| Music Links
f.f.s.
Jason Ellis
Clay Evans Band
Dezeray's Hammer
Jennifer Nettles Band
Bluestring
Stewart and Winfield
Win Free Stuff
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Bluestring will perform at the Georgia Theatre on Friday, Feb. 22
An Escape the Norm co-promoted Event
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Clay Evans
Songwriter, singer, guitar player, and director of Robotix for Bluestring, Clay Evans' musical career began in his high school days. He, along with current bandmate Ted Pennington, did guest spots and wrote parody songs for WKLS 96 ROCK in Atlanta, GA. The duo's warped sense of humor yielded such hits as "T.I.T.T.I.E.S.," a take-off on Travis Tritt's "T.R.O.U.B.L.E.," and "Sunny Turned Red," a trailer park rendition of Shawn Colvin's "Sunny Came Home." It wasn't long before Clay's love of making people laugh was overcome by his desire to define himself with his songs. Clay soon wrote his first song, "The Unforgiving Minute," a phrase he borrowed from Robert Frost to illustrate the necessity of perseverance in life. Clay began to discover himself musically as he slowly departed from what he calls the "bitter world of academia." While studying ancient Greek at a liberal arts university, academics began to grow unrewarding for Clay as his class time was spent more on songwriting than on his curriculum. Also, he jokes that he "began to hate his teachers and fellow peers with a passion." Clay comically relates, "school definitely played a huge role in my musical career in that it gave me a structured, classroom setting in which to zone out and do some really serious writing." Slowly, Clay began to recognize and cultivate his gift for songwriting and performance. Now, he has matured into a very earnest and sincere singer/songwriter. An ambitious and talented youngster, Clay still ultimately dreams of one day smashing a guitar on stage. He currently studies voice under Jan Smith and guitar under Benji Shanks. |
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Brad Thomas
Brads melodic improvisation can be attributed to his exposure to improve at a young age. By age 11 Brad began improvising over standard 12 bar progressions. This early exposure allowed him to excel through middle and high school receiving an acceptance in the All State Jazz Band in 1996. He continued to progress in jazz when he participated in the University of Georgia Jazz Band. Brad has played in many different bands consisting of jazz, blues, funk, and even a little ska. Some of the bands he has played with are King Daddy Zeb, Fish Mouth Fools, Velvet Jones and the Sex Appeal, Two Fisted Cool, the Urban Shakedancers, and the Del Rays.
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Chuck Thomas
Chuck began his musical journey at the age of 13 when he received his first bass guitar. Throughout high school, Chuck experimented with several different styles before finally creating his own take of the modern rhythmic style. Once he developed this technique, Chuck began playing with his first Atlanta band in 1997. Through this project, he was introduced to Billy Hume. The two hit it off and played for a brief time together. This relationship would prove to be a great connection for Bluestring
because Billy became the producer of the band’s first full-length record, Overthinking. Chuck has played in several Atlanta/Athens bands over the past few years including the infamous Carpet Theatre House Band and The Hangdown, both of which were projects with Jason. He joined Bluestring in 1999, and continues to provide the band with its unique groove style.
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Jason Jones
Jason began his music career at the age of 3 when his parents bought him a vintage drum kit from Service Merchandise. After quickly destroying the set from frequent playing, his parents encouraged him to try a slightly more durable instrument. This change led him through many years of piano and guitar lessons, but he later found himself again acquainted with a drum kit. Picking up where he left off, Jason acquired another set of drums in 1993. He rededicated himself to the instrument studying drum technique for three years after until he joined his first band. Since 1996 he has played in several Atlanta/Athens based bands and projects including The Goods, and The Hangdown. After playing in Athens for several years, Jason began studying with Jeff Reilly. Jason attributes a great deal of what he has learned about playing music, and being able to adjust to a variety of styles to his time with Jeff. He is the most recent addition to the Bluestring family, joining in the Fall of 2001.
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Nick Price
Percussionist, Nick Prince, received his first taste of ethnic percussion at the age of 8. While attending a Lionel Richie show in Atlanta, Nick discovered that his biggest thrill of the night would not come from Lionel, but from his opening act, Sheila E. As the story goes, the percussion sensation was quite taken with cutie Nick when she saw him in the audience. She invited him onstage, exploiting his youthful good looks to the sold-out crowd. Before the night was over, she gave him an autographed pair of sticks, intriguing Nick into the greatness of live performance.
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Ted Pennington
Violin and Mandolin-player, Ted Pennington, began his musical quest at the tender age of three when he was placed under the direction of Carol Stokes. It was Mrs. Stokes’ instruction that introduced Ted to the Suzuki Method. This technique would be the basis for the classical training that he would follow for the subsequent 15 years, until the end of his high school days. During his time with his instructor, Ted experienced what he calls his “ moment in the sun.” In a special called “Just Fiddling Around,” that aired on PBS, Ted was featured on a rendition of “Orange Blossom Special.” Little did 12-year-old Ted know that this song would become a Bluestring staple a decade later.
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