Larry Keel and Jon Stickley have been called two of the finest flatpicking guitarists of this generation, and with this act, the two celebrate the pure joy of playing acoustic guitar music as a duo, effortlessly complementing each other’s rhythm and lead playing while never losing their own individual personalities. At the core of the Keel Stickley duo is an intimate conversation between two guitars and two voices in dynamic harmony, done with superior skill and taste, with more than a hint of explosive late-night jam vibe. They independently release their eponymous debut EP on September 9.
Keel says, “I’ve wanted this project to happen for so long! Jon and I have been on many of the same bills all over the place for so many years, teaming up in jams, sit-ins, and campfire pickings, and yet we’ve never gotten our fill of playing together as guitar players—which we both seem to crave. So, now we’ve put this guitar duo act in motion, playing shows and making a record, and it feels great getting to scratch that itch.”
“The music flows out so naturally when we jam together,” says Stickley. “From the moment I sat down and started trying to flatpick the guitar, Larry has been one of my biggest inspirations. We’ve become friends over the past 20 years, and I’m thrilled and honored to have this opportunity to collaborate on a deeper level. As soon as Larry and I started playing shows as a duo, we knew it was something special, and we started talking about recording. We have both worked so hard to follow our own unique paths and create our own original styles, but this project has given us a chance to get back to our roots in the style of Norman Blake and Tony Rice, Doc and Merle Watson, and the Monroe Brothers.”
With bold acoustic guitar music, the 5-track EP includes three lyrical tracks—two written by Keel and a cover of “Sailor Suit” written in the 1990s by Acoustic Syndicate's Steve McMurry—along with two cosmic instrumentals written by Stickley. The duo wanted to really challenge themselves and see how these original tunes would come out with just the two-guitar treatment, resulting in a very progressive collection.
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Larry Keel and Jon Stickley opens with “Future Ghost,” an instrumental track with a shredding melody that juxtaposes their individual styles, allowing them to play off of each other in a manner that Stickley calls “very freeing and exhilarating.” He continues, “I wrote this song shortly after becoming a dad. I was trying to process the enormous weight of responsibility and reflections of my own mortality while in the depths of the joy and chaos of living with a newborn. It’s a somewhat tense composition, but the overall mood is hopeful.”
Stickley takes lead vocals on "Sailor Suit." Keel says, “Jon’s voice is full of purity and abandon, capturing the spirit of adventure and imagination that Steve wove into the story of his boyhood daydreams as a sailor on the high seas. And I love the big, open, syncopated rhythm of the song.” Stickley says, “Acoustic Syndicate has been one of my favorite bands since I heard them in high school, and over the years we’ve become good friends. Larry and the McMurrys have always been close… I thought it would be very full circle to record this song that I’ve always loved so much.”
Reflecting on and inspired by the route taken long ago by settlers looking to find their place in the new American West, the Keel classic, "Pioneers," was written while on a long tour (mostly camping and the occasional mom-and-pop motels) in the late 90s along the 2000-mile stretch of the Oregon Trail.
Stickley wrote the elaborately laid-back and lively “Take the Air” as he pondered the melodic inspiration from David Grisman and Tony Rice while exploring an odd time signature (7/4). Written around a riff that he kept coming back to during the pandemic, Stickley says, “It always helped me relax and get my head into a more positive space.”
With upbeat confidence mixed with deep melancholy and a spacey outro, "Starborn" is a tribute to and release of an extraordinary soul into the universe. It sounds like classic Keel. Keel says, “It’s about the performing life of a very dear friend and groundbreaking musical artist—Jeff Austin—who inspired me and countless other people but who ended by taking his own life. The shock of losing him in such a devastating way brought the importance of mental health into sharp focus for me. I wrote this song in tribute to his amazingly bright and engaging outward persona and also to his broken inner spirit whose cries for help we never heard. I hope my sentiments can help him in his journey ever after. Rest in peace, friend.”
Keel and Stickley have been mainstays within the bluegrass, Americana, and jamband festival circuits for years, sharing stages and late-night jams at festivals like Strings and Sol, Jam Cruise, DelFest, Hulaween, Suwannee Spring Reunion and Roots Revival, Hoxeyville, The Bender Jamboree, WinterWonderGrass, and Billy String Renewal, among others.
Larry Keel and Jon Stickley Track Listing
1.) Future Ghost (2:34)
2.) Sailor Suit (4:07)
3.) Pioneers (3:24)
4.) Take the Air (2:56)
5.) Starborn (4:03)
Larry Keel - 2008 Andrew White handcrafted parlor style guitar (all), vocals (2,3,5)
Jon Stickley - Preston Thompson D-EIA acoustic guitar (1,2,4,5), 1956 Martin D18 acoustic guitar (3) vocals (2)
Produced by Larry Keel and Jon Stickley
Recorded/Engineered by James McLaughlin
Mastered by Crystal Mastering
Artwork/Design by Luther Blevins
