Enjoy an evening of musical talent, unique songwriting. All three "Songwriting Workshop" teachers will take the stage!
Chris Haddox, Jeremy Rodgers & Taylor Berryhill!
$7 in advance, $10 at the door, $5 student, kids 12 & under free
get your tickets here:
www.theriverhousewv.org/event-registration
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Chris Haddox Bio:
Hey folks….here’s my musical story:
I was born Chris Haddox in Logan, WV in 1960. My first exposure to the type of music I would eventually come around to write and play came from my dad. He was always singing songs that seemed strange to me…turns out they were old folk songs he had heard growing up in rural WV in the 30’s. My other early musical influence was my dad’s older brother—my uncle Jim—a fantastic country blues singer and picker. My first formal music lessons came on the piano at age 6 and I continued those until age 18. I wrote my first song in the second grade—stealing a few lines from a poem that a fellow classmate wrote about missing his father. As a teen I was influenced by John Prine, Neil Young, John Denver, Kenny Rankin and folks like that. My first year of college I met a guy who played the Dobro and who introduced me to the music of Tony Rice. For the next several years I devoted most of my musical time to bluegrass flatpicking. While in graduate school I happened upon an album of recordings by the Delmore Brothers from the late 20s and early 30s….my life was forever changed by that experience. I quit college and moved to Nashville—determined to make a life as a songwriter. Well…that didn’t quite pan out as expected, despite three healthy stints in Music City. I left Nashville for the last time in the late 80s and have continued to write/perform original songs in the folk/traditional/oldtime, and country veins. Like most writers, I try to find new ways to address old topics…some songs are funny, some sad, but they are all honest…even the ones that are full of lies.
If any of this strikes your fancy, come on out for a listen!
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Taylor Berrhill Bio:
Hello friends!
I was born and raised in the Piedmont of North Carolina (around Charlotte) and really took to music once I started playing trumpet in the sixth grade. This branched my musical tastes to include forms of classical-symphonic and wind band repertoire, as well as jazz, blues, funk, soul, reggae, ska and other genres that incorporated “horns.”
As a teenager, I picked up electric guitar, a leather jacket and a bad attitude to try and emulate the punk bands I was listening to at the time (though it was all a guise…I’ve always been a peace-loving hippie at heart, haha). I played in several bands throughout high school, rehearsing very loud music in very tiny rooms. Between that and going to equally loud shows every week I probably lost half of my hearing spectrum very early on in my musical career. So, naturally, I decided to study audio engineering in college!
I finished up my studies at Appalachian State University in the summer of 2010 and temporarily moved to Boston, MA, to intern at a recording studio before coming back to NC to graduate that December with a B.S. in Music Industry Studies. After half a year of working, living at home and generally trying to save as much money as possible, I moved out to Nashville, TN with a college friend and was determined to find work in the industry!
This proved to be way harder than an I ever anticipated, and I found living in Nashville to be very challenging for the first several years. I eventually bought a bike, however, and fell in love with cycling. I became a bicycle courier for the last couple years I was in Nashville but was still playing in various bands (ranging from Americana to hip-hop) and investing in some form of music, all the while.
My love of biking and desire to live out west (my sister lives in Northern California) spurred a spontaneous adventure. Once again, I moved back home to save money and eventually began a cross-country bicycle trip with my sights set on San Francisco…but have strangely found myself living in Capon Bridge, West Virginia, for the last year. Living and taking part in this wonderful little community has inspired me in so many ways and proved to be monumental in elevating my creative self. Life is beautiful and so very unpredictable in the best way possible!
Jeremy Rodgers:
Jeremy is a singer/songwriter, musician, producer and author, who has played in many bands on the East Coast for decades. He has recorded albums with The Dreamscapes Project, Chelsea McBee, and Slow Creek, among many others. His first solo album, Darkest Hour, was released in 2014. His second album, Ugly Old Suit, was released October 2016.
He currently leads his own band, The Helltown Riffraff. They are finishing up their newest album, Dismal Hollow Rd, due to be released fall of 2018.
Inspired by blues, country, funk and gothic music from all genres, he has gained a reputation for making dark, menacing, but morbidly humorous music, sung with a slightly gravelly bass baritone and occasionally accompanied by his partner in crime, Lani Urreta.
His first novel, Gretchen, was released in 2016. His illustrated set of poems about creepy children, The Namers, was released in October of 2016. His second novel, Hagar, was released in July of 2017. His third and latest novel, Isaiah, was just released in July of 2018.