Keeping the Beat

As the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out local gigs this spring and summer, local teacher, historian and musician Van Wagner has remained busy writing more of his regionally inspired songs and creating a new album. He shares some valuable lessons he has learned over the past several months, gives advice for musicians who feel they are spinning their wheels during this time of uncertainty and gives us a taste of new songs that have yet to be released to the public.

Pulling from five decades of experience playing throughout the Valley with numerous artists, Kimbo Reichley incorporates a wide variety of styles and experiences into each song he records in his personal studio. He shares some of the lessons learned, memorable moments playing in gigs from China to Memphis and even on the beaches of Maryland and talks about the impact of COVID-19 on the local music scene.

Some of the region's most active musicians as live performances begin to return within a minefield of COVID-19 concern, Ann Kerstetter and her band members say they appreciate the venues are finding ways to keep the live music playing as they continue to struggle for survival.

Singer, musician, composer and teacher Jen Wagner developed a passion for all aspects of music during her time in the Lewisburg Area School District and as a member of the Susquehanna Valley Chorale's Children's Choir. Now a teacher at the Milton Hershey School, she led a group of students in song at the White House and more recently composed a piece performed by students from various schools in a video that has gone viral online.

After numerous weeks without playing live music, Brandon Barnhart was one of the first local musicians to share in a public venue after the COVID-19 outbreak, bringing years of experiences with numerous bands and a more recent solo career.

From rescue efforts at Ground Zero in New York City during the attacks of 9/11 to helping his premature daughter endure 36 surgeries, Dave Miller has plenty of inspiration for the songs he writes.

The recipe for success for those who aspire to start their own band boils down to the fundamentals, according to Jamie Rodgers, of Middle Road Acoustic. “The more you play — the more you practice — the better you get,” he said. “Find the people you have fun around, put the time in, and be sure to enjoy the process.”

Using a cell phone placed on a pillow, Scott and Cathy Douglas recorded the song "Danny Boy" at their Central Pennsylvania home in mid-March as a way to have some fun during quarantine, then shared it online. The response led to a series of 50 daily music posts as the couple hopes to cheer up and inspire people during an uncertain time.

Life seemed a little surreal for 9-year-old Antonio Andrade when he first saw the Beatles' famous appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Two years later, he acquired his father’s old guitar and was signed up for his first lessons. He stuck with it ever since, working to improve his playing and ultimately the path led him to a new album that was recently released called “Lucky in Love.”

Addicted to a variety of drugs and alcohol, a 21-year-old Allan Scott vaguely remembers praying out to God for help while drunk one night. Later, well on the way to recovery, he joined a music-based church program and honed his skills, ultimately forming a band that ministers to people who feel they have no where else to turn and have fallen too far to have worth. The band now performs 100 shows throughout the country, including a number of performances for inmates at penitentiaries in Pennsylvania and beyond.

Mifflinburg 4th grade teacher Mark Alexander has adapted to the times by offering weekly Friday night performances on Facebook, giving away gift cards he buys from small businesses in the Central Susquehanna Valley region of Central Pennsylvania as a way to help them sustain through the coronavirus quarantines.

Codi and Joe Gaboff met during their senior year at Susquehanna University and quickly bonded over the band Rancid and other similar interests in music. The two have since started a family, created the Codi and Joe Show group and currently offer weekly live online music videos from their home while they wait for more opportunities to play live shows at venues across the Central Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania.

Tim Latshaw's 47-year music career started with a family jam session as a child before he formed the band "Lite Switch" with two of his closest friends at age 13. He's been writing and playing music ever since.

John Messner, of Danville, Pa., spent more than 20 years as the lead vocalist for Christian rock band, Saline, and shared the stage with well-known contemporary Christian music personas. Today, his musical journey continues as a local music pastor and songwriter.

For the past four decades, Woody Wolfe has inspired countless patients at several hospitals in Philadelphia and Central Pennsylvania, using his music as therapy to help them navigate life-threatening trials.

An 8-year-old Randy Fisher tuned into an episode of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood and became inspired by a 6-year-old guest on the show who was taking violin lessons from his father. He went on to play guitar with a local gospel quartet, with his music interests shifting over time toward more contemporary Christian music. He met his future wife, Jade, at church in 2002, and the pair became immediate musical complements for each other.

A trip antiquing as a child led to a treasure trove of 45-rpm records for Flora Eyster, who used that moment to build a long career of music in the Central Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania.

While the group Blue River Soul only formed a few months ago, the seasoned musical skills of the band members converge in a powerful mix of blues and soul.

Writing songs inspired by the hills and valleys of everyday life, Nate Myers and the Aces incorporate decades of experience into every piece they perform. Listen in for the interview and three songs performed by the band members in our Sunbury, Pa. studio.

Committed to fostering the next generation of Valley musicians, Scott Bachman oversees the weekly open mic nights at the Rusty Rail in Mifflinburg and has played throughout the Valley with PA Crude and more recently, the group Trainwreck Survivors.

Ahead of his President’s Day performance at Bucknell University’s Weis Center, Eric Ian Farmer stopped in for a podcast interview about his musical career. Specializing in vocals, songwriting and telling an emotional story, Farmer offers unique insights into how to approach music. He also talks about performing throughout Central Pennsylvania as a musician of color.

A master of engaging the audience, Ed Varner plays gigs throughout the region where he tries to connect with people via his music. He performs regularly at the Rusty Rail and Isle of Que, starting his music career with classic rock albums and continues to evolve his repertoire to best engage his audience.

A man of many instruments, blues musician Doug McMinn started playing horns in the high school band, evolving over the years to incorporate the clarinet, saxophone and guitar.

Ricky Koons and Harvey Young — better known musically as Ricky and Harv — perform approximately 200 shows a year in the Valley in various venues, including nursing homes. The musicians share how they got into music, how they met and how their music provides therapy that has helped them endure personal loss, a Parkinson’s diagnosis and other life trials.  

Ricky Murphy’s family still has a home video of him at age four playing his first song on a guitar. From that early rendition of the song “Do Lord” to the present, Murphy has carved out a role in the region’s contemporary Christian genre, playing with a variety of bands including His Servants and the Danelle Cressinger Band.

Playing numerous genres for more than three decades throughout the Valley, Bryan Noaker has performed with Ann Kerstetter, Kimbo Reichley, Allan Combs and even legendary drummer Steve Mitchell. Beyond his musical performances, Noaker is a longtime educator, using his love of music to connect with students while also evolving his skills of working on various musical instruments.  He talks about how music has become a universal language for him and students, shares original songs about his son and an inspirational student he had and much more in this week’s Keeping the Beat at dailyitem.com. 

Nurtured in the thriving blues scene in the Buffalo and Niagara regions of New York, Chris Smeal moved recently to the Central Susquehanna Valley and has performed a number of gigs while working on his first album.

Twenty-eight podcast episodes spanning 854 minutes — nearly 14.5 hours — were produced in 2019, as we strive to tell the stories behind the musicians who perform here in the Valley. As we close out the year, we look back at some of our favorite comments and live music from the studio with performers such as Ann Kerstetter, Buzz Meachum, Becky Blue, Bob Randall, Danelle Cressinger, Van Wagner, Allan Combs II, Greg Burgess, Sean Farley, Brett Alexander, Stacia Abernatha, Billy Kelly, Diversifyed, Jeremy Goodling, Travis Wilt, KJ Reimensnyder-Wagner, Runaway Stroller, Brent Mestach, Jesse, Gabe Stillman, Jay Vonada, Re-Creation and Achording to Dad. We hope you and your family enjoy this special installment of Keeping the Beat — found at dailyitem.com, Apple Podcast and Google Play Music apps — and have a great holiday season.

Local singers and musicians, including Runaway Stroller, KJ Wagner, Greg Burgess and Beverley Conrad, Re-Creation, Bob Randall, Danelle Cressinger and brothers Van and Ollie Wagner share songs for the holidays.

Using just a pitch pipe and their voices, Ken Paulhamus and his three sons formed the barbershop quartet Achording to Dad more than 20 years ago. The group has changed a little since then ­— one of the brothers has been replaced with a cousin — but the traditional barbershop quartet sound remains the same. Check out our interview with Paulhamus and his family — along with some of their music — in this week’s Keeping the Beat podcast at dailyitem.com. The podcast is also available on Apple Podcast and Google Play Music apps and platforms. To listen or subscribe, search for “Keeping the Beat.”

Starting as a student-performer with Re-Creation in the mid-1980s, James Muller has since taken over as director, coordinating 320 shows a year throughout the country for some of the region’s best young musicians as they honor veterans. Re-Creation features some of the region’s top young talent, touring 42 states during the contract year and wrapping the 2019 season with a slew of regional holiday concerts.

Growing up in a family filled with musicians, Jay Vonada found a trombone in his attic , started playing and hasn't turned back since.

Gabe Stillman has grown into one of the Central Susquehanna Valley's top blues performers. He and his band play numerous venues across the region, and they were honored at a national blues competition in Memphis, Tenn., for their music and guitar skills.

The Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale has given young people from throughout the region and opportunity to hone their vocal skills for more than two decades.

Tom Inch has been rocking the Central Susquehanna Valley region of Central Pennsylvania with his band, "Jesse," for nearly 45 years. He was inspired by the local group "Harpo" while still in high school. More than four decades later, "Jesse" still provides covers for numerous classic rock songs.

The Christ Wesleyan Church Theatre will present "Beauty and the Beast" Nov. 7 through 10 at the church near Milton, Pa. The director, Ryan Brosious, and Brent Mestach, who will play the Beast, talk about the church's latest musical production in this week's Keeping the Beat podcast.

Classically trained Valley native Johanna Kodlick met up with rock-based musician Anthony Latt during a stint in New York, blending a rich history of original music with influences in blues and rock. Today, the two form the locally popular band Runaway Stroller.

Renowned vocalist and songwriter Kat Edmonson, who is set to perform Thursday evening at the Weis Center for Performing Arts at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., shares stories about her love for old movies, working on a motion picture with Woody Allen and performing with Lyle Lovett, as well as three of her songs.

Marooned with a summer camp music instructor 12 hours after others campers were discharged, an 8-year-old KJ Reimensnyder-Wagner found the inspiration she needed to pursue a successful career in music. She has since worked with numerous celebrities — including baseball legend Tug McGraw — via her music and as an inspirational speaker, striving to bring positivity and realness to the people around her.  

Travis Wilt — better known as T-Ravill throughout the region — was featured in a viral music video that was shared on social media platforms associated with Ellen Degeneres and Ashton Kutcher. He speaks about and shares the song, “Escape the Flames,” and talks about the alternative hip-hop scene in the Valley, how he strives to help those who may be struggling with depression and suicide and how his music follows his passion for truth to be revealed.

Jeremy Goodling grew up performing at his small country church and opportunities to sing for other events evolved from that. He now shares the stage with his four daughters, striving to share Christian music that connects, uplifts and provides a powerful message.

Valley musician Luke Metzger shares the story about the rock band Diversifyed, which features him and his father along with Barry Weber and his daughter, Trish. Luke talks about the dynamics of playing in a band so closely tied by family, how music has helped him draw closer with his father and the group shares some of their favorite tunes.

Billy Kelly once vowed to never be a children's entertainer, that was until he had kids of his own. Now, the Grammy-nominated musician and comedian finds himself emulating the old School House Rock videos of his childhood as he strives to entertain and educate through his music.

Stacia Abernatha has been performing throughout the Central Susquehanna Valley in Central Pennsylvania for the past four years. She also is a vocal instructor for the Uptown Music Collective and remains active with the Billtown Blues Association in Williamsport.

Bret Alexander was a studio engineer in the late 1980s when he met the musicians that he'd ultimately join in forming the popular rock band, the Badlees, in Selinsgrove, Pa. We chat with Bret about the Badlees experience, what happened to the group and hear about Gentleman East, a band he's formed since with several other former Badlees members and a musician from the group Breaking Benjamin.

Sean Farley's earliest musical performance came as toddler wearing a red bandana, pretending to be Bruce Springsteen. Since then, he has become an accomplished musician, songwriter, performer and craftsman who makes custom guitars and his own style of music.

Over the past four decades, Greg Burgess has been honing his craft, becoming one of the Central Susquehanna Valley's premier pianists.

Inspired by Michael J. Fox's jam of Johnny B. Goode in the original "Back to the Future" movie, a 10-year-old Allan Combs picked up a guitar and has never looked back.

Inspired by after-dinner music sessions with her grandfather, Beverley Conrad first picked up a fiddle at the age of 6. A music teacher soon recognized her natural ear for music and helped her hone her skills, sparking a lifelong love of music and performance. Today, Beverley Conrad continues to play hundreds of songs on her fiddle and is always ready to talk about the history behind the songs.

Frank Wicher, who grew up with the songs of Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, first picked up a guitar at age 15 and was writing his own songs by the time he was 18. During his career, he has recorded three albums and continues to perform at venues across the Central Susquehanna Valley.

Van Wagner has recorded 24 albums filled with songs combine music with his passion for local history.