Three birds from the nationally-known Barn Owl Band, of A Prairie Home Companion fame, have taken roost together on your phone line, forming The Wiretappers. You should know about it.
For there should be no secret that they sing and play like blazes. And don’t worry. The wires they tap are all acoustic—fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and bass. With these wires, they tap tradition and connect it with the present, with oldtime songs and fiddle tunes and new compositions of their own.
The 'tappers are:
Michael Bell, mandolin and guitar
Jon Duvick, guitar and bass
Jason Huntley, fiddle
Band Bios
Jason
Jason Huntley grew up in Westside, Iowa and started playing piano at age
5 and violin at age 9. He was first taught Irish fiddle tunes by his grandfather,
and began classical violin training soon after. Among Jason's musical accomplishments:
three-time Mid-American Irish Fiddle Champion, two-time Mid-American
Old-Time Fiddle Champion, and one-time Iowa
Grand Champion Fiddler. Jason is also the fiddler for the hot
Texas Irish band Shift.
He is currently performing post-doctoral work in some big city in some big
state down south. Jason also enjoys running
marathons and has run many, including the famous Boston Marathon and a marathon
in Japan.
Jon
Jon Duvick was born in Des Moines, Iowa and started playing guitar and standup
bass in college, where he was part of a short-lived band called the Hoosier
Capsnafflers. Jon isa part-time recording engineer, and recorded
all three of the Barn Owl Band's CDs. He is also a songsmith
par excellence, and The Wiretappers always perform some
of his tunes. Jon and his wife Carol enjoy singing together, and have written
and recorded several children's songs.
Jon is trained as a plant pathologist (which doesn't necessarily mean he
can keep spots off your apples) and now works at Iowa State University.
Mike
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Mike Bell cut his musical teeth playing
the mysterious octalute in the Outhouse Shouters, a family
string band with his two brothers, his father, and an older cousin, featuring
his dad's virtuoso wash-tub bass playing. Mike
is a composer and his folk tunes have been recorded by many bands,
including, of course, the Barn Owl Band. Lately he has
also been focusing on classical composition.
For his day job, Mike is a Professor of Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, and the author or editor of seven books, three of which have won national awards. His main research specialty is environmental sociology.
Sample tracks (with the Barn Owl Band)
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