Cornfields & Crossroads is an Indianapolis based band that strives to lighten the hearts of music lovers through Traditional, Contemporary, and Gospel bluegrass music.
Before you begin to listen to their great music, let’s get acquainted with the guys. From Noblesville, Indiana comes Mr. Dan Weddington. Dan’s father began teaching him to play banjo at the age of eight. He’s played in several bands including Smokey Mountain Grass for eight years. Since then, Dan has played venues as the main stages at The Indiana State Fair and Bean Blossom as well as the Barley Island Brewing Co. He’s had the pleasure of picking with great musicians including Jimmy Martin, Ralph Stanley II and Kenny Ingram. While Dan played Pete Seager style in his early years, he now prefers Scruggs style.
Hailing from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia is David Baker. David not only is the lead vocal singer of the group but also sings Tenor. David began playing the guitar at the age of 16, his uncle taught him three chords and the rest is history. He has played with a lot of bands in his fifty-two years and also played professional for two years where David says that it was quite a ride but great at the same time. Some of the bands that David has played with includes but may not be limited to, Blue Ridge Mountain Buddies, Higher Ground, Bluegrass Connection, and American Bluegrass Band. David has also done a lot of fill in work with a lot of bands as well as a lot of singing and guitar contests over the years where he has won awards during that time in his life. He has also jammed with some big bands such as Ralph Stanley, Ricky Skaggs. Lester Flatt, Charley Waller, Jimmy Martin and so on. This past January David released his CD entitled “David Baker sing Traditional Bluegrass, The Girl of My Dreams.” According to David, “The Music Has Just Begun!”
Next on our list from Colfax, Indiana is Joe Flowers with the Upright Bass. With the support from his parents and grandparents, Joe started playing the violin at the wee age of 21/2. He later began playing the piano at the age of six and the trombone at eh age of eleven. Between the trombone and piano, Joe began playing the “claw hammer” banjo. Joe’s first band was “The Wildwood Flowers” bluegrass band, which he played with his father. At the age of seventeen Joe was one of the top ranked trombone players in Indiana and attended the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. In 1991 Joe toured Europe with the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp Jazz Band playing the trombone and the tenor banjo. After attending Vincennes University, Joe played part time as the upright Bass player in his father’s band, which was then called “The Bent Nickel Dance Band”. Other musical inspirations during Joe’s life have also been The Dillard’s, The Stanley Bros., Earl & Scruggs, Wade Ward, and Pete Parish.
Our “tall drink of water” Darrell Duety comes from Indianapolis, Indiana. Darrell started playing the guitar at the age of fourteen but came to love the mandolin, which he began to play at the age of eighteen. Darrell has always played bluegrass music. He played for two years with The Sacred Sounds at age nineteen, and then went on to play with The Reflections for the next seven years. Darrell has also opened for Ralph Stanley. Not only has Darrell performed on many albums, tapes and CD’s but he has also written some original music through the years. Darrell’s biggest inspirations was his loving father and still is his mother who have always supported his music.
Coming from Brownsburg, Indiana is our one and only fiddle player, Mr. John Watson. John started playing fiddle during the summer before fifth grade when his Dad took him to the Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival. His dad played the banjo with a bluegrass group while he was growing up, and shared his passion for bluegrass with the family. He was going to start taking violin lessons in school starting in the fifth grade, so he bought John a fiddle at an auction…on which John still plays to this day. In the 80’s, while in the Navy John played in an Old Time group called The Misty Harbour Band in the Tidewater area of Virginia. John started playing again more seriously just a few years ago. John’s fiddling idols are varied in styles. Some of them include the great masters like: Kenny Baker, Bobby Hicks, the immortal Vassar Clements, and the jazz great Stephen Grappeli. He also admires Stuart Duncan, Kenny Kosek, Andy Leftwich, Sam Bush, and the late Andy Burton,” who really helped me start the escape from written music and helped me build the confidence to improvise and find my own fiddling style.”
Last, but not least is the beautiful Deborah Flowers whose vocals lend richness to our bluegrass sound. Deb’s love for music began at the dinner table when she was very young. After dinner, the family would enjoy sitting at the table and practicing their singing in harmony. When Deb turned ten, she began playing violin and electric keyboard. At age twelve, Deb was asked to sing in the Touring Choir of The Indianapolis Children’s Choir, which she did from 1985-1988. During this time, she sang for such events as The Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Pan American games in Indianapolis, The Governor’s Ball, MENC, The opening of the Pacer’s Season, any many more. Deb was a member of the Touring Choir in Junior High where they placed second in the ISMMA Competition, and The Madrigals Choir in High School where her favorite place to perform was Riley Hospital. While she had no outlet for her love of music after school, Deb has spent many hours singing, mostly to her children, over the past sixteen years. Today, Deb is thrilled to have been asked to sing with C&C and looks forward to being back up and occasionally lead singer on stage again.
Now you know a little bit more about the talented musicians who make up Cornfields & Crossroads. All you have to do now is pop in this CD, sit back and let us entertain you with our “hard driving” bluegrass sound that is Cornfields & Crossroads.
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