My love of folk, old-time and gospel music dates back to growing up in Kentucky. My dad was a skilled carpenter and an engineer but also a self-taught musician. If an instrument had frets, he could play it.
One evening—I must have been about 9—I had Dad’s guitar and was just strumming strings, banging on it, really. He took my left hand, I think so my banging would sound like something, and said, “Put this finger here and this finger here; now that’s a G.” I’ve pretty much been playing in G ever since!
From that time on, I’ve played music to bring enjoyment to anyone willing to listen.
Lately, I’ve been learning to play guitar in the thumb-picking style of Chet Atkins, Doc Watson and Merle Travis. Even though I’ve been playing for over forty years, learning thumb-style has been a challenge that has kept me growing and learning. It was a huge thrill to win first place in the thumb-pick guitar competition at the 2010 Indiana State Picking and Fiddling Championships.
I describe myself as an occasional songwriter, and a lot of my creative energy goes into refinishing old songs more than creating new ones. Songwriting has always been a struggle for me, and it takes a lot of inspiration for me to see a song through to completion. Nevertheless, I do have a few original songs that I perform along with songs from released recordings, traditional folk tunes and hymns, and a few standards from the early 20th century. My repertoire reflects my love of music that is older than me.
I’ve performed in a variety of venues. From festivals to farmers markets, churches to cafés and concert halls, I’ve learned to adapt my performance and sound to the environment. I like to keep an upbeat and friendly attitude, and I hope that comes through on stage.
My three released recordings include: Going Over Home, a collection of gospel tunes released in 1997, now out of print on CD; This Old House, my first recording with producer Steve Creech, released in 2006; and Give Us a Song, my most recent recording also produced by Steve Creech, released in 2008.
Doc Possom of Indy Folk News writes: "Dean is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He is Reverend Dean Phelps, with no apologies, but although he's a Reverend, he's not very churchy. He is a regular guy with a fun repertoire, a relaxed manner, nice picking, and a friendly way of putting a song across!"
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