American music has been one of the most powerful forces in this world as we know it… Yes, that is a profound statement, but it is true, and will remain true way beyond our years. Since the dawn of time man has used music to worship his God, protest the machine, honor his heroes, calm his children, woo his loved ones, morn the passing of family and friends and tell stories… All of us have been influenced by music in one way or another. To learn your ABC's, letters were put to a melody, so you could remember them. Many rhymes and poems were put to music so people could share them with future generations. Way before newspapers and modern communications, stories were made into songs and folks would learn these songs and share them wherever they went. Songs like “Wreck of the OLE' 97” were true stories put to music so others could hear the tale. How many of us have heard the Gordon Lightfoot song “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”? This is a true story, but what makes it good is the music that lies quietly but very movingly, below the lyrics. Even the best storyteller in the world could not tell this tale better without the music behind it. Workers on the railways used music to work in unison. People sang songs in the cotton fields to pass the time. Children use songs to play games. American folklore is full of songs that have stood the test of time and these old songs and melodies have influenced all musicians in one way or another. The beauty in all of this is, every individual takes these influences and makes them his or her own and then in turn, they come up with something new to offer their generation. Take for instance the great Johnny Cash, Hank Williams sr., Elvis Presley, Bill Monroe and Bob Dylan. These guys have literally changed the world with their music. The influence they have had and will have on music is immeasurable. Their music is timeless and because of that, they will live on forever, and yet, they are and were people like you and me inspired and influenced by another's music. We have often been questioned on the title of Americana music and just exactly what it is, so, I'll give a glimpse of what it is to me… Americana music is very simply what it says, American music. It has its roots in early blues, bluegrass, ragtime, jazz, folk, old time and country music. When you put all of these ingredients together in one pot it becomes a wonderful stew to suit most tastes. Music for the soul and the spirit of every man, woman and child. We are not by any means saying that this is the only kind of music there is, no, this is just the music that speaks the loudest to us and through us… At every BJD show you will hear songs from many genres of music, blues, bluegrass, country, folk and rock-a-billy, some familiar some not so familiar, but all good just the same. In all of this, I guess, our goal is not to be carbon copies of our musical heroes but to be a part of Americana music. We want to convey feeling to our audience. The same feeling we get when we listen to Johnny, Hank, Elvis and all of the countless influences we have. We want to inspire, as we have been inspired. We want to move as we have been moved. We want to give as we have been given too, and live on through our music as the ones before us live on through theirs…