Mule Dixon

Although most musicians try to sell themselves as one-of-a-kind, Nick Ippoliti, aka Mule Dixon, takes pride in the evidence of influential performers in his music.

"Being open to others' ideas, perceptions and performance of music has shaped the direction of my work, creating through me an extension of their musical personalities," he said.

With that said, Ippoliti did say what might make him sound unique is that early on, he "rejected the idea of writing songs for the purpose of product or sales or fame."

"When one frees themselves of 'commercialized' music, one is free to explore sounds or ideas that would otherwise be placed in the wastebasket by most 'commercial' engineers and record labels," he said.

He's privy to the philosophy of songwriter Greg Brown, who founded Red House Records in 1981.

Redhouserecords .com was designed to "provide a home and environment in which creative artists can make albums in total freedom - without interference from mogul types just looking for the next hit single."

Listeners can get a taste of Mule Dixon at 8 p.m. Monday at the Bullfrog Brewery, 229 W. Fourth St.

Before moving to Dallas, Texas, in 2002, Ippoliti resided in Mansfield. He performed regularly at the Bullfrog and also provided sound reinforcement for bands like Hickory Project and Burnt Toast.

"The Bullfrog is not just a venue to play, it is a place that I enjoy the atmosphere and stellar music offered by the venue," he said. "It is an early show, in which I am sure customers will still be enjoying the delicious dinners offered at the Bullfrog. If you are looking for a drop-down rocking evening, then I would suggest that you will be disappointed with the show. However, if you are interested in an intimate setting, in which you are exposed to a gallery of original songs based in expression and experience combined with cover songs by Greg Brown, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and much more, then you will find yourself enjoying the show as if the evening was designed just for you (and your lover)."

Ippoliti said he has a tendency to share anecdotes to songs and also share his experiences with the audience.

"I want my audience to enjoy the music, but I also want the audience who might already have an idea of something old and borrowed to see the same idea in a new perspective."

After several years of living on the streets in Bucks County, he said he decided to reach out for help and was introduced to songwriting through a therapist as a form of therapeutic self-expression at 17.

"I lived in a home for 'troubled youth' until I turned 18," he said. "Upon entering into the home, called Today Inc., I had a difficult time vocalizing my thoughts and emotions. This was apparent to my therapist Deb Rogers. But also evident to her was my desire to write; I kept a notebook that journaled, in song, my experiences as a runaway."

After sharing the "song-scribbling" with his therapist, Ippoliti was introduced to a book by Victor Frankl, "Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy."

"It was during this period that I began to practice the art of expression and songwriting," he said. "Songwriting to express an emotional state or an experience with the intent to incite change became primary in my work. Rogers consistently encouraged me to continue with my craft. Without ever having met her, I doubt I would be as fortunate in song as I feel today."

His musical evolution has been a "gradual rising toward an understanding of how it is possible that song may potentially possess such an awesome power within its form to incite or generate outward change, whether in an individual or society."

"This is probably most obvious in the early 1900 labor songs and the civil-liberty songs of the 1960s," Ippoliti said. "I understand that it is not necessary for all songwriters to state what I am stating, but to understand the history of American song, the evolution of popular musical genres and in music theory in general is important for my own evolution as a songwriter. No songwriter creates within a vacuum and we - knowingly or not - continue the tradition in 'songwriting as expression' that has been celebrated for over a century."

Although Ippoliti has shared the stage with Another Pretty Face, Philadelphia; Nick Ippoliti and the Travelin' Machine and The Nick Ippoliti Trio, Mansfield; and Two Yanks and a Tex and the Mule Dixon Gang, Dallas, Texas, he now plays solo shows as Mule Dixon. He said the name is a play on words as a result of being a Pennsylvania Yankee, then living in southern Dallas.

- Sun Gazette

Although most musicians try to sell themselves as one-of-a-kind, Nick Ippoliti, aka Mule Dixon, takes pride in the evidence of influential performers in his music.

"Being open to others' ideas, perceptions and performance of music has shaped the direction of my work, creating through me an extension of their musical personalities," he said.

With that said, Ippoliti did say what might make him sound unique is that early on, he "rejected the idea of writing songs for the purpose of product or sales or fame."

"When one frees themselves of 'commercialized' music, one is free to explore sounds or ideas that would otherwise be placed in the wastebasket by most 'commercial' engineers and record labels," he said.

He's privy to the philosophy of songwriter Greg Brown, who founded Red House Records in 1981.

Redhouserecords .com was designed to "provide a home and environment in which creative artists can make albums in total freedom - without interference from mogul types just looking for the next hit single."

Listeners can get a taste of Mule Dixon at 8 p.m. Monday at the Bullfrog Brewery, 229 W. Fourth St.

Before moving to Dallas, Texas, in 2002, Ippoliti resided in Mansfield. He performed regularly at the Bullfrog and also provided sound reinforcement for bands like Hickory Project and Burnt Toast.

"The Bullfrog is not just a venue to play, it is a place that I enjoy the atmosphere and stellar music offered by the venue," he said. "It is an early show, in which I am sure customers will still be enjoying the delicious dinners offered at the Bullfrog. If you are looking for a drop-down rocking evening, then I would suggest that you will be disappointed with the show. However, if you are interested in an intimate setting, in which you are exposed to a gallery of original songs based in expression and experience combined with cover songs by Greg Brown, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and much more, then you will find yourself enjoying the show as if the evening was designed just for you (and your lover)."

Ippoliti said he has a tendency to share anecdotes to songs and also share his experiences with the audience.

"I want my audience to enjoy the music, but I also want the audience who might already have an idea of something old and borrowed to see the same idea in a new perspective."

After several years of living on the streets in Bucks County, he said he decided to reach out for help and was introduced to songwriting through a therapist as a form of therapeutic self-expression at 17.

"I lived in a home for 'troubled youth' until I turned 18," he said. "Upon entering into the home, called Today Inc., I had a difficult time vocalizing my thoughts and emotions. This was apparent to my therapist Deb Rogers. But also evident to her was my desire to write; I kept a notebook that journaled, in song, my experiences as a runaway."

After sharing the "song-scribbling" with his therapist, Ippoliti was introduced to a book by Victor Frankl, "Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy."

"It was during this period that I began to practice the art of expression and songwriting," he said. "Songwriting to express an emotional state or an experience with the intent to incite change became primary in my work. Rogers consistently encouraged me to continue with my craft. Without ever having met her, I doubt I would be as fortunate in song as I feel today."

His musical evolution has been a "gradual rising toward an understanding of how it is possible that song may potentially possess such an awesome power within its form to incite or generate outward change, whether in an individual or society."

"This is probably most obvious in the early 1900 labor songs and the civil-liberty songs of the 1960s," Ippoliti said. "I understand that it is not necessary for all songwriters to state what I am stating, but to understand the history of American song, the evolution of popular musical genres and in music theory in general is important for my own evolution as a songwriter. No songwriter creates within a vacuum and we - knowingly or not - continue the tradition in 'songwriting as expression' that has been celebrated for over a century."

Although Ippoliti has shared the stage with Another Pretty Face, Philadelphia; Nick Ippoliti and the Travelin' Machine and The Nick Ippoliti Trio, Mansfield; and Two Yanks and a Tex and the Mule Dixon Gang, Dallas, Texas, he now plays solo shows as Mule Dixon. He said the name is a play on words as a result of being a Pennsylvania Yankee, then living in southern Dallas.

- Sun Gazette