Patrick McKinney began performing guitar soli works in 1999, appearing first under the name Jackstraw before settling on Langtry. McKinney’s playing is steeped in traditional American music–blues, folk and jazz styles–but his highly technical songs favor composition over improvisation. McKinney’s interest and alliance to modern reinterpretations of traditional sounds, from the Takoma school (John Fahey, Robbie Basho) to the Vanguard label (Sandy Bull, Peter Walker) to post-modernists (Sun City Girls, Pelt) is also apparent in his music.