LD And The Blind Dates

Many factors have been at play in the culmination of this band, but mostly, it can be chalked up to wine and song. Way back in 1999, Martin Nix was looking for a female singer to sing in his band, The Stickshifts, and a friend recommended LD. They didn’t know each other, but he called her up anyway. She came to the first practice, and it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

In the year 2000, LD was looking for a studio for a recording project, and a friend recommended Jimmy Wooten. Jimmy and LD had been acquainted for many years, and frequently crossed paths through several mutual friends. She didn’t know him well, but she called him up anyway. He agreed to work on the project, and the recording venture was the start of another beautiful relationship.

A couple of years ago, Marty and LD were singing at a wine festival at the lovely Three Sisters Vineyard, located in north Georgia, just between Cleveland and Dahlonega. Also playing at this festival was Tommy Dean, traveling incognito with one of his many bands, The Outside Agitators and Gravy. In between sets, they all sat around sipping the delicious nectar of the vine, trading tunes and swapping songs.

This happened two years in a row, and after the second year, even though he didn’t really know her, Tommy e-mailed LD anyway, expressing his hopes that they might be able to work together sometime. Little did they know, that this was to be the beginning of yet, another beautiful relationship. Shortly thereafter, a lucrative opportunity serendipitously presented itself. Even though they had never all worked together, LD and Martin called Jimmy and Tommy anyway. Capitalizing on their history, they became known from that day forward, as LD and the Blind Dates.
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We are a band of four who have played various projects unrelated to this quartet. After a lengthy courtship of “musical blind dates”, it was decided that we could and should combine our musicianship and ‘humanship’. So far, we play well together. We also write and compose; sometimes separately, sometimes together. With everyone bringing different talents to the table, we have created an eclectic feast that is at once folksy and bluesy, driving, but still owns up to a down home feel. With the occasional veer in the path, our style is decidedly different. We’ve learned to lean into those curves rather than to resist. As you listen to our musical leanings, you’ll come to enjoy this particular slant on the world as seen through the eyes of LD and the Blind Dates.
Marty Nix is an amazing musical chameleon who makes himself right at home with any crowd of pickers. You can take him anywhere. You'll want to take him everywhere. His early influences include Chet Atkins and Steve Morse, and he embraces the work of many other guitarists such as Mark Knopfler, Bill Mize, and Alex De Grassi. His familiarity and ease with all kinds of music, from blues to bluegrass, rock-a-billy to rock'n'roll, allow him to engage in musical athletics enjoyed by many, but performed by few. A fine composer, Marty has created over one hundred instrumental songs for guitar. As a Blind Date, Marty will arrive lookin' long and lean, hat cocked over one eye, and take you to hear some swingin' band in a happenin' joint with soul food. Oh yea.

Tommy Dean – singer, writer, and bassist. Tommy’s vocals bring an edge – that good kind - to the Blind Date entity. He's got a voice that could sing you into . . . almost anything. Couple that soulful voice with relentless bass, and look out! Having had tunes released by Joe Walsh, Joe South, Tinsley Ellis and others, he writes as well. He has worked sessions from Atlanta and Memphis to New York and London. The Tommy Dean version of a Blind Date includes traveling incognito (those dark glasses are ever so handy) to a lovely little vineyard in the mountains complete with red wine and dark, dark chocolate. Oh the good life.

Jimmy Wooten intuitively knows when to be smooth and soothing or bluesy and unruly. As a guitarist, he will follow you into anything and everything. He not only masters the mood of any musical selection, he raises the roof on your wildest expectations. Unwilling to be outdone by any other Blind Date, Jimmy composes tunes and lyrics, too. Jimmy’s songs have been recorded by Moe Bandy, David Bell and Paul Brandt, whose gold album, “Calm Before the Storm” boasts a Jimmy Wooten original, “All over Me”. With his thoughtful knack for recording, arranging, and composing, Jimmy makes this adventure seem effortless.

LD sings. It started out in church, where she still sings regularly, but she has also performed in all sorts of settings - with old-time string bands, an Appalachian/Irish trio, and various duos. LD won't hesitate to cross the ocean to sing a ballad or two, having traveled to Ireland and the British Isles to perform with the Georgia Mudcats and Steve Hicks. Other musical credits include singing with