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Leah Sturgis and Frank Solivan A Jewelry Artist and Blue Grass Musician Treat the Hill With Their Talents by Pattie Cinelli
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eah Sturgis is a familiar face on the Hill. She’s been selling her unique hand-made jewelry at Eastern Market on weekends for about eight years. You may not recognize her husband Frank Solivan. For most of those years Frank has been playing blue grass and country music all over the country with the elite, highly competitive U.S. Navy band Country Current. But two years ago Frank did the unthinkable – he gave up his secure income, his benefits and a job making a living playing music to venture out on his own. “We took a huge risk becoming fulltime artists working for ourselves,” said Frank. “But in the Navy band I was playin his songs, “I am a Rambler” and “Day to Day.” ing music, not making music. I wanted more. Now we have a partnership. We help each He laughed. “When I moved to Juno, I worked other with our art and we’re learning to be business as a school bus driver, a substitute school teacher and other jobs, then I moved back to Anchorage to people.” Frank and his band Dirty Kitchen will be giv- make money.” He also spent a year in Nashville but ing his premier performance at the Hill’s Corner wanted to move back to Alaska for Leah. While livStore, (www.cornerstorearts.org) Friday April 8. He ing in Juno, Leah was content teaching pre-school, recently released his third CD, “Frank Solivan & making jewelry as a hobby and selling it at Rock Dirty Kitchen,” a collection of hard driving, con- Paper Scissors, a store she co-owned in Juno. Then a life altering opportunity appeared. When temporary acoustic music and thoughtful songs of love and friendship played within the bluegrass sen- they were both at the Anchorage Folk Festival where sibility. In the two years he’s been out of the Navy, Country Current was playing, the band asked Frank Frank has performed around the country and in our to play a few songs with them. A month later they neighborhood outside at Eastern Market and in the asked him to sit in for their absent fiddle and mandolin player. He learned 50 tunes, honed his skills North Hall of the Market last year. Their story as a couple is inspiring. Their art is on an electric guitar and made an impression. After exciting. Both Frank and Leah have put their personal stamp on their work. In the six years Frank was in the Navy, Leah had the opportunity to grow her own business. She first visited Eastern Market 15 years ago while visiting a former roommate. “That was the coolest market I’d ever seen,” she said. “There was nothing like it in Juno where I was living. Never in a million years did I think I would be living here and selling jewelry at that market.” Leah met Frank at the Alaska Folk Festival years ago in Juno where he was performing. They “hit it off ” but Frank lived in Anchorage, which is about 1000 miles away. “He might as well have lived in Colorado,” said Leah. Frank wrote about being in a long distance relationship Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen 60 ★ HillRag | April 2011
several months, two auditions and many soul searching talks with Leah, the couple moved to DC and Frank found himself an enlisted man in boot camp doing pushups. The couple’s move to DC and Frank’s secure Navy job gave Leah an opportunity to pursue her creative interests. “I didn’t want to do a 9-to5 job, so I began making jewelry full time.” Her business grew, and she developed her unique hand-made jewelry designs from natural elements such as caribou, antler, porcupine quill, wood and fresh water pearl. Much of her material is from Alaska. Her designs are precise, simple, organic yet elegant. “I combine earthy material with clean, contemporary design. My techniques and materials are basic. I use all hand tools. It’s my design that is unique to me.” About half Leah’s business is from Eastern Market sales. Her work is sold in stores all over the country from an outpost in Chicken, Alaska to New York City. When Leah travels to wholesale shows, Frank will often be found manning the stall at Eastern Market for his wife. Their huge risk seems to be paying off. Frank has been able to create his own notable brand of entertainment that sets him apart from others. “Dirty Kitchen” is not just the name of his band. It symbolizes what Frank has grown up with – music and food. “My whole family loves to play music. My grandma was in vaudeville and loved to play a mandolin and fiddle. My mother sings, my father, brother and sister play music and my cousin Meghan McCormick, is a professional musician and singer. When Leah went to a Solivan family reunion in Oregon (about 100 people) she said the group had set up a stage and had devised a scheduled time for all the family bands to play there. Not only does his mother sing, but she also has been in the restaurant business all of her life. Frank said he always had a knack for cooking for large groups of people. When he put together his business plan for his band he wanted people “to have the experience we had at home – intimacy, good food and music.” In addition to his touring, Frank’s Dirty Kitchen experience offers fans a chance to spend quality time with the band. Frank Solivan & Dirty