By Chris Kocher • ckocher@gannett.com Staff Writer • July 9, 2009Stargazette.com
At 61, Setzer will marry his beloved Darlene later this month. They've both been through a lot since they were best friends as kids - including a personal tragedy that kept Setzer from his music for seven years. But nowadays his life is in a better place, and she's his No. 1 fan who rarely misses a performance.
"She is the one who put the music back in my life," Setzer said in a recent interview. "I just love her so much - she's my inspiration."
It's surprising to say now, but the Pennsylvania picker - ...
...Later, working at acoustic guitar-maker C.F. Martin & Company, he and his fellow employees would forsake lunchtime to jam together. He and his four brothers, plus one other guy, formed a country band that played in various bars and roadhouses. But it wasn't until he grudgingly attended a bluegrass festival 40 years ago that he rediscovered the genre and was hooked.
The legendary Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals, he recalled, "walked out on that stage and I was totally blown away. I was amazed what they could do without electric, and the harmonies they had were just insane!"
Setzer scrambled to find like-minded folks for pickin' parties, but soon grew tired of having to drive to Philadelphia or further - so he founded the Appalachian Fiddle & Bluegrass Association, based in Wind Gap, Pa. The group helped to coordinate gatherings and, in time, festivals and concerts in the Lehigh Valley region. Along the way, he and his Appalachian Mountain Boys built a following, too.
"Slowly by slowly, we kept getting more and more jobs as far... Read more
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