Stone, Gary 2008-06-18
Gary Stone, Shirley Akers, Nolan Akers
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Gary Stone
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: June 18, 2008
Location: Weed, New Mexico
Interviewer: Andy Wilkinson
Length: 01:30:24
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1:
Family of musicians, Shirley Akers, Gary Stone, Nolan Akers, Shirley- 4th generation, Gary- 5th generation of the family in this area, Aunt was blind, played the piano and Violin, Natta- Shirley’s Aunt, Her Dad and Uncle shot her in the eye with a homemade, Bow and arrow, Music came from, Church, Piano was her first love, Ranch/ Home Dances, Move the furniture out and just have fun, Hank Williams, Earnest Tubbs
Tape 1, Side 2:
Continue from tape one, Webb Pierce, Floyd Crammer, Slim Whitten, Local Musicians, A.J Fisher, She learned to play by ear, Took a few lessons, First piano- rented it in California, 8th grade Christmas present, Fiddle, Picked it up by ear, Plays every now and then, Children, Two sons, Two daughters, Gary is the musician, Gary, He would watch the fingers, Learned a few cords, They would play old break downs, Old Gospel, Old Country, Cowboy music, Met some people in high school, Introduced him to the band style music, Hiram Posey, The British Invasion and Rock and Roll, Influenced him, Neil and the Country Kings, His band from when he was in high school, Instruments, He plays the guitar, He can play the bass if need be, Singer, Nolan, Married Shirley in 1985, When she wanted to play the fiddle, He would play with her, Started playing in high school, He was not that interested in music, The change, It used to be just fiddle and guitar, Now there are drums, bass, etc…, The “new” music does not interest him, Gary, Adding on to what Nolan said, He lost interest in playing “living room”, Because he started playing with more pieces, To a band, How do you learn from not having the living room, Gary said people are not willing to do the fundamentals, They want to pick up an instrument and be famous, Repertoire of music, He plays classic, Merle Haggard, Clint Black, Alan Jackson, He plays to the age group, Older people, He does not play or like modern country, Mountain Music, Is there a difference?, He said he could tell who an old mountain fiddler is, But not sure if he could tell a huge difference, Are fiddlers from here different than other fiddlers?, Nolan- Two styles of fiddlers, Texas Swing- not what Nolan is used too, Modern fiddle players are actually violin players, Junior Daugherty, He would be classified by starting as the old style, But now he plays to please the people, Younger people do not go to the mountains to, Play music, Fiddle Contest, Annual fiddle contest, Not that many fiddlers anymore, Difference between dance and contest, Huge difference, Hiram Posey grew up around Alamogordo, Junior’s fiddling, He plays and you can hear soul in it, Classical fiddlers, you can hear the soul in it, It makes you wonder how the youth can keep getting better, So quickly, They say no fiddler plays exactly the same as another fiddler, Nolan, Always thought he could write lyrics, But feels like everything has already been said, How does the environment inspire you, People who have lived here their whole lives, Not noticeable, People go up there specifically for the inspiration, Recording, Gary, Not the most secure about his music, When people are there to hear just the music, he gets nervous, Does not have any live recordings, It bothers him when people talk and don’t pay attention, Its easier to play when the crowd is into it, Country music, They don’t like the new music, Don’t think that country music is going to be the same, Radio: Grand Ole Opery, Local station, Carlsbad, In the 60’s – most of the music was in El Paso, Texas, That is the station they would listen to, Internet, Do you think the internet is the new “living room”?, These days, not so much of a variety, Gary- loves to play the beetles, the crowds he plays for, Doesn’t though
Tape 2, Side 1:
They are playing music, Down Yonder, They start playing another song
Tape 2, Side 2:
Continuation of playing music, West Bayou Walks, They play another song, Red Wing, Gary sings living room style, Another song, “Out in West Texas”
Tape 3, Side 1:
Gary is playing some songs at the café, Amarillo, The second song played at
Access Information
Original Recording Format:
Recording Format Notes:
Transcript: Transcript available in reading room
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