I'm a high energy player with a love of groove and emphasis on taste, and touch. I love freelancing because playing and making music with people is such a gift. Its a whole other language. I love connecting with peoples spirits on the bandstand. 2006 is the year I'm going to take african dance classes, develop Japanese language fluency, finish my solo dvd, and hopefully get to the beach a few times.
My early musical aesthetic was informed by the gospel church musical tradition, and two radio stations - WDAO 107.7 the soul of Dayton (we joked that WDAO was an acronym for White Days Are Over because it was the only soul station on the dial), and FEN far east network radio Japan - a relatively unformatted english station. (I am a Air Force kid) SO basically I was listening to the Edwin Hawkins Singers, and Back in Black at the same time. With a little Casey Kasem thrown in. (Pre MTV... gasp!)
Some of the artists I most admire are Shirley Horn, Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Irene Cara, Billy Cobham, Elvin Jones, Chuck Brown, Debarge, AC/DC, Cannonball, Herbie Hancock, The Police, R.L. Burnside, Tony Williams, Joni Mitchell, Prince, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Fela, Ella, Elizabeth Cotton, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Parliament, Sugar Hill Gang, Public Enemy, Baby Huey, The Meters, Duke Ellington, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Howlin Wolf, Stevie, Sly, T.P. Orchestre Poly-Ritmo, Tony Allen, Mahler, Bach, and Mozart to name a few. I also love highlife, dance hall, calypso, and soca.
Larry "Mr. Sticks" Crockett
