Tonight’s concert features Mountain Heritage (MH) Formed in the fall of 2001, MH now enters it’s 16th year playing traditional and contemporary bluegrass music. The band consists of Bruce Rupert on mandolin, Tim Scheetz on guitar, Mike Terris on banjo and dobro, Matt Koch on bass along with the newest member Marty Smith on fiddle. Local to the New Jersey and Pennsylvania area, they have played festivals, concerts, parties, square dances, churches, TV and radio shows with a wide range of all acoustic music. MH has released three CD’s starting with ‘Live from WDVR-FM’ in 2003, “Georgia Moon” in 2005 and “Live! from the Patchwork Coffeehouse” in 2008. Every CD features some of their original compositions as well written by Bruce, Tim and Mike. Each member has a long history of playing music and hope to continue for many years to come!
Bruce Rupert (mandolin, vocals). Growing up in eastern Pennsylvania, Bruce Rupert comes from a musical family. His mother studied opera, hiss father was an accomplished comet player, and his great grandfather was an old- time fiddler. On any given Sunday afternoon, one might hear anything from Johnny Cash, Peter Paul and Mary, Sousa march tunes or Handel’s Messiah coming from the family stereo. At an early age, Bruce discovered songwriters like Bob Dylan and Harry Chapin, and was later influenced by songwriters like Robin & Linda Williams and Andy M Stewart. He first heard Bluegrass and old-time music while in his early teens, and soon learned to play the guitar and c1awharnmer banjo. Influenced by bands like the Red Clay Ramblers and The Hot Mud Family, Bruce formed his own old time string bands while in high school, and performed at local events in the Quakertown Pa. area. In the years that followed, Bruce was a member of the “Fresh Vegetables”, a Lehigh Valley based old-time band, and played as a duet with fellow singer – songwriter Jose Pimienta-Bey while at Gettysburg College, where he polished his harmony skills. For the past ten years Bruce has been involved in songwriting, and in performing Bluegrass music. Hearing and “experiencing” John Duffey of the “Seldom Scene” was a defining moment in his musical career. Another major influence is Tim O’ Brien. Bruce has been a member of Bluegrass bands “Willow Creek”, “Richland Station” and along with Tim Scheetz was a founding member of “Mountain Heritage” in the fall of 2001. He released a solo CD of his original material in 1999, entitled “So Far From Her” and has appeared on Willow Creek’s CD “Remembering” and on Patti Davis & Bandits 2001 release “Lonely Street”. He lives in Stewartsville NJ with his wife Doreen and son Daniel.
Mike Terris (banjo, dobro, vocals). Mike Terris was first introduced to bluegrass music when he saw Flatt and Scruggs in a live performance back in 1963. He was attending art school at the time, studying commercial airbrush illustration, a skill he still continues to use professionally. During art school he also began building instruments, and has continued the craft up to the present time, having constructed custom instruments for some very prominent performers. Mike feels uniquely fortunate to have been able to support himself comfortably throughout his life by combining art, music, and luthiere. He plays guitar, mandolin, dobro, bass, and banjo, the latter being his favorite. Originally from West Virginia, Mike especially likes songs about coal mining and the mountains. More information about Mike’s instruments can be found at www.terrisguitarmaker.com.
Tim Scheetz (guitar, vocals). Born in Quakertown, Pa., Tim grew up listening to all types of music including folk, country, big band, pop, rock and jazz. He was fascinated at an early age with the hymns and other music he heard in church and credits his mother (who sings and plays piano) with getting him started with harmony vocals. Tim started playing guitar at age eight, influenced by Roger Miller, Johnny Cash, Don McClean and other artists of the 1960′ s. At the age of twelve, Tim started playing alto saxophone in school and won awards in his high school jazz band competitions. After high school Tim played alto sax in various rythym & blues bands including ‘The Great Saturday Nite Swindle’ . One morning, while driving to work, Tim heard ‘Walking in Jerusalem’ played by Ricky Skaggs and was immediately turned on to acoustic music. He then re-kindled his love for the guitar and went searching for bluegrass wherever it could be found. Tim joined ‘Willow Creek’ in 1997 and ‘Richland Station’ in 1999 with Bruce Rupert. Bruce, by the way, is a second cousin to Tim, growing up with each other in southeastern Pa. Tim lives in Haycock Township, Pa with his wife Judy and sons Paul, Aaron and Isaac and daughter Katie Anne.
Matt Koch (bass, vocals). Bassist for Mountain Heritage, Matt Koch is a multi-instrumentalist who enjoys playing a wide range of musical styles. You may also see him playing a penny-whistle or a Dobro, and is often asked to provide workshops at festivals where you might see him performing with another band ‘The Blueridge Mountain Boys’ . He is currently featured on Jack Sandbower’s latest CD playing accordion on ‘Polka in Your Eye’ and is also a member of “Whetstone Bridge”.
Opening the evening is Bunny Barnes, who first played guitar at age 16. By age 17, she was teaching folk and ragtime picking at Music Masters Studio in Southampton, PA. She was performing by the age of 18 with various bands. Though she continued to play throughout the years, performing took a back seat while she pursued her career teaching German in public school. In 2004, she started her solo career in clubs and restaurants in the Bucks and Montgomery County areas. But in 2007, a bout with vocal cord cancer cut her singing career short. In 2008, with the encouragement of her teacher and mentor, world famous guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, she decided to let the guitar be her voice. She began focusing on fingerstyle instrumental guitar music. Today Bunny can be found playing her own sweet, relaxing instrumental arrangements of pop, folk, rock, standards, oldies, ragtime and blues tunes at Richlandtown Inn, The Mansion (in New Hope), The Mill (in Kulpsville), Down to Earth Cafe (in Perkasie) and the Zen Den Coffee House (in Doylestown).
The Perkasie Patchwork Coffeehouse is a ministry of the Perkasie Mennonite Church. The coffeehouse is warm and cozy, with lots of atmosphere. It is a place where people can enjoy fellowship and see some of the best performers available up close and personal, in an intimate setting. Perkasie Patchwork Coffeehouse is located in the church fellowship hall, which is air conditioned and handicap accessible.
Admission: $12 for adults; $10 for adults 65 and over; students 13 and up, $6; 12 and under free. All ticket sales at door, no advance sales, no reservations. Delicious desserts and drinks are available. The doors open at 7:00 and performances begin at 7:30.
For April and May a portion of our proceeds will go to Pennridge FISH, our local food pantry. You can also drop off donations of non-perishable food at Patchwork for Pennridge FISH at all our concerts.