My Musical Bio

I began singing at an early age, equally steeped in old hymns from our nearby small country church and live Grand Ole Opry radio broadcasts. I .started writing my own songs as a pre-teen and began playing a nylon-string acoustic aboard ship in the Navy. I later graduated to a 12-string Yamaha for a few months before becoming a a lifelong Martin devotee, happily seduced by my first D-28. It wasn't long before I brought my seagoing music home as a civilian and my younger brother and I began a two-piece gig paying $5 a night. Mike played blues harp while I played Bob Dylan and folk. Our endeavor was short-lived but I had quickly become an avid performer and continued to nurture my music as a primarily-solo act for most of my adult life so far.

Fast forward to 2021, 11 years after a developing hearing issue was aggravated in a cabinet shop accident. I didn't play much after that until  the VA finally found a set of hearing aids that worked properly for me. After hree unsuccessful attempts, when I could finally hear well enough again to again justify getting another professional guitar, I went to my local pro music store. I bought the only new Martin they had in stock, an HD 12-28, and started practicing regularly again. After about a year, I realized I still much-preferred playing a 6-string and traded the 12 in on another Martin, a truly magnificent new HD-28 6-string. At about the same time, I also I also bought a new PA. The system I initially put together didn't deliver the sound I was looking for so I rebooted. Using two of the original 10” speakers as floor monitors, I added 2 new Electro Voice 12” house speakers and a more-sophisticated Peavey mixer/amp with much better equalization. I also installed a K & K Mini pickup in my new guitar and added a preamp to the mix. I played a few more test gigs to tweak the updated PA gear and finalize the Martin's set up, finally nailing a perfect 2 hour solo gig. After slogging through the earlier less-than-perfect practice outings, I was in Heaven with my Martin, new amp and speakers  all  working  perfectly together  ad sounding as good as I ever had in my entire professional career. I feel very blessed to experience all this convergence, a rebirth actually,.

 Thank you Jesus!

 I play with bare fingers, thumb and finger picks, or a flatpick and occasionally use a slide. My current repertoire is a collection of more than 250 personal favorites including both originals and covers. I’m not a verbose  picker but what I play, I play well. I enjoy getting together with and learning from other knowledgeable musicians. I am a well-seasoned Northern Appalachian guitarist, singersongwriter and musicologist. 

will@willeberle.com