Way Too Serious
When Hugh returned to Maryland from Austin, Texas, in the early nineties, he knew he was done with music for a while. He had gone to Austin to seek his destiny as a songwriter, and he had found some success. In 1987 he won First Place in the Solo Acoustic category for “Footprints Left Below,” in the Austin Songwriters Festival Competition, sponsored by the Music Umbrella of the Texas Music Association. He was also a regular performer at Chicago House, a popular downtown music and theatre venue that attracted aspiring musicians.
But, he found the musician’s life not very lucrative, so he returned to Maryland. Later, he recorded Way Too Serious, mainly as a keepsake for his two daughters. All the songs were written in the 1980s and 90s, and he just wanted them documented. His cousin Dave Reed recorded the tracks in his studio at Ola Belle’s house. Hugh played rhythm guitar and sang. Dave did the rest. Hugh’s writing was often described as very good but way too serious, and so the title.
Folks liked the record, but Hugh was busy at that time restoring an old schoolhouse and pursuing a new passion—building furniture. It wasn’t until later, when his brother Zane moved back to Maryland from New York, that he returned to music.
Fiddle On The Wall
Footprints Left Below
