The down and dirty sounds of my band..Hardline Drive Bluegrass music, classical music, jazz, blues (especially the bad ass sounds of the late Elmore James)let's not forget Stevie Wonder, country. James Taylor is a gift from God.

The Bible, Mere Christianity, The Brothers Karamazov, War and Peace, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea, Man's Search For Meaning (Frankl), A Room Called Remember, The Apology, One Being and Essence (St. Thomas), Byzantium, The Chosen, The Idiot, and Life on the Mississippi.

Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolfe, Goodfellows, Saving Private Ryan, Death of a Salesman (the Dustin Hoffman drama film), Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Wild Strawberries, and a Man For All Seasons.

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I am the proud father of four great children, Kurt, Sandra, Weston, and Veronica (Vonnie). They are all musical, and play music according to thier personalities. My son Kurt (21) is an awesome guitar player and has taught himself to play piano VERY well. I am the CEO of Westvon Publishing and Editor-in-Chief of "The Bluegrass Journal," a quarterly publication with a circulation of 10,000. The paper now covers MI, IN, OH, IL, KY, TN, VA, WV, and PA. I am extremely blessed to have a business partner like Sherri Chekal. Our friendship goes back to the late 1970s when she started taking banjo lessons from me. She is the design/webmaster Empress of Westvon Publishing, and my best friend. I am a big Blue Highway fan, think that Tim Stafford is one of the all time greats in this business. Outside of bluegrass I am a major blues fanatic, and I especially love the down and dirty sound that the great Elmore James created with his music. It kicks you in the gut and leaves you wanting more. My banjo style, though patterned after Scruggs (my favorite) has been influenced by J.D. Crowe, Sonny Osborne, Sammy Shelor, Steve Dilling, and Jim Mills, and Alan Munde. I try to listen to what these players have done (and do) and incorporate it into my own style and attack. I play banjo and sing harmony vocals in the band, Hardline Drive. My fellow band members are my buddies and I love the fact that they are incredibly talented and a blast to play music with. The music of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethovan, and Brahms (to name a few) is the music of the highest ascent.

The band I am in...Hardline Drive, Bluegrass music played in the most down and dirty way it can be played, Great timing, great drive, Great harmony, People who think, Good debates, Playing down and dirty hardcore grass with my buddies Greg Fuson, Toni Erskine, Mollie Royce, and Danielle Smith (one awesome mandolin player!!!)American intellectual history, European history, Biblical studies, Ancient near eastern studies, philosophy, theology, literature, poetry, religion, journaling, research, running, biking, hiking in the mountains, art, and song writing. Almost forgot

Arrogant humans, sexual deviants, liars, people who exploit others for their own selfish gain, people with poor hygiene, filthy language, music played poorly, political correctness

playing bluegrass music, reading, book collecting, writing, working out at the YMCA, hiking, long walks, songwriting