Strange, after pickin' and singing for almost 4 decades I've realized why I always was a SOLO performer. Harmony was something that, in all that time, I never could enjoy trying to participate in. I was terrible at it too. I'm sure I offended Mr. Hartford on several occasions when he wanted to play behind my shows on the riverboat, but it just threw me off to a huge degree. I just never felt comfortable playing along with others or singing with others. Does that make me a musical mountain man---a loner to the 'nth degree? I think so. My psyche simply wasn't tuned to making music with others. If you check out my recordings, there is only one song where another voice apears---Cindy Mangson on an Illinois/Wisconsin version of "Down By The Brazos". And she put that on the tape after I was finished.

When I asked Steve Goodman why he had switched from all acoustic to a huge backup ensemble, he said, "I've heard it with all of those extra sounds in my head for so long---but I couldn't afford all that. The record company pays for it now. This is the way I heard it in my mind even when it was just me and the guitar."

I thought that was pretty fantastic---to have that ability---or that clutter---depending on how you view it.

Another friend used to hear colors---or so he said. Sort of like Disney's __Fantasia__---or a good LSD trip.

Also, I used to follow my own instruments. That's how I stayed on pitch. I'd hit the note right before I sang it at several key moments in a given song and hope that I was in tune. I could take a breath when I needed to and not when the arrangement called for it. I could do extra riffs when I wanted or needed to also.

Art Thieme