“My parents were really cool and they
raised me with 60s and 70s style music,” Irby
continues. “A lot of James Taylor, Beatles,
Elvis Presley. That’s how I learned to sing
harmony is by The Beatles and some of the
greats like Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees
and Steely Dan and the Eagles… I guess you
could say I’m a lover of all music.”
Irby believes he has music to thank for his
life. “It turned my life around you know? I
went through struggles through the years,
through my twenties and thirties, just like
everybody else struggles, but music has
always been there.”
but everything changed when I moved to
Alabama.”
“Music saves my
life every day.”
Irby found his home in Alabama. “It’s
amazing, as far as music, it’s like [Alabama]
is the heart... When I moved here it was
unbelievable. All that struggle I went
through just trying to make it, and then I
moved here and I got to just kick back and
get into the local circuits and learn to pay
my dues. That’s what keeps me going every
show. I just thoroughly enjoy bringing joy to
other people through the gift of song and
the gift of music.” He continues saying, “If it wasn’t for
my mother and my grandmother - my
grandmother bought me my first guitar - if
it wasn’t for them keeping me in church
and in school choir and buying those classic
records and listening to them and pushing
me to play I honestly think I wouldn’t be
alive today because I think music saved my
life as a child.”
Irby’s taste in music is as varied as the
songs he performs. “I’ll play a song by Sam
Cooke and the next thing you know I’ll do
something by Chris Young or Jason Aldean,”
he explains. “I try to mix it up as much as
possible. One of my favorite artists in the
80s was Prince. And Journey. So I try to play
everything. I try to capture everybody’s
attention.” Music also brought Irby his wife, Lisa.
“Music is what brought us together. She’s
been a lover of music for a long time
also.” Lisa handles all of the booking and
advertisements for Irby’s shows. She helps
set up the PA system and helps run the
sound. “We just love it, and she stands
behind me 100-percent.... We’re a team; we
work together.” ✽
8
December 2018
INSIGHT