PRINTPosted on July 08, 2009 at 02:59:30:
By Nancy Selbe
PRINT
Posted on July 08, 2009 at 02:59:30:
By Nancy Selbe
The Diamond W Wranglers Performing at the Dream Theatre
The Diamond W Wranglers will be performing at the Dream Theatre in Russell this Sunday afternoon. The concert is sponsored by the Deines Cultural Center. The group is made up of four musicians, three of which are owners of the Diamond W Chuckwagon, which they operate at the Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita. They all come from musical families. Stu Stuart, a native Kansan, is the lead singer, lead guitarist, and fiddler of the group. His grandfather, Hal O’Halloran was chief announcer on WLS Radio in Chicago for years, hosting the famous WLS Barn Dance. He began playing the guitar when he was a child, and started his first rock and roll band in high school. He played in a series of bluegrass and country bands, ending up in Nashville where he formed a country band called Hank Flamingo, which recorded an album for Giant records, leading to singles on the record charts, videos on CMT, and appearances on the TV shows of Crook & Chase and Conan O’Brien. Stuart met Jim Farrell in Nashville. They quickly discovered a common love of cowboy music, and formed a group called J38 Land & Cattle Company, which performed together for several years. “Tennessee Jim” Farrell sings harmony vocals, plays rhythm guitar, and is musical arranger for the group. Born and raised in Nashville, he grew up surrounded by harmony. His father sang in a championship barbershop quartet, and led the church choir. Jim played guitar, bass and piano, and was a working musician by the age of 14. Farrell has become recognized as one of the finest producers and recording engineers in Western Music. The National Cowboy Hall of Fame awarded him “Western Music Producer of the Year” in 2005. Currently, Jim Farrell owns a recording studio in Towanda, KS and is responsible for producing all of the Diamond W recordings. He is also a gifted songwriter and is committed to seeing Western music grow internationally and wants to see the Wranglers perform with a symphony orchestra. Steve Crawford plays drums and percussion, and does harmony vocals. He picked up his interest in music from his mother, an accomplished pianist and organist. Steve played in the jazz band and sang in musical productions throughout high school. Crawford joined the Wranglers full-time in 2003. Chip Worthington, the newest and youngest member of the group, has replaced Orin Friesen on string bass, and sings harmony vocals with the Diamond W Wranglers. He also grew up with music in the house. He started playing the string bass in the 4th grade, and is accomplished on the piano. He was active in both orchestra and choir throughout high school. Worthington attended Wichita State University on a Vocal Music education scholarship, and was a member of the prestigious Madrigal singing group and the school’s barbershop quartet as well as playing in an alternative bluegrass band. He is delighted to have joined the Wranglers, and feels it has opened a whole new door for him musically. His youth, wit, and fluent Spanish have added new energy and fun to an already dynamic group. Tickets for Sunday afternoon’s concert are available for ten dollars at the door. The concert begins at 3:00 pm. For more information, call the Deines Cultural Center at 785.483.3742.
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