MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
SUNDAY, April 30, 2006, 9:25 p.m.
Dennis McCurdy: Music, friendship come full circle
Guys like Dennis McCurdy are the premise
behind and continued inspiration for the Three-Chord Barbecue, both the
blog and radio show versions.
I first met Dennis several years ago at the outside patio stage at the old
Papa Boo’s Key West Cookery on the shores of Buckeye Lake, Ohio, at the
tail end of a long, three-person road trip in a two-seat truck.
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Dennis McCurdy |
Dennis
was a longtime friend of harmonica player extraordinaire, Howard Golub,
who was traveling with Kevin Mulvenna and me through the musical wilds of
Ohio. As we unloaded the truck, Kevin opened his guitar case and pieces of
Takamine guitar sailed out into the Ohio sunshine.
Dennis, who had driven in from Pennsylvania and whom Kevin and I had never
met, simply said, “I’ve got a guitar with me. You’re more than welcome to
use it.”
After that weekend, it was several years before I again saw Dennis, this
time at Howard’s wedding in Illinois. At first I didn’t recognize him, but
there was something familiar about the guy setting up row after row of
extra folding chairs for the wedding guests. I just thought he was a
banquet room employee who looked a lot like someone else. It turned out to
be Dennis, doing whatever needed to be done.
Two years ago, we hooked up again at the boating island of Put-In-Bay,
Ohio, where Howard’s band and I were both part of the same music festival.
Dennis and his wife, Bonnie, made the trip.
During the weekend, we each had a little down time, so he and his guitar
stopped by my plush accommodations known as the “band condo,” in reality a
converted lawn-maintenance shed that has since been knocked down. At the
time, the first two cans of Lysol almost made it tolerable.
Being careful not to let any portion of a bare foot touch the carpet, we
pulled up a couple of chairs, opened the guitar cases and traded songs,
ideas, snippets and B.S. I liked his songs and, in my usual bashful
fashion, told him that he should go into the studio and record some of
that stuff.
The weekend ended with a Sunday morning songwriters brunch and, although
not part of the so-called ‘official’ lineup, Dennis took advantage of the
inclusive spirit and played a couple of songs, admitting that it had been
a long time since he had performed in public. They were well-received.
We have stayed in touch via e-mail, including updates on his recording
project. I liked what I heard along the way. The finished product arrived
this week.
It’s honest, down-to-earth music from a down-to-earth person. Some of the
songs date back to the mid-'70s, some have been re-worked and some are
new. The sound is pure Americana with pedal steel, dobro, fiddle, mandolin
and lush harmony vocals, wrapped around the acoustic guitar, bass and
drums.
From the sounds of it, dubious musical history will repeat itself this
summer. I’ve been invited back to Put-In-Bay, as has Howard’s band. Dennis
said he’s already made his reservations. The guitars are a given. I’ll
bring the Lysol.
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