Mars Hill – The Appalachian Mountain region boasts a rich and diverse musical legacy that reflects the cultural tapestry of its inhabitants. Rooted in traditions brought by European settlers, indigenous peoples, and African Americans, Appalachian music encompasses a wide range of genres, including old-time, bluegrass, Gospel, and traditional ballads.
These musical traditions have been passed down through generations and preserved in the remote valleys and hollows of the mountains. Instruments like the fiddle, banjo, guitar, and dulcimer are integral to Appalachian music, with each instrument contributing to the unique sound and rhythm of the region.
Beyond their musical contributions, the Appalachian Mountains have also served as a source of inspiration for countless artists, influencing lyrics and melodies that capture the beauty and hardship of life in the mountains. Today, Appalachian music continues to thrive and is celebrated in festivals, concerts, and gatherings that honor the enduring legacy of this culturally rich and vibrant musical tradition.
Now, a fifth-generation Madison County man is making guitars, but that’s not all he does, as Josh Reece told his life story at the March month meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society on Tuesday, March 6, at the Madison Public Library in Mars Hill.
Reece was the guest speaker at the monthly meeting and is one of Appalachia’s newest up-and-coming guitar makers. Reece, 49, graduated from Madison County High School, where he played football. Growing up, both sides of his family were into music-making, so his grandfather got him his first guitar. “There was always a picking, a singing of some kind,” said Reece.
As with most families of years gone by in the region, it was mountain music and Gospel music. “The biggest things growing up were church, family, and music. That’s all we did.”
His plans after high school were to get a teaching degree from Mars Hill College (now University) and follow in his mother’s footsteps as a teacher, but then he joined the fire department, went to his first landing zone, and had an “aha” moment after he got his certificate to help the medical helicopter land and decided that’s what he wanted to do to be a helicopter medic. He’s been working with Mission Hospital’s MAMA program for over a decade. He also joined law enforcement and is still sworn in Madison.
Forever a family man, Reece married then and divorced but is raising two kids as a single dad. His son is now at VMI and will be commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marines upon graduation, and his daughter is a sophomore at Madison High School and a member of the Bailey Mountain Cloggers.
Along the way, he never lost his love of music. In his 20s, he and some friends went through a rock and roll phase, forming a band but returning to his roots later.
In 2014, Reece had a buddy ask him if he’d like to go learn how to build a guitar. He was in and traveled to Gerald Anderson’s workshop in Virginia. And here’s where Moss Wood Guitars was born. After that first class, Anderson asked Reece if he wanted to do inlay for him. “So, from then on, every time I had a spare moment, and the kids weren’t at home,” he was working on guitars.
Since then, Reece’s guitars, which are run out of his basement, have gained some notoriety, selling for between $4,000 and $8,000 depending on how fancy you want it.
His mentor Gerald Anderson passed away some years ago, and the school where he taught, Wayne C. Henderson School of Appalachian Arts, in Marion, Virginia, renamed the workshop where guitars are built after Anderson. Reece still travels there once a year to help in the classes.
His connections have led him to build guitars for up-and-coming country stars and have got him backstage at the Grand ‘Ole Opry, the holy land for bluegrass and country music fans. Grand ‘Ole Opry star Mark Wills had Reece build him a guitar. Wills thanked Reece for bringing his new guitar to him from the stage of the Grand ‘Ole Opry and then proceeded to play it for the audience. It is a real treat for Reece, whose love of music goes back to his first guitar given to him by his grandfather. “We were real tight,” Reece says, choking back his emotions as he spoke of his grandpa.