Over 60 years of guitar study, over 4 decades of live and studio playing covering a wide range of styles in every corner of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area 

Rocking Horse - Cheyenne - Avalon Hawk - Citizen - The Jazz Masters - Dayz -
Idle Hands - The Passing Strange - The Incredible Johnsons -
Cindy Ashland and Country Thunder - Big Money Grip - The Deacons -
The Chris Polk Band - Switched At Birth - WildMan! - Anthology - 
Full Mesh
The New Deacons - Cargo and the Heavy Lifters - InDemandBand - Larry Saenz and Friends
Silver Lining
 

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New Years @ Broadlands with Silver Lining 

12/29/19: Silver Lining - bringing in 2020!

John, Bill and Brad are rockin' the New Years party at Broadlands Sports Bar and Grill, in Ashland, Va.   The good people at "The Pub" have asked us to rock the joint like we do and we will like never before. Come and make it the very first thing you do in the new roaring 20s decade!

 

Silver Lining at Carpool once again! 

Nov 8, 2019

 Silver Lining is back at The Carpool, Herndon, Va after a long absence and what a great time we had! The crowd was awesome and into the band which makes it a joy to do the gig.  Thanks to bass player Bill Seeger for setting up the gig for us.  Thanks to drummer Brad Ryan for all the work with the P.A. equipment. We are very much looking forward to getting back in the room very soon!!

 

S&M Studios on the rise! 

9/29/19: S&M Studios newly acquired equipment, on indefinite loan includes: 3 stereo compressors, 1 stereo mic pre, 7 studio condenser mics, 2 piezo mics and one dynamic mic.  The drums are coming alive, the ribbon mics are recording with outstanding detail and wonderful color.  We recently had in the studio, recording tracks the wonderful Jason Crosby (John McLaughin, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, many more) adding piano comping and soloing to eight tracks from the upcoming album to be released one at a time over the coming weeks and months.  

 

2019, a new year, a new direction 

Feb 8, 2019

2019 is here and so are new and exciting things going on in live shows, recording, audio engineering, and all things music.  S&M Studios, (Sterling & Mitchell) is alive and rolling with all new projects for the year. Fusion, rock and roll, and all sorts of new recordings of some of the area's truly best musicians.  Meanwhile, Silver Lining, Wildman, and Cargo and the Heavy Lifters all have bookings going forward into the new year.  Stay tuned and don't miss a single show!

 

Silver Lining releases a new demo - Demo This!  

Nov 3, 2018: Silver Lining releases Demo This! A five song demo with John Sterling on guitar and vocals, Bill Seeger on bass and backing vocals and Brad Ryan on drums and backing vocals.  Songs include: Let It Roll (Little Feat), Hard To Handle (Otis Redding), Waiting On The World (John Mayer), Purple Rain (Prince - version by Radio Riddler), and Prison Of Love (Robben Ford).  CDs and thumb drives will be available at all Silver Lining shows.  

 

John Sterling and Charles Mitchell moving forward with S&M Studios 

12/17/17:  S&M Studios took another step of improvement with the addition of new acoustic treatment to the entire studio.  Both Studio A and Studio B have been overhauled as well as the control room and the difference in the acoustic response is staggering.  In addition to the acoustic treatment, the studio has added a new major microphone to it's mic selection - the RCA DX-77 ribbon microphone has been an industry standard for recording and broadcasting for over 6 decades.  It makes vocals smooth and sweet, and it is also wonderful on drums and acoustic instruments.  Also the control room has added a Presonus Faderport control surface which will speed up the recording process and make more time for creativity and performance. There are more changes planned for the studio in the coming months: adding another 8 tracks of simultaneous recording to bring the total number of tracks to 16, adding microphone signal boosters to enhance the quality of the signal to the I/O, adding an additional bass amp to Studio A, to name a few.  

Silver Lining - Moving to the Next Generation 

11/6/17:  Silver Lining is moving forward at a very fast pace, with the new drummer, Brad Ryan fully integrated the song list is rapidly turning over.  Added to the song list are cuts from Los Lobos, Radio Riddler's wonderful Ska version of Prince's "Purple Rain", more ZZ Top, Social Distortion's "Ring of Fire", Dave Edmonds, Nick Lowe and the list is still expanding.  Also added are a number of exciting originals.  This new turn, expansion of the music genres, enlargement of the repertoire is making Silver Lining one of the most exciting bands in the Northern Virginia circuit.

Cargo and the Heavy Lifters video shoot 

10/10/2017: The Heavy Lifters completed the video recording for "Trickle Down Blues" and "Habit of You" on Saturday, Oct 7 on the Jammin' Java stage.  The video is now in editing and final production.  Release is tentative to be in 3 to 6 months

Cargo and the Heavy Lifters on the move in 2017 

Jan 13, 2017: Cargo and the Heavy Lifters are starting the year with several shows locked up, including two new rooms.  They opened the year at Bungalow Billiards in Chantilly and are due to go back for three more show there starting in April.  Also added to the schedule this year so far are two shows at Madigan's Waterfront in Occoquan, Va starting in February.  Check the "Shows" tab for dates and info.

Silver Lining back at the Pub in Ashburn 

Silver Lining back again at The Broadlands Sports Bar and Grill in Ashburn.  Once again with Brad Ryan on drums.  Another great night of fun and music, great food,  great drinks and wonderful people.

Silver Lining at the Taste of Tysons festival, 2013