Caledonia Argus

Houston man a musical winner

Posted: 5/4/04

By David Heiller
Argus News Editor

John Larkieís promising musical career took a step forward on April 25 when he won the Future Farmers of America State Talent Contest in Minneapolis.

The 18-year-old Houston man earned it over 14 contestants by singing an original song before about 3,000 people at Northrup Auditorium at the University of Minnesota during the state FFA convention.

ìI was pretty happy to win,î he said on April 29. ìIt was a nice surprise.î

Larkie, the son of John and Mary Larkie, will now send a CD of his music and an application to a committee that chooses contestants to the national FFA convention, which will be held in Louisville, Kentucky in October.

Larkie has a CD that contains four original songs. Bruce Darr of Rushford did the instrumental work on the CD, which is for sale by calling Larkie at 507-896-2192.

Larkie got a big push to sing from a former music teacher, Tammy Bartz. ìIt started coming out pretty good so I kept going.î

The inspiration for his written songs comes from many sources. He wrote ìLand of the Red, White and Blue,î which is about supporting the troops in Iraq, after listening to news reports of people protesting the war. (He did not want the words printed in this article because it is not copyrighted yet.)

He wrote ìI Am Someoneî after Houston High School English teacher Erica Upton told a story about someone who gets famous and wants to be known as someone when he returns home. ìI sat down and wrote it in her class,î Larkie said. It takes him 15-20 minutes to write a song.

Patriotism is a big theme for him. He wants to thank men and women in uniform. But his songs go beyond that. ìYouíve got to have a little bit of everything,î he said. He is learning the guitar and keyboard too.

The artists he looks up to the most are Garth Brooks and Chris Cagle. His goal is to go to Nashville and try to do something with his music. His immediate plans are to attend Southeast Technical College in Winona to study drafting and design technology.

His biggest musical challenge is getting his songs played on radio stations so that people can hear them.

His dad is a big fan. ìThe Land of the Red, White, and Blue is a top-40 hit as far as Iím concerned,î John Sr. said.

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