Smooth, Loud, Sassy & Funny. Meet Diane !
Sep 20, 2007
As promised last week, we are spotlighting members of the band Pawnshop Guitar. This week the spotlight shines on the
Diva Diane Craig. She is many things to many people but she is an experience that is best summed up by one word...UNIQUE!
THE PERSON
Diane is a valued member of PSG who never fails to make us laugh. She is the perfect person to go toe to toe with our
much loved (cough cough) leader Harold Kramer and to watch them is more fun than watching WWF. Oh by the way laughing
is another thing Diane is known for. She is always laughing which is good because she has a great smile and personality.
THE DIVA
The other thing she does well is sing her ass off! No joke there. She is the one person that has the voice to be on
a national stage. She has power in her voice and it never wears down during a show. She can sound soulful one minute
and hard and tuff the next. She did try out for American Idol in Louisville but their loss was our gain.
HER LOVES
Lady Diane is a Cat lover and she has many cats to keep her busy when she is not on stage. Her children and her
hubby Phil( great guitarist)occupy her time as well. Of course music is a great love. Her passion shows on stage
and she says that music is her escape from things that bring her down like her 9 to 5 day job. And so she trys
to "escapes" when ever she can. But I think the biggest love for Diane is...SHOPPING and MONEY! No surprise here.
Diane is a born shopper. During a weekend when we did a show at the Seasons Lodge in Nashville IN. we all went
shopping. I know Diane hit every store (more than once) she shopped, and we dropped. One of her favorite sayings
has been "show me the money" and I now know why! Finally another love is making jokes. She makes lots of them. She
is really great to be around if your down. She will get you up fast. And charge you a fee for doing it but what
the hell. I guess its worth it.
To sum up Diane is a sweet,tuff,lovable, don't get her pissed,insane,take no prisoners,hard core shopping junkie,
cat loving, killer of a singer that gives PSG a great weapon in the battle of the bands war zone. We would not be as good
without her. But don't tell her that or she will start asking for a pay hike again. Thats all for this weeks spotlight.
Until we meet again... ROCK ON!!
PSG's Rockin Guitarist Ron Mullins
by The Spot lighter
Oct 19, 2007
What makes a great guitarist? How loud he plays? How much flash he displays while rippin out his signature licks? How he dresses?
All the above? Maybe one or all of those things. But in the case of Pawnshop Guitar its not a case
of what you see is what you get.
Ron Mullins is one of two guitarist in PSG. He along with "big Jim" Hickerson provide the zing to the tunes we do.
Ron is the rocker of the two. He is not a flamboyant showman. He lets his guitar licks speak and provide the show. He can
flow from smooth R&B licks to hard AC/DC influenced knock your head off tones. The man can flat play. Here's a small
peak into his world.
Ron has a great love of the guitar. He modifies his own instruments and has a large collection of guitars, 9 or
ten at least. He seems to favor Fender but can be seen sporting a really nice Les Paul from time to time. Like
most musicians he is a gear head. He has started building a new studio in the house he recently purchased and is
always on the lookout for new gear to put in it. Of course if you have a studio you must write your own stuff. Ron has
written many tunes and you may be hearing one of them soon being played by PSG. In fact Ron contributed some of the
lyrics to one of our originals called Bad Bad Ways. Ron is also a multi-instrumentalist. He can be seen playing Keys, as
well as drums.
Ron's influences are many and run a wide spectrum of styles from a little country to southern rock to metal to soul.
Playing in many different bands through the yrs has allowed him to work in all of these styles as well as creating his
"signature tone" and licks. If you watch him play live you might think that those licks come so easily to him, but I
know from many practice sessions he works hard to get a lick just right. Plus he is never satisfied and is constantly
searching for a better sound.
If you caught Pawnshop Guitar this past summer at one of our outside shows you may have seen a guest guitarist
on stage. This guy was oh about 2ft to 3 ft tall... (yea really short) and sporting a really nice, but small
guitar. He may have had on a pair of Angus Young short pants and was sporting a pair of Chuck Taylor Converse
shoes. This was the "mini me" version of Ron Mullins, his son Ethan. It was the coolest thing to see Ron on stage
playing and a miniature version right next to him trying to do everything Dad did. Hell he even hung his small
guitar up on the stand next to dads. Look out for him in a few yrs.
These kinds of things are what makes Mr Mullins tick. my original question was: What makes a great guitarist?
Now you know. He may not be the best dressed, most hyper or loudest...well he may be the loudest but still we
would not be the band we are without the guitar master Ron Mullins. Until next we meet. Rock on!!!
Keepin It Low PSG's Bassman Joe Morgan
by SpotLighter
Oct 22, 2007
Awhile back PSG had to deal with the loss of our bass player "Thunder Thumbs" Larry. He had come to his senses and was
getting out of the music business to spend time with his wife and children. While we wished him well, this did mean
that we had a vacant chair to fill. Anyone who has ever played in a band knows that this happens alot and how the
band comes out of it is a reflection of how well they do in replacing the departed member. In our case we scored a
home run.
Joe Morgan is a bass player of quality and stagemanship. He has quickly become a crowd favorite with his out front
get down moves, and his winning personality. Joe can and does get called on to "put butts on the floor" as
well as provide backup vocals and that ever so important down low bass that helps keep the beat.
Joe has a firm foundation in R&B and the blues. He is also in tune with the up and coming artist in those fields. He
recently turned us on to Hamilton Loomis, a great young blues artist (see earlier blog entry) that plays way
beyond his yrs. He always emails us new songs that he thinks we will like or try to learn. Speaking of learning,
that has been one of Joe's strongest assets. We hit him with quite a few songs to learn in a short amount of time when he
came onboard and he had them down in no time. He has a great ear for picking out things on the fly as well. We sometimes
get a song request that we have not played. We can count on Joe to get us going in the right direction.
Joe can be seen playing several different bass guitars, but one of the most unusual happens to be one of my favorites.
Its a white headless Steinberger Bass. This bass has a great even tone quality that cuts through the mix of other
instruments. And it just looks cool!
Pawnshop Guitar is a "live" band meaning we play best in front of a good crowd. With his combination of showmanship, feel,
and musical skills Joe helps to get the groove moving and keeps the dancers on their feet. He has added new techniques and
styles to our performances and has made the jump from new guy to just one of the guys with ease. Welcome aboard Joe!
Sticks are Flying with Harold Kramer
by Spotlighter
Oct 26, 2007
His motor is always running. No matter if he's laying down the beat for PSG, or chasing the
big ones at the lake, or flying a plane over the countryside, Harold "The Hammer" Kramer
is always moving ahead at full speed. He can be a whip cracking SOB when the band needs a
kick in the rear as well as the first one to offer help when a member is having problems.
He has a pretty thankless job but hell he's a big boy and I know he can take it.
The first myth I am about to explode has to do with a perception that The Hammer can not sing.
Yes America Harold Kramer can sing! But... do we really want him to? That is the question.
Yes if given the right songs. He has sung that "padunkadunk" song with PSG and could do a good
job with Amos Moses as well. We'll keep on pushing him to get out front again soon.
The 2nd myth is that he don't need any help cause he can do it all himself. Truth is like all of us
in PSG Harold has a supporter/secret weapon that stands behind him(she puts up with him) to keep
him on the right path. She also has to put up with all of us and so has earned the nick name of...
"mommy". Its his wife Susan. She has been a big reason Pawnshop Guitar has had the success it has.
We have taken over her home at times for practice and impromtu meals(much thanks) and she helps to set up and tear down equipment. The Hammer does alot but She is the glue that holds it together.
Myth #3: The Hammer is shy! Not! On stage he is kinda hidden behind his drum kit but the showman comes out
in him and he twirls his sticks or as we all know TO too well will even send a stick flying out to the crowd.
We have learned to duck while playing. He also will yell out some hell yeas and "what whats" during the songs. We
try to make him behave himself but nothing seems to work. He prides himself on being just "a good ole country boy".
At some gigs Harold plays on his electronic kit which has some cool sounds built into its brain but he always prefers
his regular black beauties which he takes the time to tune up for the best sound.
Fishing is a big passion for Harold and you can find him on the water getting his line wet during
his free times. He claims to be good at it but he has never shown me any evidence to support that.
Hint: invite me...but for now I'll take him at his word. He also has a license to fly and goes up when
ever he can. His father also flys so I guess that is in his blood. Again I've never been invited to go up.
(I'm not feelin the love here). Anyway as you can see our dynamic drummer is a man of many talents and
passions. One final thing you may not know about, He played pro basketball in Europe in his younger days.
(back when peach baskets were the norm I think.)
So the next time you come see us perform, please be sure to come up and give the drummer some love.
He will be much easier on us if you do!
Rock Rolls on!
Jim Hickerson PSG's Teddy Bear!
by Spotlighter
Nov 12, 2007
Back in the day at Jeffersonville High, a man loomed large on the football field. He gained a rep for being a hard hitter and I'm sure more than one tear was shed after making contact with this football master. Now he is making people shed more tears with his soulful and smooth guitar work for Pawnshop Guitar. "Big Jim" Hickerson has earned the respect of alot of people in this area both players and fans. Yet he carries no big attitude or ego. He remains humble and in his own few words "I just want to play guitar".
Music making can be stressful at times. Unlike the big and famous guys we weekend warriors must load and also unload our own gear, do setups, run sound, perform and then tear everything down vary late at night. But Jim seems to enjoy it. He is always ready to play guitar.
The joy of music can be seen as he performs. He has a constant smile on his face and lets nothing faze him. When the rest of us are in panick mode over something Jim is always calm. "Take it easy we'll be alright" is another phrase we hear from Jim.
On stage with his trusty fender strapped on Jim goes about his business making it look easy. One minute he is strumming laid back and low, the next a blues run is ripping out of his amp and he is in that zone that musicians know. Where you are in complete control of the world at that time and nothing matters more than giving the people what they paid for. His playing has been called powerful and sweet. And when he starts to jam his idol Jimmy Hendricks, our Jim gets down right NASTY!! He has played things in practice that make me stop and just listen and marvel at his musical gifts.
As a person Jim is a kind and warm man that will help out anyway he can. He has seen all kinds of problems and sad situations in his life and has been up close and personal with the darker sides of our community. Yet he never lets things keep him from going out to
pack up those cases, tune up those guitars, and help Pawnshop Guitar be the best of the best for our fans. When you see us at a show please make it a point to come up and speak to Jim. He is a player that's worth getting to know.
Darryl Brooks (OUR PARTY MONSTA)
by hdk 11/28/07
Darryl came to us through a very good friend. Darryl brings our band up several levels with his soulful keyboard playing and singing. When he leaves the keys, "it's party time". Darryl has this uncanny way of waking up the audience and the band as well. He works so very hard to please the audience and they pick up on it and respond back with dancing, cheering, screaming, and yes sometimes flashing themselves. Thanks for that Darryl (he he)
At times I find myself going to Darryl for advice or mediation. You see, Darryl is a very intelligent and worldly man. He has a good working knowledge of a lot of things. He and I find ourselves disagreeing on how to handle things at times but generally we both compromise. Much to his credit because we all know, I am not one for compromise. Don't ever think you will win an argument about sports with him. Darryl is a sports analyst and can site stats that would put ESPN to shame.
The best attribute in my opinion Darryl has is his very lovable, honest, and friendly persona. Darryl is a true friend and lives his life as a Christian, Husband, Father, and Party Monsta. It is my opinion that he is the biggest asset in the band and pours his heart and soul into making us what we are. Thank You Darryl for all that you are and do.
We love you son!!
