Little Black Dress is Brett Huus, Clay Riness, and
Terry Nirva. It began in 2004 with the three musicians carving out a night
weekly to write original music together, with the intent creating pop/rock
music with an eclectic blend of instrumentation, and arrangements. When a
Banjolin meets a David Lindley like lap steel, and steel drums are thrust into
mainstream pop, the result is “Little Black Dress” Volume 1.
Huus is a songwriter, producer, audio and mastering
engineer and the owner of Sound Strations
Audio Productions where Little Black
Dress was recorded, mixed and mastered. His work includes the release of his own music on CD
and work with artists such as Michael Martin Murphey, Arianne Lydon, Lynn
Biddick, Tom Gullion, and many others.
He is also an adjunct professor of music technology at St. Mary’s
University of Winona and UW Lacrosse.
Nirva has been involved in the LaCrosse music scene for
decades, and is an in-demand drummer and percussionist. His band biography includes being a
member of Wet Behind The Ears, Blind Baby Olin And The Workbenches, and
Mudcat And The Bottom Feeders. He is currently a member of Shufflin’
Duprees. He toured extensively
with Bill Miller and was an integral part of the Grammy winning record Cedar Dream Songs.
Riness is a noted Midwestern singer / songwriter and
owner of Weary Wolf Records And Music
Consultant Services. His
celebrated 2004 album Little Windows
brought the three musicians together, Nirva offering drums and percussion and
Huus mastering the project.
In recent years, Riness’s work with Michael Martin Murphey includes
appearing on Close To The Land, the
theme for the PBS series America’s
Heartland, a co-write on the album Heartland
Cowboy, and some mandolin work on Murphey’s most recent endeavor, Buckaroo Bluegrass.
