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THE BITS INTERVIEW: Mark Searcy

American guitarist and songwriter Mark Searcy Middleton has a unique

and diverse musical background. As an Arkansas native, he began guitar
during his early teen years, but put it down for 15 years to raise a family

and started back as a form of rehabilitation after a work accident

severely damaged several fingers. He soon immersed himself in the

pre-war blues of the 1920s and 30s, and his solo acoustic blues recording

of Blind Man's Blues earned his first nomination as "Musician of the
Year" at the 2007 Texas Music Awards.

Ian McKenzie spoke to him at his home in San Antonio, TX.

BiTS: Let's make a start then. I need to tell you before we start that I
am recording this, and it will be transcribed in due course.

MS: Okay. Yeah, there's a little bit of breakup. I'll do the best I
can. I may have to ask you to repeat something.

BiTS: Okay. Well, we are a long way away from each other [laughs].

MS: Yeah, yeah, I hear you.
BiTS: Tell me something about your early life. I gather you

were born and raised in Arkansas. Is that right?

MS: Yeah, I was born in Benton, Arkansas. A little, small
town in central Arkansas.

BiTS: Where is the nearest big city?

MS: I would say that the nearest
big city was the capital of Little
Rock.

BiTS: Oh, okay, so the north end
of Arkansas, then?

MS: Yeah, yeah, and I spent most of my time, as many of us
did back then, outside in the woods [chuckling]. Hunting,
fishing, yeah, playing ball.

BiTS: I've got a friend who lives in Huntsville, actually a Texan
who lives in Huntsville and speaks very proudly of his hunting
exploits [laughs].

MS: Oh yeah, yeah, I understand that, and my grandparents, I had
a lot of family in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which you might be familiar with.

BiTS: Okay.