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Steve Blackwell's musical influences range from his own grandfather who was
in vaudeville to Bob Dylan as well as to Florida songwriters Dale Crider, Bobby
Hicks and Frank and Ann Thomas.
Steve Blackwell & Friends have played all of the major folk festivals in Florida
including the Florida Folk Festival, South Florida Folk Festival, Gamble Rogers
Festival, Will McLean Folk Festival, Wings & Strings, Riverhawk as well as
Suwannee SpringFest. They have also performed twice at the Philadelphia Folk
Festival.
Steve has been an educator at Charlotte High School in Punta Gorda since 1972.
In 1994 he recorded a cassette of ten original songs entitled Listen Here which
has been described as "an aural tour of Florida history with affectionate
portraits of local characters."
The second CD from Steve Blackwell & Friends More Than It Seems continued the
trend of portraying some of Florida's more colorful characters including Totch
Brown,Will McLean, Dash Moore, and Punta Gorda's favorite rascal - Wampus
Wagoner. According to a St. Petersburg Times reviewer, "Blackwell has earned a
reputation as a tunesmith for Florida's backwater locales and indigenous flora
and fauna."
The CD The Difference You Make contains fifteen original songs about a variety
of Floridians featured as subject matter, including Steve's oldest daughter
Phebe and his grandson Eli Townes Westby. In addition to these family members
look for songs about Acrefoot Johnson's son Guy "Rattlesnake" Johnson, and
Bloody Ed Watson.
The latest CD And So It Grows reflects the growing roles by the younger members
of the band. Carrie Hussey sings lead on six songs; Japhy Blackwell plays tenor
sax on several cuts, and Andy Leach is a dominant presence on bass as well as
guitar and mandolin. Once again Florida's rich vein of memorable characters has
been tapped as there are songs here about civil rights martyr Harry T. Moore,
Human Rights Advocate Stetson Kennedy, and Florida songwriters' patriarch Frank
Thomas.
Friends who accompany Steve on stage include Andy Leach, a student at Edison
Community College, who holds down the bottom with his solid upright bass
playing; Dan Leach, an award winning songwriter who is respected in the folk
community for his tasteful musicianship adds mandolin, guitar, and vocals; Japhy
Blackwell who once played with Charlotte County's legendary country rock band
The Armadillo Brothers on saxophone, and finally Carrie Blackwell Hussey who has
had a varied musical background
which includes musical theater, a stint as a backup singer in a rock band, and
being a member of the popular Tampa Bay folk group Myriad. Carrie's voice tends
to evoke strong emotional reactions from audiences all over. Add Steve's vocals,
harmonica and rhythm guitar and you have the complete recipe for this good time
musical experience.
The traveling extended family that often accompanies Steve Blackwell & Friends
at musical events and that are frequently seen dancing in the aisles are all
part of the Punta Gorda Guitar Army & Neo-Beatnik
Revolutionary Ensemble. Their campfire song circles are legendary.
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