Small-town musicians, big time dreams

Talented musicians are everywhere. They can be found in big cities signed on to mainstream labels or in small-town recording studios in someone's basement. Talent exists in big name stars performing at the Super Bowl and in unknown musicians playing guitar on the street. Even in this small town, talent is waiting to be recognized.

One local musician is done waiting and instead literally has taken to the streets to share his music. Sam Schwegler, Kirksville High School junior, recently began playing in front of the Student Union Building to raise awareness of his music on campus.

Schwegler started playing piano in the first grade. By the seventh grade, he picked up the guitar and hasn't put it down since. He started out as a solo artist but soon decided to form a band named Sammy Jo Sunshine.

He said that after being in a band for a while, he wanted to work on a solo project for songs that didn't fit with the band's sound, so he started the Sam Schwegler Project.

So far, Schwegler already has recorded one album entitled "Coffee Coffee" for the Sam Schwegler Project. The name of the album comes from the love songs on it.

"I wrote a bunch of love songs and people used to ask what it's about, and I'd say I wrote about coffee," Schwegler said.

Currently Schwegler performs in his high school's band and on Truman's campus. He also performed for community members and Truman students at the jazz festival last Saturday.

Schwegler currently is looking forward to an upcoming gig at the Mocha Hut. So far, he has stuck to smaller performances and venues, but he has big dreams for his future.

"I just decided last week I want to try out for American Idol. I wanted to get more college based fans for my fan page," Schwegler said. "My next short-term goal is to get on the radio."

Another Kirksville band, Haunting Kensington, also has dreams of making it big. Sophomore Mitch Pegg, a Kirksville native and Truman student, is a member of this band along with his brother Cody Pegg, 19, and their friend Colton Deem, 20.

The group's first performance was at Truman, but since then they have performed around town at Leisure World and the Dukum Inn. The band has plans to change the name and expand outside of Kirksville.

Pegg said the band hopes to move this summer to either St. Louis or Columbia to start playing bigger venues for larger crowds.

"Kirksville's cool and all but there's not much of a music scene here," he said.

The band currently is recording its first album. Junior Mike Hunsaker, a Kirksville native, is behind the recording. Hunsaker attended the Musician's Institute in Hollywood, Calif., where he studied recording and production.

"I just wanna make music," Hunsaker said. "Out in Hollywood, they kinda burst my bubble, they made me realize I wasn't going to be a rock star, but I made myself believe that I could be a rock star of smaller proportions."

He said he doesn't limit the genre of music that he plays or records. He just looks for music that is unique.

"I could really care less about some joe schmo who wants to play cookie cutter music and totally sucks at it," Hunsaker said.

He said Kirksville has plenty of talented musicians who aren't famous yet, but still deserve a chance.

"I think we need to be more supportive of our local music scene," Hunsaker said. "I wanna create a place and environment where people can come watch other bands play and actually give them a chance."

Hunsaker has big dreams for his future too. He wants to expand and have recording studios in major cities, while keeping a studio in Kirksville where he started so he can look for hometown talent.