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Fiddle me this
Slocum Twp. man plays fast and
furious
by Michael Danilowicz
Not many locsicians can say they've had the opportunity to open up for the
artist or band that inspired them to get into music.
Country
music performer and Slocum Township resident Tony Merker
can.
Merker, who plays the fiddle, ha perfect
opportunity to meet his longtime idol and fellow fiddler, Charlie Daniels, when Merker's band at
the time, Blacksmyth, opened for the country music legend in the summer of 2002 at the Pat Garrett Theater
in Berks County.
Unfortunately for Merker, the event slipped by without him meeting Daniels.
"I heard
the Charlie Daniels band was very impressed (with us), but I never met Charlie," Merker explains.
"I was busy
packing up and missed my opportunity. This [packing] has to be done real quick when you are opening
for a major recording artist."
Merker will perform at The Main St.
Bar & Grill in Mocanaqua on Saturday, December 4 and Friday, December 31
The most
ironic part of the missed meeting with Daniels, is that the bearded fiddler was the inspiration for
Merker learning to play fiddle years ago.
"Around
age 14, I started listening to country music and was really impressed with Charlie Daniels," he says.
"So I bought
myself a fiddle and taught myself to play by ear."
The fiddle
wasn't the first instrument Merker learned to play, though. Music had been in his life since his
parents bought him a guitar for Christmas at age 8.
"I was hooked,
and by age 14 I was playing in a professional band performing in local clubs," he says.
"My parents
had to come with me, of course, due to the age thing."
By 16, Merker was fronting a band for the very first time. Since then he has played in several bands, all of
which played Southern rock and country music. Merker recently completed a seven track acoustic disc,
and is currently performing solo.”I took a break from performing for about a year to finish
writing songs and record my demo CD to send to Nashville,"
the fiddle player says.
"So you
could say that I am back in the saddle again, so to speak."
Merker says the inspiration for his
songs comes from his life, family and wife Alean. He says often when he travels, a theme for a song
will come to him and he'll write down his thoughts. When he gets home he puts the words to music.
"It is not
an exact science or anything like that. There are situations in my life which inspire me to write," Merker
points out.
Merker says there is much appreciation
for country music in the local area and people are excited when he performs.
"I have
performed in many local clubs with patrons who like a variety of music, but they all are excited when I start to play, especially
the fiddle," he says.
"I have
impressed many young people in my travels who were accustomed to hearing rap and new wave, and now have a new appreciation
for the real country | 
