Arkansas Sheiks
Bands / Ensembles
The Arkansas Sheiks, formed in 1972, is an old-time string band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Karana Hattersley-Drayton, Tony Marcus and Marty Somberg founded it as a trio using the name of a 1920s song for the group. Membership rotated frequently through the years with a 1975 lineup including Hattersley-Drayton (dulcimer, piano), Michael Drayton (fiddle), Kate Brislin (banjo, spoons), Marcus (banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar) and Hoyle Osborne (guitar, pennywhistle, piano). The band generally stayed local but toured nationally on occasion. Other musicians who played in the band between 1972 and 1987 included Barbara Mendelsohn, Laurie Lewis, Tom Marion, Gene Tortora, Paul Shelasky and John Pedersen. A more current lineup includes Michael Drayton (fiddle), Hattersley-Drayton (keyboard), John Pedersen (banjo, fiddle) and Paul Shelasky (fiddle, guitar).
In the newsletter
- No. 22 Winter 2000