Our band originated in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We are a group of friends/musicians that came about because we shared a common bond: we love each other and we love music. Our original music was the result of, one: all of the past music that we had individually grown up listening to and, two: what happened musically when we got together. Except for a very few agreed upon classic covers that we enjoyed playing, everything we did was original and a result of our collaborative creative instincts. We consisted, and still consist, of: John Humphries, rhythm electric and acoustic guitars extroidinaire, a 'bear' with exquisite sensibilities: Pat Sessions, bass guitar with a style of his own, born of mystical and mysterious philosophies: Steven Day, a drummer with the abililty to meld seamlessly with lunitics tampering with the unknown: Randy Blenden, yours truly, acoustic and electric leads, background vocals, unsure of his place in tampering with the unknown but inextricably unable to avoid going along for the ride. And finally, Ron Sullivan, lead vocalist, an enigmatic and angelically possessed soul that was the glue that bonded the band, but also the gypsy that freed it's spirit. This introduction is in Ron's memory, who is no longer with us in body, but continues to keep that very spirit alive in all of us. ROCK ON, Ron.
We haven't played as a band live since 1980, although we got together and and relived our songs in 2005 at Ron's memorial with many friends and family members. It was a very special moment and proved that Ron's glue had not relinguished it's adhesive qualities. We also got together in 2008 for a band and musical family reunion. It was great!!
Personally, I find that hard to answer as I've been listening to a plethora of artists since the late 50's, from Elvis, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Santana, and Hendrix, to the likes of Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, the Eagles, etc. I feel that a music lover and/or musician is changed and inspired by all of the music that he/she has heard since birth, and by the artists that made that music. Some of my favorite musicians are the other members of Cotton.
My mainstay during the Cotton years was a Gibson Blueridge acoustic with Bill Lawrence soundhole pickup, But that precious ax encountered a United Airlines disaster, and will never be the same. I also used a Les Paul early on, then switched to a Gibson ES-335 for this album. I picked up a Taylor DN3 some years ago to replace the Blueridge acoustic. My electric is now a Fender Strat, and Crate amplifier, but not used on the album. John used a beautiful Gibson 12 string acoustic on the album, as well as his trusted SG electric, and he still has one to this day. He since plays a Martin acoustic and others. Pat's mainstay on bass was the Fender Precision bass at the time, and it's smooth sound and his eclectic style are apparent throughout the album. He has since added an acoustic bass and guitar to his collection.
Peace and love to all of those that share our appreciation of the creativity and energy of music everywhere!
