Clark Speck guitarist and lead vocalist with Front Porch Boys Bluegrass Band

Webmaster: How did you become interested in bluegrass music?

Clark: My interest in bluegrass started back in the 60s, when "Hootenanny" was popular on television, and every teenager was getting a guitar or wanted one. I got a guitar too, but the only difference between me and everyone else, was that I also watched "The Porter Wagoner Show," and I watched Flatt and Scruggs on TV. They had their own show. In McMinnville, Tennessee, where I lived, it was shown on Saturday afternoons on WSM-TV. To me, it was a lot like the folk music that was on "Hootenanny," except, they played bluegrass instruments, you know - guitar, fiddle, banjo, upright bass, mandolin, Dobro. I liked that sound, so I bought some bluegrass records. I became very interested in bluegrass and county music. In fact, during my junior and senior year in high school, there was a weekly jam session at the local radio station. The guy that hosted it owned a shoe store. There was only one microphone. I don't know how many people came to play
around that one microphone. A lot of people who came had day jobs. There were only two kids in high school who came to play, one being me. For a high school reunion, I found the other person, who at the time was a pretty girl singer. I located her and we sang a song together for the folks at the reunion.

Webmaster: What is it about bluegrass music that appeals to you?

Clark: The sound of the acoustic instruments. There's an exhilarating feeling, when you have a good instrument and you do your best with it. You can take a cheap electric, and make a sound with it, but there's nothing that compares with a Gibson banjo and a Martin guitar.

Webmaster: Who are your role models in bluegrass music?

Clark: My long standing influences have been Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and the two together. Earl Scruggs used to also play guitar. He was different from Tony Rice, and the newer flatpickers. I model my playing after Earl Scruggs, who got it right from Mother Maybelle Carter - where you can hear a tune blossom from a chord. But I don't use a thumb pick. I use a flat pick to do it the same way, which gives me a little more control.

Webmaster: Tell us about the instruments you play.

Clark: I play a Martin HD35. Back in the '50's, Martin got a batch of wood that was smaller in size, and so they started making a 3-piece back. It was found to make a little different sound. It has a rounder, deeper sound. I like the deep sound of that rosewood guitar. I also play a Santa Cruz DPW, which is a copy of the old Martin D28. It's a dreadnought and a style made in the pre-World War II configuration. Before World War II, it was one of the most sought after guitars
for bluegrass.