Welcome to Blue Ridge Soundtrack! Let’s get acquainted. My name is Scotty Dransfield. I’m a reporter at The News-Gazette, and I cover education and fire/emergency, among many other things. This week, I’m using this space to introduce myself and share some thoughts on the musical fertility of the area we live in and how it shaped me.
My family first came to this area when I was in middle school. In seventh grade, once we had settled into our new home, I discovered a type of energy that I would consider the true heart of music in Rockbridge County through my best friend’s dad, Mike Frazier. At that time, and the whole time I’ve known him since, Mike has gotten together with folks regularly to play music, sometimes with an audience, sometimes without. I got the impression that the playing together was the point, much more than any audience. Every time I’d visit their home, Mike would be in another room plucking on his banjo or guitar or bass. This was my introduction to the bluegrass and country sounds that are so native to this land, they may as well grow in the tangled woods.
But my own first experiences playing music here were in the Parry McCluer Middle School band. Although I struggled at first as the “new kid” in a tight-knit small-town class, I quickly found a place in the band, playing trumpet. Our teacher was one Jeff Mason, who ended up moving up and overseeing the Parry McCluer High School band the next year, when I started high school.
I owe a lot of my music taste and knowledge to both Mason and Sue Harvey, who came to Parry McCluer to teach middle school band and high school choir, and who was my personal trumpet instructor.
Mason refused to play typical marching-band fare like film soundtracks. Instead, he took us on a tour of popular music from the 1960s through the ’80s: The Temptations, The Doors, Tower of Power, AC/DC, and Ozzy Osbourne were the primary inspirations for our halftime shows. He also took a personal interest in many of his students, guiding us to improve and dedicatedly taking us to competitions and honor band events. These days, he still plays a part in the Rockbridge area’s musical DNA, playing bass with Southpaw and other music groups in numerous local venues.
My connection to Harvey went deeper than the trumpet: I was at the time undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer, a rarity in teenage boys, and she herself was a cancer survivor. Among the many memories of fun, laughter, and musical development with Harvey are my more poignant ones of playing a trumpet duet of “Taps” during remembrance moments at Relay for Life walkathons.
These are just two examples of the type of local musicians whose mentorship shapes both the sounds and the people of an area.
I haven’t played trumpet in years, but I’ve remained obsessed with music, and these days I primarily play guitar and sometimes piano. Over the past few years, I’ve played in bands around the area, performing at venues and events like Straws in Buena Vista, Artapalooza downtown, and the River Festival at the pavilion in Glen Maury Park. Those experiences — loud rooms, cold nights, shared bills with other bands — have kept me connected to the region’s living, breathing music scene.
My point in telling you all this is just to show that I am steeped in music in a way that is tied to this exact region. I spent several years away, studying and living in places like Utah and Washington state, and during that time, I contributed album reviews to Under the Radar magazine, which is headquartered here in Lexington. I returned to Rockbridge County a few years ago and began writing for The News-Gazette, and due to my experience in music writing, I was offered the chance to write this music column for the N-G Now newsletter.
As alluded to earlier, I believe this place has music in its roots. There is a soul to Rockbridge County, and it sounds like plucked acoustic strings, yes — but also like college orchestras and church choirs, grungy basement rock bands and funk outfits. I intend to investigate as much of it as I am able. I envision this column covering an even mix of live music events and interviews with musicians — of all stripes, genres, formats — but I’m feeling it out as I go.
I have some ideas for future columns, but I welcome any and all comments, recommendations, pitches, and ideas! If you know of something worthy of being highlighted in Blue Ridge Soundtrack, please email me at [email protected].
And as always, keep rocking.
