Bradley’s new CD 
a nostalgic look at 
what might have been

Terry Bradley is not one to wear his regrets on his sleeve. Still, he’s had a few regrets over the years. The Newton-based musician and teacher spent nearly a lifetime in a job he didn’t really enjoy. Now, he has released a CD of music exploring what could have been.

“The Road Not Taken” is just Bradley and his guitar, an album full of what he calls “wistful and nostalgic music.”

Still, Bradley’s life has always had music in it. He said he was reading at college level when he was in first grade, and began playing the guitar when he was five years old. He began teaching the guitar when he was 12, at Rex Shadley’s music store in the Newton Mall, and continued to teach after Shadley’s death.

“I take my teaching seriously,” Bradley said. “I realize how close you can get to people.”

Bradley said while most kids wanted to be a fireman or a professional athlete, he knew he wanted to be an orchestra conductor. But, earning a living got in the way, somehow, and he ended up in the dry cleaning business instead. He and his wife Judy operated Cozad’s dry cleaning from 1973 until it was sold in 1995.

“We were good at what we did, but it was not where I wanted to be,” Bradley said. “Now, I’ve been teaching guitar full-time ever since.”

Not that dry cleaning kept Terry Bradley from ever playing music. He played the viola with the Des Moines Symphony from 1987 until 1992. He now owns 12 guitars, his viola and a banjo.

His 60 guitar students that he teaches in his home keeps him busy, as well as the various gigs he gets around central Iowa, such as Prairie Meadows. Until late last year, Bradley also was one-third of the band “Roy Hobbs,” a high-energy rock band formed with Matt Butler and drummer Gary Van Gorp. The band broke up when Van Gorp moved to Florida.

Of the new CD, Bradley said it contained a lot of jazz influences, as well as one purely classical piece by Bach.

“It’s a sweet, delicate, almost feminine sound,” he said. “When you play acoustic music, there are no amplifiers to hide behind.”

The album was recorded by Paul Dawson at Dawson Productions in Newton. Bradley said he was happy with the disc, but the best part of the creative process is the writing.

“The writing process is very cathartic,” he said, “but I’m working with my students, or working on curriculum, or music for a gig, and there’s little time to let the muse take over.”

"The Road Not Taken" will be available Sept. 18 at Mattingly's Music and Books, or you can order via e-mail through the website www.graceharbourmusic.com.