Lindley plays to packed house in folk festival concert

There was barely any standing room at the second concert of the Sisters Folk Festival's Winter Concert Series last Sunday. The FivePine Conference Center was more than filled, with no empty seats and every wall lined, in places two and three deep.

The crowd had gathered to listen to the magic of David Lindley, a phenomenal multi-instrumentalist.

People came from as far away as Prineville to hear the talented musician with a delightfully wicked sense of humor and a down-to-earth outlook toward life.

Lindley has been a professional musician for more than 40 years.

"My first gig was in high school. It was at LaSalle High School in Pasadena (California). We got a little blue grass band together and played at a high school function, and I was hooked from then on. I played the five-string banjo in the group," he said.

Last weekend was the first time that Lindley had been in Sisters, although he has previously played in Bend.

"This is my first time here; it is great. It really is. This place (FivePine) is really great. I wish I could take my cabin home. It is really fantastic. The cabinets and furniture are really something. I understand that they were made by the Amish, and I am a bit of a wood freak. I love good wood, and the Amish seem to have a corner on the best wood in the country," he said.

Lindley is a very well traveled performer and has toured with many greats.

"I have played in Japan a lot. I have been there about 20 times. I have also played a lot in Europe. I have played a lot in Scandinavia and Italy and Spain. When I was on the road with Jackson Browne, we recorded a concert at the Palacio de Musica in Barcelona (Spain). The architecture there is so incredible, especially the Gaudi buildings," said Lindley.

Europe is a wonderful place to travel according to Lindley, who feels that the Europeans are more open to different cultural experiences.

"The people there are very open. People here are not as open to things that are outside their realm of experience. That is why some of our ancestors were called Puritans and the spirit is still alive," he said.

Lindley did not start his career to become a multi-instrumentalist. It was just something that happened along the way.

"I played the five-string banjo forever and the guitar, too. Then, I picked up the fiddle, and from the fiddle I picked up other things. I played flamenco guitar and five-string banjo, then the fiddle, and everything else came from that," he said.

His latest instrumental passion is the oud, a Middle Eastern stringed instrument.

"The last instrument that I picked up was the Turkish oud. I am learning from three different teachers, and they are really amazing players, so that I am really learning the right way. A lot of things I have learned in the past, I have maybe learned a little wrong," said Lindley in a convincing Irish accent, which he can slip off and on like a hat.

Sisters was the last stop on his tour, and he was looking forward to driving home to Claremont, which is about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. Lindley is planning on driving the distance with only stops for gas.

"I love it. I am like a long-haul trucker. I just love it, and I don't know why. I really enjoy driving long distances. You get in a good state of mind when you limit your function. It is an alpha state, a little like mediation. It is just fun," he said.