I would hang out at Fanny’s all the time and after I decided to leave the touring gig I had, Pamela and Leigh asked if I would like to work with them. I was like a feral cat that hung around long enough they decided to take me in I suppose.

I needed a replacement tuner for a weirdo 70’s Japanese guitar covered in drum wrap and a friend told me Fanny’s could maybe help. I drug the guitar over and while Leigh couldn’t find the exact part I needed, Fanny’s instantly became my favorite spot in town. The staff was so friendly and the space was cozy and full of great instruments. They haven’t been able to get rid of me since.

My father and grandfather both owned music stores and I was fortunate enough to grow up with the Augusta Heritage Center in my hometown of Elkins, West Virginia. Augusta would put on a five week long folk arts and music camp in July and August of every year with each week being devoted to a different genre. So I kind of had a combination of things that sort of equalled an Appalachian Fanny’s. I got to hang out with cool instruments all the time and take lessons in the summer from some of the best musicians on the planet. Definitely an atypical childhood but its one I’m really thankful for.

I started learning as an 11 year old playing mandolin in Augusta Heritage Center’s “Folk Arts For Kids” class taught by an amazing talented woman named Rachel Eddy. I picked up banjo and guitar shortly thereafter and was mostly self taught though I’d take Augusta classes in the summer. The fiddle repair guy at my Dad’s shop, Jesse Milnes, taught me how to fingerpick guitar and those were the only consistent lessons I got as a kid.

I started playing pedal steel when after Carpal Tunnel had set in pretty badly shortly after I arrived in town.  My doctor suggested I learn to play steel because its so ergonomic, which is the most Nashville medical advice possible. Some incredibly kind steel players steered me in some positive directions early on and would invite me over to dive deep in the pedal steel nerd zone. I feel like I’m still chipping away at what they’ve taught me.

It has grown in ways I could’t have imagined since when I first got here. One detail that stands out is how developers have recently started buying back yards of existing homes and building new houses in them. I don’t think the party tractors were a thing back then either, but I wasn’t invited to any bachelorette parties at the time so I really wouldn’t know.

What has stayed the same is the positive sense of community I was looking for in the first place. There’s a slew of kind, like minded people of all ages that like the same weird niche musical stuff I do. It’s collaborative, not competitive.

I feel like I’m still learning about them because I was on the road perpetually until the pandemic. But I really dig the Lightening 100 “Live on the Green” concerts and have loved getting to catch groups like Lake Street Dive and Saint Paul and the Broken Bones for free. Honky Tonk Tuesday at American Legion Post 82 has been a favorite too. It’s such a diverse group of people that come out to that and its great too see them all come together and have a great time despite whatever cultural differences may exist. Also in the summer you will find me buying all the tomatoes the Madison Farmer’s market will sell me.

I think the world of my coworkers and have especially loved getting to learn more about how their respective musical worlds work. It’s also immensely gratifying to get an instrument in someone’s hands that will be a game changer for their musical and personal trajectory.

I like Madison for the saturation of Taco Trucks, Woodbine for the saturation of Taco Trucks, and Rosebank for the quiet proximity to the Cornelia Fort Airpark. There’s wooded trails and cows down there, which as a product of rural West Virginia, I greatly appreciate. Rosebank is sadly completely taco truck deficient though.

Among other things, I stress listening to a wide variety of what your instrument is capable of. You might not like some of what’s out there but I think it’s important to know what’s out there.

I’m fortunate enough to have a few older Martin guitars and I feel like I use them more than anything. Banjo wise, I either use Gibsons or a Goose Acres open back that my Dad and Grandpa made in the ‘80s. I use a Collings MT-2 mandolin and a Carter D-10 Pedal Steel. I’m not really a loyalist to any of these brands but I’m super happy with the ones I’ve wound up with.