Bio
Aaron got his first guitar when he was 6. His mother taught him 4 or 5 chords and then he was off. In one weekend organized by fate, he broke his left arm, seen John Denver live, and found a guitar teacher who just happened to be into John's music. A bond of friendship was formed with the music that time never weakened. Evenings he could be found in his bedroom with the vinyl turning and playing along with the very songs that had brought inspiration with the first listen. His first public appearance performing John's songs began happening from the age of 12. He joined local bands and spent time playing Country and Classic Rock, foregoing his interest in acoustic music for the flavor of the day. It seemed people were into all kinds of music EXCEPT for John's. While the singer/songwriters of the 70's began never faded, John's music had seemed to undergo some type of loss that only the true fan kept alive. As the fan base began to look back to yesteryear, they always seemed to miss John. It was difficult for the music that he loved the most to seemed to have been left behind. But one song seemed to rejuvenate and bring John back, Take Me Home, Country Roads. The song made a comeback with a montage created by Country Artists of the day performing the song, and it pop up in various forms thru commercials and various versions (a reggae version even!), even a tribute album with popular artists of the day covering his songs, the public began to find the some of the same rekindling that everyone had experienced in the early 70's. When the music gained acceptance, request for Aaron's performances began to grow. During his High School days, Aaron was part of a choir that traveled on weekends. He also went on to be a Worship Leader (currently still does this). Where would Aaron be without hearing that first riff of Rocky Mountain High? No reason to find out.
It’s one of my earliest memories. I went with my sister to a Youth meeting. I was maybe pretty young, maybe 6 or 7. I remember the place was full, and we were standing in the foyer with several others. Up front were 3 people, a guy with long hair and a beard and a lady on either side of him. I remember that only because this was the first time that a song grabbed me. They sang, “I’ll walk in the rain by your side. I’ll cling to the warmth of your tiny hand. And the wind will whisper your name to me”. I was hooked. I had to know about that song. It wasn't so easy to look up music and other things back in those days. Once I discovered John's music and becoming slightly obsessed with it, I cam across the song For Baby (For Bobbie). There it was. That was the song I had heard that day, and it maybe was the first song that I ever fallen in love with.
2 years later, another memory is burned into the memory bank. My dad had a small black and white tv that he watched the news on at the kitchen table. I had the tv in the living room floor playing a board game (usually playing Monopoly by myself for all 8 players). We got maybe 5 stations, with the strongest being the local PBS station. I stopped as I was “surfing” past on that station. There were 2 men on horseback riding in the snow covered mountains. I loved mountains. I had never actually saw one, but in pictures they called to me. The older man was sharing his knowledge with the younger, and there was acoustic guitar music scattered behind their exchanges. I loved that sound! About 20 minutes in, it happened. It was a monumental moment. It was the opening acoustic guitar riff of Rocky Mtn High. That sealed the deal.
I got the love of music from my Mother. Her brother and sisters would gather around at family get-togethers and sing. All 3 of the girls could sing harmony, and my uncle had an old Gibson Hummingbird that sounded so good. I learned to play guitar by watching my mom’s hand and forming 4 or 5 chords. Every Friday evening my sister, mom and I would gather around the piano and play and sing. I remember the first time we did a special song in church. I was 7 and played my little Decca brand guitar. And so it began!
Every night after dinner I would retire to my bedroom, armed with my guitar, I would put on one of my John Denver albums on my pretty cool stereo and play along. At some point, I started playing and singing those songs without the help of the record. Greatest Hits, Back Home Again, Rocky Mountain High, and later Windsong, I Want To Live, JD, and more.
Mike Taylor was John’s early guitar lead player. He was the originator of the Rocky Mtn High intro and other notable additions. He recorded one of the most beautiful acoustic guitar instrumental songs on the Rocky Mountain High album called Late Winter/Early Spring, and that song became the blueprint to my playing style to this day. I would play along with those albums over and over. I didn’t move on to other artists for quite some time. I had found what I liked and stayed there to soak in every note and nuance. Later I would become a big fan of Glen Campbell, too, and George Strait, Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Stevens, etc, (my desire these days lies in bluegrass) but John was where it all began. If I could get my hands on anything John Denver related I did, and still do.
I don’t try to imitate John. Others do that, so we don’t need me to do it, too. Of course, he was my early influence, so there may be things I sing that sound similar to him. Most of the songs we love were recorded when he was relatively young. As he aged and matured, his timber become thicker. He sang the songs differently than he did in his early days. As he grew, his songs grew with him over the years. He was good with songs evolving.
John’s music has always been a reflection. We see ourselves. We see nature and our world. My goal is to honor the music and the spirit around it that he created. Music stirs our memories. It soothes our inner beast and delivers its message to us. It can scream with us or hold us in it’s arms. It will give you what you’re looking for, or what you didn’t know you needed. I’m more than happy to be the messenger. In fact, I’m absolutely thrilled to share the music that has meant more to me than any other, the music of John Denver!