A Musical Life

Lindsay Unruh is a Wichita-based multi-instrumentalist who most frequently performs as a solo artist. She has also played with bands such as Little Red Quartet and The Ra-Ras.

“My first gig was with a little punk band of girls in Louisiana called The Ra-Ras. They wanted some keyboard in the band. I had just moved down there and we played this gig with a math rock band that didn’t have a vocalist and a garage band called The Transmission that used a Theremin in their set.

Sean Stuckey was a Wichita-area musician and member of bands such as High Plains Drifter and Acid Gas Station. He died February 24 and is remembering here by his bandmates and friends Adam Hemphill and Nick Driskill. His family has partnered with Damm Music to create a scholarship to Rock Academy in his name.

Nick Driskill: “Musical soulmate. That’s the only way I can say it. We clicked just like that. I will miss him a lot. I will live harder for that guy. I will make music more often.”

Dale Black Jr. is a Wichita-based bassist and producer at work on a new album.

“My music is an amalgamation of all the styles that I’ve ever played. People call it jazz, I call it improvisational music. It just draws from everything. I love classical music, gospel, jazz, all those things. It’s like a gumbo.

Sean Gross is a Wichita-based singer-songwriter who leads the band Keeper. He also plays drums in Yasmin Nur’s band.

“I can’t tell you why I write songs but I can tell you why I love writing songs. I think songwriting is the pinnacle of music. When you start a band or start a project you’ve got two options. You can either play originals, in which case you’re going to need somebody to write those originals, or you can play covers. Somebody had to write those as well.

Piper Leigh is a musician based in Arkansas City. She fronts the band Piper Leigh and The Smoking Section.

Mason Monigold is a multi-instrumentalist based in Wichita whose credits included work with Remains To Be Seen, Blood Tide, Dougie Jones and The Sonny Jims, Mystery Blood and Master Mood TV.

“I like to both express my own creative impulses and help other people express theirs in the most exciting or best way possible. If someone needs someone to play an instrument in a band and I like what they’re already doing and I hear something I think I can bring to it, then I try to jump on it if I think I have any spare time that I can do it justice.

Yasmin Nur is a Wichita-based singer-songwriter who is currently working on new material for release in early 2019. Here, she discusses the origins of her particular brand of rock ‘n’ roll.

John Grant is a Wichita-based musician whose credits include work with Ulu, Local Band, Softie and The Giant Thriller.

“I’ve loved music my whole life. It’s been one of those driving forces. It helps me connect with people. I’m not too social but I make a lot of connections through music.

Jonathan Eaton. That guy does something to my heart in the music that he writes. After hearing it 1000 times you would think you’d get totally sick of it but I’m still at the point where all the songs we wrote maybe 20 years ago are fresh and relevant today.

Ryan McGinnis is a North Carolinian transplanted to Wichita, where he leads The McGinnis Project. The band will release its album, Big Night Sky, later this year.

Pete Studtmann is a Wichita-based bassist with a variety of credits, including stints in bands such as Lather and, most recently, False Flag ICT.