Two Friends + Two Stories = One Musical Vision

DUOLOGY is Joseph Brunelle and Barry Coggins. Together, the guitar virtuosos create original, instrumental music featuring brilliant arrangements with rich textures and dynamic harmonies.

Influenced by Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Will Ackerman and Dave Grisman, DUOLOGY's playful, contemporary finger-style guitar picking is honest and uplifting. Commenting on the simplicity of their sound, Brunelle says, "It's just us doing what we do with wood and steel, flesh and bone."

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Two Friends (cont.)
Barry Coggins & Joseph Brunelle met in West Texas in the late 70's when Barry was touring the Texas saloon circuit and Joseph was booking talent for the Cody Cattle Company in Midland. Based on a recommendation, Joseph booked Barry to play for a week at the club and a life-long friendship began.

Separately, the two musicians relocated to Nashville, TN in the mid-90's to develop new career opportunities but continued to play acoustic guitar duets purely for fun. "It is a comfortable sound and a special magic that we have together. Like brothers, we have a chemistry that is organic," says Brunelle.

The new millennium brought new focus and DUOLOGY was born. The duo's first self-titled release (2003) featuring "Rammed Earth" earned national recognition as a winner of NPR's All Things Considered 2004 Open Mic talent competition. Brunelle and Coggins knew they were on to something.

The two master musicians continued to write and play instrumental music from their hearts without any initial plans to record. However, strong support from fans and WPLN's (Nashville NPR affiliate) "Live In Studio C" program convinced DUOLOGY to follow-up their debut recording success. The anticipated new album, Like Water Falls (available Sept. 2005), offers more romance, whimsy and ace musicianship.
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Two Friends (cont.)
As with their first CD, the music on Like Water Falls was performed live in the studio by Joseph Brunelle and Barry Coggins. For this album, Joseph plays a Collings OM 1 and Barry used a
Martin J 40. The duo also wrote, arranged and produced the record. There are NO Edits, NO Overdubs and NO Multi-tracking. "We wanted it to sound like we were right there in your living room...and it does," says Brunelle.

In addition to the pair of Duology CDs, Coggins has recorded nine albums of original material; Brunelle has recorded 10 adult-contemporary/folk CDs with his wife, Tree. Joe & Tree have performed at the Kerrville Folk Festival, the South Florida Folk Festival, SXSW and numerous other festivals, halls, clubs, house concerts and listening rooms around the country. The couple has played shows with Bruce Hornsby, Guy Clark, Tuck & Patti, David Wilcox, Steve Earle and others. Barry Coggins continues to play clubs, mostly in Nashville, and has earned a large and devoted fan base. Barry has shared the stage with Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Phil Vassar.
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Award-winner (1979) and four-time finalist (1978, 1979, 1982 & 1984) at the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Festival, Brunelle is one of two songwriters to ever have an instrumental composition ("The Derailing") accepted in to the competition. He has won several awards from the Dallas Songwriter’s Association ("Blonde At The Beach" and "Woo You Tonight," 1986) and the Austin Songwriter’s Group, including "Best Children’s Song" ("Me & You & Mr. Sun," 1995).

In addition to his music, Coggins has been a strong supporter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and continues his volunteer work with the Nashville Meals On Wheels Program.

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