Artist Profile - Moran & Morgan By
Linda Lowe Thompson
David Moran and Joe Morgan are a hammered dulcimer and guitar duo who began taking the world by storm in 1995. While both are well versed in the traditional fiddle tunes that many associate with the hammered dulcimer, M & M have expanded their musical vision to include music from a variety of sources. When did you first see a dulcimer? David: I saw a dulcimer for the first time back in the mid-tolate 70’s at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. Joe: September of 1980, the first time I went to the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. They had a hammered dulcimer workshop on the schedule and my wife and I thought we would go see what a hammered dulcimer was. Cathy Barton was one of the people onstage, and I think John McCutcheon may have been there, too. That weekend was also the first time I heard Dana Hamilton play. He won the contest that year and played a tune on the main stage during the awards ceremony. When did you first start playing music together, and was it an easy fit from the very beginning? David: I think we first performed together in the fall of 1995. It was definitely an easy fit. For a long time all we did was traditional tunes, since that was a musical world with which we were both very comfortable. After about two years, we started trying to play stuff we knew no other dulcimer/guitar duo would play. This led to some blues stuff, some jazz and pop standards, and whatever originals we’ve come up with. We both seem to have this twisted attraction to tunes that, at first glance, would seem impossible. But, as far as we’re concerned, the more unlikely a tune is, the more likely we are to work it up. Joe: It was fall of 1995 at a Farmer’s Market where the dulcimer society was hosting an open mic night. David and I were both going to be there, and he took me up on my offer to back him up on a few tunes. A couple of months later he asked if I was interested in doing a few festivals with him. I said yes, and here we are ten years later. It was very comfortable from the continued on page 50
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