A visit to his cousin David Pollei's home when he was about 12 years old changed Hal Cannon's life. When Pollei set an LP of old-time bluegrass music on the turntable, Cannon was transported. It might have been some primal echo. It could have been the drone of banjo. Or it was the foot tapping to a beat on the cabin floor that conjured an exotic scene. Who knows? It just made Cannon want to learn and play folk music.
As a teen, he took lessons from Salt Lake folk luminaries Rosalie and Jim Sorrels and Bruce (Utah) Phillips. He used to watch TV after school with the sound turned low, playing the guitar along to the action in front of him. Later he scored about a dozen films and attributed his love of matching music to the moment to that boyhood TV exercise. In junior high school he formed a band that lasted through high school called the Stormy Mountain Boys. Brent Bradford still leads this band which has been going now for 50 years. When a sophomore at East High School in Salt Lake City, he organized the Folk Music Club which became the largest club in the school. Later, it was his friendship with Tom Carter and Chris Montague that took him on a musical journey that explored jug band music, old-time country music, rock 'n' roll and other roots sounds. After studying film at Rhode Island School of Design he moved back to Utah to play music and to compose soundtracks for movies. From the 70’s to the 90’s he scored over twenty films, mostly documentaries.
It was in 1972 that Hal, Rich McClure and two of Hal's second cousins, Mark and Stephen Jardine, got together to form the Deseret String Band. Later others joined and left the group including, Leonard Coulson, Skip Gorman, Tom Carter, Ron Kane and Meghan Merker. Hal performed, toured and recorded with the band for almost 30 years. Also known as The Bunkhouse Orchestra, the group toured all over the US, Europe and Japan. click here for more on the Deseret String Band. For a while Hal played in a group, the Secondhand Band, with friends Tom Carter and Jim Agutter. They released an album called “Cluck, Cluck” which is sort of a bluesy old-time sound. it is available here.
These days Cannon's primary interest is writing songs and playing new music though he still loves old-time music. He played with the group Red Rock Rondo featuring the compositions of Phillip Bimstein for many years. Click here for information. Hal's main work has been with 3hattrio. The group has recorded five albums of original songs and an original sound they call American Desert Music.
As a teen, he took lessons from Salt Lake folk luminaries Rosalie and Jim Sorrels and Bruce (Utah) Phillips. He used to watch TV after school with the sound turned low, playing the guitar along to the action in front of him. Later he scored about a dozen films and attributed his love of matching music to the moment to that boyhood TV exercise. In junior high school he formed a band that lasted through high school called the Stormy Mountain Boys. Brent Bradford still leads this band which has been going now for 50 years. When a sophomore at East High School in Salt Lake City, he organized the Folk Music Club which became the largest club in the school. Later, it was his friendship with Tom Carter and Chris Montague that took him on a musical journey that explored jug band music, old-time country music, rock 'n' roll and other roots sounds. After studying film at Rhode Island School of Design he moved back to Utah to play music and to compose soundtracks for movies. From the 70’s to the 90’s he scored over twenty films, mostly documentaries.
It was in 1972 that Hal, Rich McClure and two of Hal's second cousins, Mark and Stephen Jardine, got together to form the Deseret String Band. Later others joined and left the group including, Leonard Coulson, Skip Gorman, Tom Carter, Ron Kane and Meghan Merker. Hal performed, toured and recorded with the band for almost 30 years. Also known as The Bunkhouse Orchestra, the group toured all over the US, Europe and Japan. click here for more on the Deseret String Band. For a while Hal played in a group, the Secondhand Band, with friends Tom Carter and Jim Agutter. They released an album called “Cluck, Cluck” which is sort of a bluesy old-time sound. it is available here.
These days Cannon's primary interest is writing songs and playing new music though he still loves old-time music. He played with the group Red Rock Rondo featuring the compositions of Phillip Bimstein for many years. Click here for information. Hal's main work has been with 3hattrio. The group has recorded five albums of original songs and an original sound they call American Desert Music.