Award-Winning Musician Performing In Houghton

Singer-songwriter Tony Memmel was just 13 years-old when he decided he wanted to play the guitar.

“I had a friend from school named Max who was exceptional at the guitar. He could hear a song off the radio and by the time it was over, he could play it and that’s the time I decided I wanted to be able to do that exact same thing,” said Memmel. “I finally saved up and got my own and brought it home and started just practicing over and over and over. Eventually, I started performing for people and it just grew and grew and now, I’m just blessed to have a career in music.”

Learning to play the guitar, however, was not an easy feat for Memmel. He was born without a left forearm and hand, so, in order to pick and strum his guitar the way he envisioned, Memmel said he set out to build an adaptive cast.

“I took a guitar pick and over the course of about eight years, I worked with a lot of different tapes and glues and all kinds of different materials that I had scrounged from around my house and I ended up developing this cast out of Gorilla Tape,” said Memmel.

Memmel’s accolades include being a national finalist in VH1 and Republic Record’s “You Oughta Know” competition, Nashville Songwriters Association Top 40 and Wisconsin Area Music Industry’s Singer-Songwriter of the Year, in addition to being a classically-trained vocalist.

With a band that includes his wife, Lesleigh, he has released four full-length albums and two EP’s.

Lesleigh said working with Tony and the band is an enjoyable experience.

Tony’s wife, Lesleigh said “I’m so proud of him. He works so hard and, you know, a lot of people come up to him and say ‘oh, you’re so talented,’ and it’s really about the hard work. He just, he works really hard and tries to emphasize ‘anything is possible’ if you keep at it.”

The Memmels will be playing at Saints Peter and Paul Lutheran Church in Houghton on July 25th at 7 p.m. The concert is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

VIDEO COURTESY
0:57-1:13, 1:25-1:32 Tony Memmel/tonymemmel.com