Strictly Clean & Decent Hickory Arts House Concert Friday, July 20, 2012 from 7:30 pm HICKORY – Hickory Arts kicks off the third in their popular House Concert Series featuring Strictly Clean & Decent on July 20 from 7:30 pm! Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online or at the studio, located at 720 Second Avenue SW, Hickory 28602, behind ITP and across from Hickory Optimist Park. Please call ahead. Only 40 seats available. All proceeds benefit the artists. Strictly Clean & Decent is an acoustic trio featuring Kay & Patrick Crouch and Ron Shuffler, whose blend of brilliant vocal harmonies tops a solid instrumental foundation. They are dedicated to performing a variety of musical styles in an acoustic setting. Their eclectic repertoire includes modern folk songs by American, Canadian and Irish songwriters, the fiery breakdowns and songs of family and home found in both traditional and contemporary bluegrass settings, centuries-old Celtic airs and dance tunes. All of this is peppered with a healthy dose of popular jazz standards, swing and western swing music and a few classic country tunes thrown in to provide a program certain to be enjoyed by all. In 2007, SCD was included in the “Directory of Traditional Artists” for the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, an honor accorded only a few artists in each county. The trio is on the touring artists roster of the North Carolina Arts Council. Ron Shuffler plays the upright. Ron is a veteran of the early Top 40 beach music scene, but is also well known in country and bluegrass circles. His solid bass playing and impeccable harmony vocals are without equal. Ron was raised in a musical family and his eldest brother, George, virtually created the cross-picking style of guitar playing while working with The Stanley Brothers, a first-generation bluegrass band in the 1950’s and 60’s. Kay Crouch performs on the guitar, flute, piano and tin whistle. Kay has a widely varied musical background that includes symphonic and solo percussion work, musical theatre, as well as county and bluegrass music. Her interpretive vocals have been an asset to the trio since she joined in 1991. Patrick Crouch handles the mandolin, banjo, dobro, fiddle and guitar for the trio. Patrick has been performing acoustic music since 1977 when he founded “New River Reign,” a staple at Blowing Rock’s P.B. Scott’s Music Hall. He turned to country music with “Long Time Gone” and, with Ron Shuffler and Reggie Harris, created “Strictly Clean & Decent” in 1989. Patrick’s intense, often pyrotechnic, but always tasteful instrumental skills are the highlight of every SCD show. Area reviewers have been unanimous in their acclaim for the trio. The Hickory News claims that “What really sets this trio apart is the bluegrass/swing/pop/country influence of three musicians whose talents take them to virtually every style of music ever conceived!” The Morganton News-Herald states that “The music is quite lively and while there are many intense selections the band maintains a jovial rapport with the audience.” Of the trio, The Focus says “Their on-stage patter is refreshingly self-effacing and laid-back and the band comes off as extremely likable… Don’t miss this band, because they are a truly unique listening experience.” Since 1989, SCD has performed in Ireland eight times. They have appeared five times in the Cobh International Folk Music & Dance Festival, the Bluegrass & Olde Tyme Music Festival in Cork, twice at the Irish Bluegrass Music Association’s Festival in Athy, as well as at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh and other venues throughout the country. The trio performs primarily in North Carolina in places as varied as the Biltmore House, Duke Gardens, the NC Museum of Natural History, the NC Arboretum in Asheville, the Sanford Pottery Festival and for Winterfest in Blowing Rock. They are regular presenters on the Mountainhome Music Concert series in Boone. They have opened for noted performers such as Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley, J.D. Crowe, Vassar Clements, Tim O’Brien, Tony Rice, Lee Greenwood, John Cowan, Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Clower. SCD first recorded in 1989, a recording entitled “Long Time Gone.” The trio later received an “Emerging Artist Grant” from the Unifour Area Arts Councils to produce a second recording, “Boomer Breakdown.” Of this project, Bluegrass Unlimited says the group is “precise and well-rehearsed with a full sound for a trio.” Other CDs include, “Crazy Quilt,” released in 2003 and “How High the Moon,” released in 2008. Since 1998, SCD has been active in recording and presenting the great number of traditional musicians in Caldwell County. A long-range goal of recording 100 local musicians over a ten-year period recently was achieved. With the help of Grassroots Arts Project grants awarded by the North Carolina Arts Council, 128 musicians were recorded with backing by the trio on ten CDs: “It Must Be Something in the Water” (2001), “I Do Re Mi” (2002), “Caldwell Roots and Branches” (2003), “Playin’ Hooky” (2004), “Good Ole Boys Like Me” (2005), “The Lights of Home” (2006), “Rear View Mirror” (2007), “A Story to Tell” (2008), “Winter Star” (2009), and “Fresh Tracks” (2010). Hickory Arts House Concerts are very intimate. Volunteers to home cook food for the performers and guests is strongly encouraged. First five volunteers get free tickets (1 per volunteer). Hickory Arts is a teaching and production studio dedicated to responding in a personal way to the needs of up and coming artists of all types and ages. For more information about tickets and Hickory Arts, please visit hickoryarts.com/houseconcerts or call 828-270-9801. For more information about SCD, please visit strictlycleananddecent.com Hickory Arts House Concerts are very intimate. Volunteers to provide food (“pot luck,” if you prefer) for the performer(s) and guests is strongly encouraged. All proceeds always go directly to the artist(s).