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Artist
Merrie's 13 year musical career has been as rich in diversity as her music is simple and true. It all began in 1993 in a little coffeeshop in Nashville, IN with a folk trio Little Merrie Simmons; the alter ego of Peter, Paul and Mary, except less socially political and more narcissitic. Merrie apprenticed as a backup singer/songwriter with LMS' two powerful and prophetic songwriters Chris Little and Tommy Simmons. The trio wove an amazing three-part harmony of songs based on personal victory, dissapointment and coming of age. Merrie & Chris formed a band, The Kegles, with Bloomington, Indiana musicians Jon Nilsen(guitar), Karl Meyer(fiddle)and Jeff Farias(upright bass) from the 90's popular politcal folk/rock/blues band The Dorkestra. Multi-instumentalist, Ransom Haile(The Dynamics) also joined the band on his own adhoc drum kit. Merrie began to write during this time, as well as playing accordian with The Kegles, which was, at times, a seven piece band with the addition of Peter Conway on harmonica. Merrie began to flower as a writer and guitarist once she and Little paired back down to a duo, Ma and Pa Kegle, in 1997. It is during this period where the tunes on her self-titled debut album where written, in a primitive cottage, on the crest of a ridge surrounded by three huge oak trees. The songs are haunting and open; wrought with shy confidence and self-discovery. As a young woman learning the art of song and self expression, Merrie struggles with issues of excess, sexuali