Janine Broyles

Jainine in Mountains of CaliforniaI was born in Northern California and grew up in a small town named Nice (population 750), until the age of 12.

 

 

 

We moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida where I attended middle school and my freshman year of high school. During the summer of 1977 we moved to Lubbock, Texas, where I graduated from Frenship High. (I'm not making this up!...get it...Nice. Frenship).

I developed a love for music at an early age. In fact, my mother says I came out singing. She claims I hummed constantly, especially while I was eating. I've always enjoyed singing and listening to a wide variety of music. But it wasn't until my early 20’s, after moving to Jonesborough, Tennessee, that I became acquainted with the sounds of bluegrass. 

 

I began performing on stage regularly at our family The Chucky Trading Companyowned restaurant named "The Chucky Trading Company". The restaurant was housed in a 100 year old mansion on the Nolichucky River in Erwin. I was the original entertainment as well as the manager for twenty years. During this time I met Janice "Red" who applied for a waitressing job at The Chucky and we fast became friends and fellow pickers. Over many years of picking and singing together I learned to play the mandolin. Janice's husband David joined us on the banjo. A regular customer of The Chucky Trading Company, Randy Broyles, eventually began playing the Dog House bass with us . . . and "Tomahawk" was formed.

 

Nearly ten years later we had the good fortune of winning a pick-off at the Appalachian Fair, with the prize being 30 hours of recording time at Tom T. and Dixie Hall’s recording studio in Franklin, TN. Around the same time, we met Leanne Dynneson who’s violin playing seemed to naturally fit our style of music. After much begging and pleading (actually all we had to do was ask) she was gracious enough to bless our latest CD (Tomahawk-Fly Away) with the sweet, harmonious and sometimes haunting sounds of her “nosy ole viddle”. I am forever grateful to Leanne for her many contributions to the “Tomahawk-Fly Away” CD and especially how she blended her sound so beautifully with the songs I’ve written on the CD. Two of my favorites are Sarah McBride and Wealthy Man. Her violin brings out the emotion in the songs she plays.

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