Todd Varble has been around music all of his life. His father Conley was a fantastic musician whose specialty was the banjo. Conley’s abilities allowed him to turn his love for Bluegrass music into an income bye opening his own music store in Holland Ohio.

In Todd’s early years while working and mostly playing around at his father’s business, he learned how to play a few songs on many instruments just by picking them up and playing what sounded right. The guitar was his first love. His father wanted to see him focus on one instrument because he could see the potential in his son. At the time the upright bass seemed to be the most logical because it seemed easier to Todd. As Todd tells it was mostly because his father needed a bass player for his band!

After joining his father’s band, Salt Creek, as a bass player at age 12, Todd was growing a desire for more than Bluegrass. He was able to persuade his father to purchase and electric bass for him and soon he was also playing Blues and Rock and Roll.

This continued for several years until Salt Creek split up over creative differences in the middle 80’s. Todd briefly joined a few other bands however the music didn’t hold the same passion without his father’s influence and musicianship and finally after getting married Todd all but dropped out of music several years.

As Todd’s father’s health deteriorated and Todd found himself divorced, he was missing more than just the music. Most of all he missed how passionate his father was about music and once again his father asked him just as he did when Todd was a pre-teen to focus on an instrument and have some fun! That was all it took. Todd played a few more shows with his father as a bass player and in the process was introduced to his future wife Kerry. Kerry had recently joined his father’s band and with Conley’s “nudging”, the two were nearly inseparable from that point. Todd dove into his guitar playing again and began using many of the techniques for instrument set-up shown to him by his father.

Todd knows his father would be proud of him today. He’s doing just what his father asked him to do and the manner in which he was taught. He’s playing guitar every day, giving and receiving lessons on two instruments, performing set-ups and minor repairs, recording and working hard to bring more and more people to music. But most of all, as Conley said “it’s all about the people and the fun that comes along with it”.