Mountain Times - Volume 48, Number 24: June 12-18, 2019

The Mountain Times • June 12-18, 2019 ROCKIN’ THE REGION • 17
Rockin’ The Region
with Mike Schwaner
rockin’
the region
by dj dave
hoffenberg
Every second Thursday, Mike Schwaner plays at Taps
Tavern in Poultney. This has been a long-standing gig,
where he launched his solo acoustic career. Schwaner said,
“I play mostly old stuff – classic outlaw country like Johnny
Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings. I also play a lot
of classic rock – everything from Mellencamp to Joe Walsh;
[and]‘80s like The Outfield. I grew up on that. It’s classic for
a reason.”
I saw Schwaner play this winter in Killington with the
Aaron Audet Band, whom he plays with frequently. I was
impressed with his classic rock songs. He sings the Doobie
Brothers perfectly. Schwaner said, “I think our responsibility
as bar room buskers is to play stuff people can tap their
feet and sing along to. A lot of folks find that music, especially
live music, is like comfort food. They want familiarity
with it, so I make sure that I do that for them.”
Schwaner took up guitar at Fair Haven Union High
School (FHUHS) where he was a band geek. He said the
former band director, Richard Dodd, is a legend there.
“He had a lot of nice Fender equipment like a ‘70s-style
jazz precision
bass and a Strat.
I actually wanted
to play bass first
but there was
already a kid
using it, so I took
the Strat. It was a
leap of faith for Dodd to give me what was basically a $1,500
guitar and let me play with it. I went from there, really liked
it and I didn’t give up on it,” Schwaner said. He never took
a guitar lesson in his life. When he was younger, he learned
from instructional books, and then the internet came out,
and it became easy.
In band, Schwaner was all about percussion, and played
the drums, although now he says he plays them pretty
poorly. Back then he was in the marching band and the
Vermont Youth Orchestra. “I played classical music, which
is now not really fun,” Schwaner said. He does like all kinds
of music, and said there’s not much that he doesn’t like, as
long as there are instruments involved.
Schwaner’s biggest musical influence was Led Zeppelin.
He said, “I was always taken by how wide and diverse their
songs were. They had some acoustic songs, heavy stuff and
blues.” His other big influence was Iron Maiden. He added,
“I was big into metal in the ‘80s. I played in Cell 213, a metal
band, for quite a long time.”
Schwaner and Audet have been friends since high
school. They were both motivated to get gigs and got their
first playing together in Fair Haven park. They were in
bands together through college and still play together to
this day. Schwaner said, “A big motivation for me was always
wanting to play out live. A lot of my musical friends are
distracted by wanting to be a veteran guitar hero.”
Playing solo was a big challenge and he’s now been doing
it for about four years. He didn’t aspire to be a singer though
– he was all about guitar. He was in an acoustic duo for a few
years, but his partner wanted to get out so it was either hang
it up or start singing. Schwaner said, “It’s a very different
musical challenge that I really like.” He said it’s been going
well and he keeps himself busy with it. It’s a part time job
for him because he’s been a full time science teacher at
FHUHS for the past 21 years, and a dad with two small kids.
Schwaner remembers his first solo gig as terrifying. “I
recommend going solo for any musician because you can’t
hide from yourself. You can hide in a band where your mistakes
aren’t so
apparent. You
know exactly
what your skills
are and learn
exactly what
you need to improve,”
he said.
Schwaner uses a looper while playing. He said, “I
give credit to musicians that make it through without
looping. I find that for a lot of music, looping is quite
effective. I’m not trying to brag, but I like soloing and I’m
OK at it. I can loop a chord progression and then jam out
over it for a length of time.”
Music is an escape for Schwaner. He explained: “I
have a million responsibilities, so music is that thing
“A LOT OF FOLKS FIND THAT MUSIC, ESPECIALLY
LIVE MUSIC, IS LIKE COMFORT FOOD. THEY WANT
FAMILIARITY WITH IT, SO I MAKE SURE THAT I DO
THAT FOR THEM,” SAID SCHWANER.
Courtesy Dave Hoffenberg
Mike Schwaner
that is completely [just] for me. Music is a selfless
thing – you play to entertain people, but it’s also very
selfish in that way. I appreciate when people give me
compliments, but there’s a little bit of selfishness there
because it’s kind of a thing that is just my own. I love
music and all it’s forms. I appreciate all of it. I’ll be
doing something at home, listening to music and stop
whatever I’m doing to go over to my guitar and try and
figure out what I just heard because I think it’s so cool.
That happens all the time. It’s kind of like an addiction
that is borderline inconvenient at times because things
will pop in your head and you have to act upon them.
There have been so many times where I’m just falling
asleep and I’ve gotten out of bed to go back to the
guitar to try and work something out; but I really like it.
That’s a really common answer though: ‘musicians like
music.’”
He’s right. I don’t get any that say they hate it.
Singleton’s:
continued from page 5
Store closes in Quechee
area - almost three times the area of the
average home in the U.S.
Tom and Linn took the business over
when Bud and Mary retired in 1999.
Their son Dan and his wife Allison work
in the family business as well. The store
employs between 8 and 12 people,
depending on the season.
“There’s another Singleton’s generation
coming along,” Linn joked.
The huge black replica bull that
beckoned on Route 4 now guards the
entrance in Proctorsville. The aroma
of smoked meats, the easy chatter between
customers and employees, the
variety of products, produce, meats,
clothing and rustic displays of antique
firearms, the line waiting for sandwiches
– will all seem very familiar to
anyone who visited the Quechee store.
Linn calls the more rustic items
“Tom’s Accumulation.”
“Some are for sale, and some are
not,” she said. “Some are just for customers
to look at.”
And one does not have to drive to
Proctorsville for anything but the ambiance
– one can order from their website
with certain caveats about seasonality
and shipping.
For example, “Perishables will only
ship Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday
depending on where they are being
shipped. We do not want our quality
products sitting in a warehouse over
the weekend.”
Most of the on-line sales are for
smoked meats, according to Linn, and
some Singleton’s T-shirts and hats.
“Online sales are a work in progress
with room to grow,” she said.
The sandwiches have names as
original as their ingredients combinations:
“Green Mountain Boy” (Buffalo
Chicken, Cheddar, Sour Cream, Lettuce,
Salsa), “Nat’s Moonlight Hike”
(Turkey, Cheddar, Lettuce, Mayo, Apple
Slices), “Cheesy Swine” (Smoked Ham,
Swiss, Brown Mustard), “Cuz’s Big Fattie”
(Liverwurst, Swiss, Spicy Mustard,
Lettuce, Onions, Banana Peppers, Pickles)
and “The Biggie” (Roast Beef, Garlic
Herb Mayo, Cheddar, Lettuce, Tomato),
to cite just a few.
The future of the Quechee store is up
in the air.
“We’re not thinking about that right
now,” Linn said. “We’re just focusing on
our customers and the future.”