Fiddlin’ Red Simpson, a frontiersman, hunts with a flintlock rifle or his black powder cartridge rifle. He loads his own bullets with a kit he designed from the original reloaders they used in the 1870s. As a blacksmith, he has made replicas of Bowie knives, tomahawks, and fire starter steels like David Thompson used. He has competed in Cowboy action and long-range events. 

    Before he turned 18, he hung out at Sid’s Bluesbeat in Newport, Calif., to listen to folk music and blues.  Eventually, he ended up performing there as well.  He worked at Dobro and Rickenbacker building guitars before relocating to Wash., where he performed as Wild Bill Hickok in a real Wild West Show.

    Today, Fiddlin’ Red works at the Sandpoint Music Store repairing instruments and providing music lessons. A historian, he gives educational seminars, and performs old time music on his vintage collection of instruments.