I’ve been planning and preparing to get back in the studio next month. Although getting to this point has seemed slow, I can see now that the timing is perfect. It’ll be the right people, the right songs and the right place. I’ll keep you updated.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. This Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s were the most special I’ve had in a long time. I spent Thanksgiving in Idaho with Jake and his whole family. I was hoping for snow and boy did we ever get it – every day for like 5 days straight! I went sledding for the first time – so fun! Then Jake spent Christmas with my family, and Christmas with the Dykes family is definitely an experience! Music time this year was so much fun with Jake and my Dad’s mom being with us. Then Jake’s family flew in and met my family for the first time- a really special thing for us all. I was so bummed that I had to take them back to the airport on New Year’s Eve. I don’t think they were quite as excited as I was when their flight was cancelled, but they made the most of it, and I got to bring in the new year with my new family. The blessings I’ve counted from 2010 only lean to bigger things in 2011. It’s going to be a good year for the Dykes family. My Dad is releasing several projects including his first book and a TV show. My brother Caleb’s band is really taking off and will be releasing their debut album. And I’m getting married to a guy I can’t imagine my life without.
It’s a new year and another opportunity to make the most of it. Enjoy 2011. Be blessed and thanks for checking in with me.
Haley
August 2010
August 21, 2010
We started off at Lake City Community Church in Coeur d’Alene, ID, with just Jake Johnson on upright bass and me on the mandolin and singing – first time playing with just the two of us and we were so blessed by the warm reception from that congregation. It really turned out to be an awesome weekend. Jake hooked us up with a wonderful guitarist and fiddler named Andrew Wilson, who joined us in Olympia, WA, for a concert and then the weekend services at Christian Faith Center in Seattle. I’m so blessed to have such amazing musicians to play with and really can’t overstate how grateful we were to be so well-received everywhere we played.
One of the highlights of the trip was when Jake and I went to Montana to the Weber Mandolins factory. Some might think us crazy for driving 10 hours round-trip in one day to make it happen, but I had my heart set on going while I was within driving distance and it was worth every mile (and the speed limit is 75!). The Weber people are just some of the nicest folks I’ve ever met and they run an incredibly impressive operation. There are only 13 employees, including Bruce and Mary Weber, so you know they’re some of the most highly trained and skilled craftsmen in the world. I so respect and admire the amount of passion, innovation and hand-work that go into the Weber instruments. You just know when you see it that these people are doing what they love, and you can’t get any better quality. I’ve admired Weber mandolins since I was a kid and have played them exclusively for years. When I played my first Bridger F Weber for the first time (after a long hunt for the right F-style to take on the road), I knew I was home. While we were at the factory, they installed the LR Baggs mandolin pickup (Baggs overnighted it and it arrived just after we did – perfect timing). I played through it for the first time over the weekend and it’s just amazing. The Baggs people and products are awesome. I’m so blessed.
Also since my last post, I’m yet again a very happy and proud aunt – this time of my first niece – thanks to my sister, Heidi, and her husband, Tom. I got the little diva set up with her first pair of Converse, Vans and Barbie sunglasses – first things first! That’s what aunts are for. Oh how I love these babies. Every time one comes into the world and into my life, I’m reminded of what an awesome Creator I serve.
I’m really looking forward to playing at the historic Goss Opera House in Watertown, SD on August 28th. If you’re anywhere close, please come out and see us. The Opera House has a museum, restaurant and gift shop and is really an amazing experience – totally feels like you’re stepping back in time. I’m thrilled to be featuring Jacob Johnson on bass and Justin Moses on guitar again – such incredible musicians and people. If you can’t catch us in South Dakota, please keep checking the tour page for new dates. Thank you so much for reading. Be blessed.
Haley
Opening for Ricky Skaggs…
June 1, 2010
It’s been a very busy few months between traveling with Doyle Dykes and playing solo dates, but busy is good! In April I had the honor of opening up for some of my heroes and friends, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, at Le Tourneau University in Longview, TX. The Belcher Performance Center on campus is quite impressive. I was thrilled to have two of the best musicians I’ve ever played with on that show, Justin Moses on guitar and Jake Johnson on upright bass. Justin is very popular in the bluegrass scene and most recently is known for playing with Dan Tyminiski (widely known as the the guitarist for Alison Krauss and Union Station and the singing voice of George Clooney in the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou”). Justin played guitar with us, but also plays all the other bluegrass instruments like each one is his specialty. Seriously, he’s one of the best all around musicians I’ve ever seen- very clean and melodic. You can check his music out at justinmoses.com. Jake can play any style he meets and is a very musical bass player. He knows how to hold it all together and shine at the same time. He’s also set apart by the fact that he bows (and does it very well), which always attracts special attention because it’s such a beautiful and moving sound. As great of muscians as these guys are, they’re even better people and I really do feel privileged to be out playing with them.
My Dad and I have a good friend who owns a great music store not too far from where we played in Longview. He had several basses for us to choose from to borrow for the show. Jake was drawn to an old Kay, which to our surprise was the most valuable bass, if not the most valuable item in the store. We couldn’t see until we got the bass down from a high shelf that there was a signature on the side. The bass is signed by Bill Black, who along with Scotty Moore, played on the first sessions Elvis recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis. Black continued to play with Elvis through the late 50s. Elvis bought the bass for Black and it’s the very bass you see on youtube when you look up the earlier Elvis hits from the 50s. We pulled up a video right then at the store that is famous for Elvis’ “signature dance moves” and there was Black playing that old Kay with the unmistakable white binding. Jake started playing and they grabbed a case and let us take it. We were shocked and, needless to say, stoked! I was talking to my Dad on the phone at the store and I asked if he remembered the old Kay with the white binding because that was the bass Jake picked out. He freaked and said, “He’s not letting you take the Elvis bass is he?!” I was so nervous about driving that bass around, but how stupid would I have been to pass up that opportunity! It makes for a great story. I must say it ‘s the most rockstar bass I’ve ever seen and Jake totally did it justice – they sounded amazing together!
Bill Black on right playing the old Kay that Elvis bought him.
In spite of Ricky being under the weather, he and his band put on an amazing show. It was such an honor to open for them and also to have amazing musicians alongside me, including Andy Leftwich who joined in with his fiddle on a tune. I appreciate the University for bringing us in and also the wonderful audience that gave us such a warm welcome and response. The whole trip -from chapel at the University, to church on Sunday morning, to a concert with some of our favorite people at Craig’s Music in Weatherford, TX- all turned out to be a blast. We even fit in a Cavendar’s run – LOL. You can’t be in Texas and not go shopping for boots! I’m looking so forward to playing with Justin and Jake again and new dates are in the works right now, so keep your eye on the website (haleymusic.net) and please come out and see us if you’re close! If not, I’m still out with Doyle a lot too, so check his tour page and come out and see him! Thanks for checking in with me – I appreciate you.
Be blessed.
Haley
Justin, me, and Jake on the bus to the airport.
