A Musical Life

Kristyn Chapman is guitarist with Team Tremolo and Cartwheel. She will next play with the latter band at Kirby’s Beer Store on January 12, 2018.

“I just picked up a Fender Jaguar Pro. It’s a new series of Jaguars that have a maple fretboard. I just loved the way it sounded and I really wanted something I could just pick up and play and be confident about the tone and not have to think about changing out the pickups or whatever. I just wanted to be comfortable playing.

Cecilia Raheb is guitarist and vocalist with the Wichita-based band Crisis Casanova with Brenna Beeson.

Rhea Sewell is a Wichita music scene veteran who has played drums and/or sang with a variety of bands including 1/2 Mad Poet, 7/8 Quick and, more recently, False Flag. She also performs as a singer-songwriter.

This commentary originally aired on May 12, 2017.

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Jamie Briggeman is the lead vocalist for Herd of the Huntress, a band she formed with her husband, Garrett. She has previously performed with bands such as Ivy and The Dewayn Brothers.

Kevin Ives is guitarist, vocalist and keyboardist with The New Imperialism. The band’s releases to date include La Bella Fin (EP), The Sensationalism of Dr. Bordeaux and, most recently, Wax Wings. Presently, the group is working on a split EP with Tulsa’s The Dirty Mugs, tentatively slated for release in early 2018.

“In every band I’ve ever been in, I’ve always started off with a concept. The whole thing [was about] making a big show out of it. I’ve always liked to go see shows that had lights or something else involved, it wasn’t just about playing music.

Dale Ray Shuey began playing guitar at age 12 and has relentlessly pursued the instrument for 20 years. Shuey has studied classical, jazz, metal, blues, rock and country guitar in addition to teaching youth and adult guitar lessons for eight years. He joined Mountain Deer Revival in November 2012. Shuey's goal as a musician is to write the best music his hands and brain can produce and spread positivity through raw musical expression.

Uche is a Wichita-based musician who performs as a solo artist and as Uche and The Crash.

“My parents left Nigeria for England in the ‘60s. So, myself and one of my brothers, was born in Leicester, England, which is in the Midlands: Birmingham, Manchester, up there. So, in 1970, we moved here to the States, to Jefferson City, Missouri.

Scott Oakes is principal bassoonist with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Senior Systems Administrator at Juniper Payments LLC, a banking services provider.

“If you’re looking toward the middle or the back of the middle of the orchestra, you’ll see a bassoon. The bassoon is the lowest voice of the woodwind choir, so you’ll hear us often playing things that really sound like a bassline. A lot of the orchestral music of Brahms or Beethoven, you’ll hear us playing a lot of little melodic lines and then, every now and then, a short little melodic solo.

Lauren Hirsch is a percussionist and music educator in the Wichita area. She serves as the Executive Director of the Organization of American Kodaly Educators. Hirsch is also known for her work with the band Sun and Stone.

“The Kodaly organization is something I’ve been involved with here on a local level as long as I’ve been teaching. Our goal is to expand the way that music is taught so that every human in America and then throughout the world considers themselves to be a literate musician and can make music with anyone.

Ted Farha plays mandolin with Pop & The Boys as well as Haymakers.

“I picked up mandolin when I was 27-years-old. I actually had seen the movie King of the Gypsies with music by David Grisman and Stephane Grappelli. The gypsy music in it just caught me. I found the record and fell in love with music. A neighbor had a mandolin and I borrowed it and started taking lessons at E.M. Shorts.

I started learning fiddle tunes and bluegrass songs and then I met Richard Crowson at a jam and he invited me to join a band.