OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE: Eddie Lienhart makes his own kind of music

Jul. 1—Music lovers in Muskogee might see Eddie Lienhart perform with popular bands like Wild Card or Bluefish, or alone at Muskogee Golf Club.

"My two older brothers and my sister were a big influence on my music and what I like to listen to," he said. "They really loved classic rock and roll. I always had tons of records. Stuff I never would have been exposed to otherwise. One of my brothers got exposed to playing guitar and that's where I picked up the guitar. He actually bought my first guitar."

Lienhart said he was about 14 at the time.

However, it took a while for Lienhart to get into performing.

"Not until I was out of high school did I get into any bands," he said. "I never considered trying to get into it full time. I probably could have, but I would have starved."

He has learned to play harmonica, keyboard, guitar and a little bit of fiddle.

"They won't let me play the fiddle anymore," Lienhart said. "I learned a few things on it. It's something you have to play well or it will be obnoxious."

Lienhart enjoys sharing his music in various ways. He recently taught a harmonica class during Make Music Day.

He still performs as often as he can.

"Sometimes three nights a week, then I won't do anything three or four weeks," he said. "It's usually something just about every week different groups."

He sometimes performs guitar solos at Muskogee Golf Club.

"I've performed in Texas a couple of times," he said. "Back in my country days, we'd go to Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas to play."

Lienhart recently played a Thursday night gig at Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame with the Wildcard Band and plans to play at the Rentiesville Blues Festival on Labor Day weekend.

Not set on one genre

Eddie Lienhart has played with a who's who of area musicians and groups.

And he enjoys talking about them whenever he can.

"I got to play with a lot of guys like Ben Gillenwater, the first guy I was in a band with," he said. "He played guitar and was kind of a country guy. He was known as 'The Nighttime Artist."

Lienhart said he's played all types of music genres with local performers. He recalled playing blues with Shy Willie Mabry.

"I was with Shy Willie and the Blues Crew when they first started" he said, adding that a Shy Willie tribute concert is set for July.

He also recalled playing with the late Jim Blair, a versatile musician who was an administrator and Muskogee Regional Medical Center when Lienhart worked there.

"We used to have a hospital band," Lienhart said. "Jim used to get the hospital band and we'd all set up at Christmas time. We were all good friends. If they had a picnic, we'd play at the picnic. Some of the funnest shows I ever played were with Jim Blair."

Lienhart also has played with Bluefish and with Dave and Andy Kay's band. He has performed with Muskogee's Wild Card Band since 2000.

"Muskogee's Wild Card band is my main band," he said, recalling that he's performed with the trio since 2000.

"A new band I really like is called Secret Sauce," he said.

Versatility shows in instruments

Guitar, keyboard and harmonica are main instruments Lienhart plays in concert.

He said the hardest part of the guitar was getting past callouses and pain in his fingertips while pressing the strings.

"That depends a lot on the guitar you have," he said. "If you have a guitar that's easy to play, it's not bad. But I had a cheap, older guitar and I used to get callouses on my fingers."

Since then, Lienhart has played beyond the pain.

"I always tell people if I can play a guitar solo and make it sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan or Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton for five seconds, I feel like I accomplished something," he said.

Lienhart said he took a couple of piano lessons.

"I mainly took what I learned on guitar and moved it to the piano," he said, calling himself a "bar piano player."

Lienhart said he didn't put too much effort into the harmonica until he was in a rock band called B17.

"Every musician has one in their guitar case or gig bag, but they never really pick it up," he said. "I decided I wanted to and just started playing it."

He said he found some benefits to a harmonica.

"You don't have to carry much, he said. "A harmonica player comes in with a briefcase and a small amplifier."

The hardest part of the harmonica is "just knowing when to stop."

"It's just fun to play," he said.

Who he's played with is fun part

Lienhart recalled a number of interesting gigs.

"We've done a lot of fun things," he said. "Every time I turn around, it seems to be more fun than the last one."

Bands have played on the fronts of boats and in bars.

He recalled one of his bands opening for the 1970s rock group Kansas. He said the band was hired to play for a Muskogee High School class reunion at Three Forks Harbor.

"They played right after us, and it was pretty incredible," Lienhart said. "I talked to the violin player a lot, and he was pretty nice. I said hi to a couple of the other guys."

Another of Lienhart's bands played with southern rockers Black Oak Arkansas in Miami, Oklahoma. He recalled hanging out with the lead singer, Jim "Dandy" Mangrum, in their hotel room.

"We just hung out with him all night long and played music and just had a great time," Lienhart said. "He was such a nice guy."

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"I had a very large family. There were 11 kids in our family, and we moved to Muskogee from Okmulgee when I was 2. My dad was in radio, he was a radio announcer."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

"I like the lakes in the area. I definitely has a small town feel to it. I enjoy being able to go somewhere and run into somebody that I know. That's a lot of fun. I really like the music scene here. Tony's done a really good job a the Hall of Fame, seeks to bring a lot of musicians out together. Muskogee's just a good little town. I've always liked the Oklahoma weather, hot and then cold."

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"Speaking as an ordinary citizen, some better roads really. I really believe the music is something we can really build on and seems to have taken hold and really hasn't gone away, especially with the Hall of Fame. Seems more musicians are playing now. Any time you can incorporate art into a city — visual arts or music — it's good for a town to be known for that.

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"My mother. We just lost her in February. My father died when I was almost 9, so she basically raised 11 kids by herself. She loved music, and she loved to watch our band play from time to time. She loved some of the things the churches would do, and Muskogee Little Theatre."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"Getting to be a part of the music culture here. There are a lot of musicians I like."

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

"I don't have any spare time. I play my instruments, if I have a chance to play them."

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"It's a great place to live."