in a national magazine poll.
Advertising production houses discovered her smooth and powerful voice and chose her to sing hundreds of commercials for McDonald's, Hallmark Cards, Heinz, and other national advertisers.
In 1996 she was awarded the music industry's highest recognition, a Grammy Award. This came to her through a new avenue, when she agreed to sing an album of original lullabies for friend and producer, J. Aaron Brown. After she received the Grammy for “Best Musical Recording for Children”, the calls started coming in for children and family concerts. It’s an easy transition for her to make, from adult to youth concerts and back again. Her show is always fresh and powerful, offering finely crafted songs with a clever wit.
What kind of music does she sing? Good question. Her music defies categorization. Her lyric driven, melodic, often humorous, alternative folk music speaks to issues of tolerance and human rights, as well as personal relationships and funny circumstances. She writes much of what she presents, and has gained critical acclaim for her work. Inspired by experience, hers are songs in which everyone can find themselves.
Dakota Records, the independent record label responsible for eleven of the singer's seventeen albums, was started by Hutchison, because she "...just didn't fit the major label mold", and she wanted to maintain more control over the content and production of her music. Singer-songwriter, Gene Cotton, produced three of her CDs including "Reconcile", her critically acclaimed "Christmas" CD, and a CD for children, "Cat In The Sink".
Hutchison is content with her career, happy to be writing meaningful songs, and to be able to present them to intelligent and attentive listeners. She loves nothing better than sharing her songs, telling their stories, and joking with her audience whether they are children, adults, or a happy mix of both.
"Should her music receive the radio exposure it deserves, the rest of the world will learn what her fans already know: Barbara and her music are full of grace, humor, hopefulness, and most of all, deep humanity."
"Her very special gift of quality entertainment has brought us a breath of refreshing air that has revived our souls and raised our spirits!"
Chris Leuzinger
Occupation:
Studio Guitarist
About Me:
I have been a studio guitarist in Nashville for many years. I am best known for playing electric guitar on all of Garth Brook's CDs. I have been blessed to be a part of this wonderful recording community for many years and have played on over 45 #1 hits and many gold and multi platinum CDs by many country and pop artists.
Number of years working in Nashville area:
30+
Number of years in the music business:
40+
Pat Severs
As always, Don McLean will be accompanied by his fantastic band on this tour:
Tony Migliore - piano and keyboard
Jerry Kroon - drums
Ralph Childs - bass guitar
Pat Severs - guitar & dobro
(From left to right: Tony Migliore, Jerry Kroon, Don, Pat Severs and Ralph Childs)
Pat Severs recalls: “I got the call — Don McLean was planning to tour with a full band for the first time in years, and would I be interested in playing guitar with the band on a few of the dates? “THE Don McLean,†I asked? “‘American Pie,’ ‘Vincent, ‘‘Castles in the Air’ and all the other great songs Don McLean?†Well, I’ve gotta do this one. Besides, I thought, it’s only a few dates. Well, here I am, going into my seventh year, traveling around the world, playing guitar with Don McLean.”
Photo and quote from The Don McLean Story: Killing Us Softly With His Songs by Alan Howard. Copyright 2007 Starry Night Music Inc.
