About Me
Though I was born in a music rich environment of Memphis, I was raised in a more diverse area of music culture. That would be Clarksdale and Tutwiler, MS. You can’t do much better than that from a musician standpoint. My musical beginnings were being around field hands singing music as they worked and on weekends, on my grandfathers farm. I then graduated to singing Merle Haggard, Jimmy Rogers, and Johnny Cash tunes on top of a dresser at family gatherings at the age of 5.
It was around the age of 10 that my mother purchased an acoustic guitar and 3 months worth of lessons. I spent a month on taking lessons, learning how to tune it, being taught John Denver tunes, and the infamous barre chord. It was ON then.
I had my first paid gig at the age of 14 at a school dance. Playing to some junior high kids in a private school in Marks, MS, with the rock flavor of the day like: Ozzy Osborne, U.F.O., Judas Priest, Ted Nugent, and of course……KISS! I still remember a girl smiling big at the guitar player, ME. Playing in a band is GOOD. It was about a year later that I heard Pink Floyd for the first time. There was something about the bass that caught my ear. I decided that it was time to go from rhythm guitar to bass. I saved up some money, bought a bass guitar and an amp, and spent the next three years in the bedroom with records, tapes, and this new thing called a compact disc. I started playing in garage band jams for 3 more years, and an occasional backyard party.
I joined my first bar band at the age of 21, playing the typical mix of music from country, rock, Muscle Shoals sound, and blues. During this time, I started getting involved with the p.a. and running sound. This would come in handy in later years.
At around the age of 30, that was when I started to take music a lot more serious than before. I would begin to put these sound ideas on tape. I had a running music idea with my cousin. I told him to program drums on a drum machine and the next day when he woke up I would have the music side of a song ready to go on tape. We keep this up still to this day of musically challenging each other.
It was in 1991 that I met a guy right in the old musical background named Prentis Goodwin. He had won the Jimmie Rogers festival in Meridian, MS. I was in a band called Phoenix. We ended up going with Prentis the next year as his backup band. I then took a couple of years off of working the bars to join in a group with an ex bass player of Krokus and Black Oak Arkansas. His name is Andy Tanas. He approached me about playing bass in one of the best musical education and adventures to date. We did some opening act slots, one was Charlie Robison and one for Commander Cody. I might add in my most humble of opinions, is one of the best boogie woogie piano players out there. I learned a lot about song writing from him and furthered my knowledge on leaving open space in songs. Once again it was ON.
I was now understanding music that was running in my head a lot better. Taking cover tunes to a different level was a by-product of this venture. I then started doing work in Memphis with a band called the Ecclectics. I played a while with a local legend, Mr. Phillip Dale Durham. I moved on to another band called Thump playing classic rock and 80’s pop. I joined this band because they played the song “Truth Will Set You Free†by Mother’s Finest. It turns out the lead singer of the band ended up being the wife of another local boy done good, Kevin Paige. I also met a drummer and guitar player, I feel we will share the proverbial stage again. Mike Sinc on drums and Jimmy Craig on guitar. I might add, he is the only guitar player to make a Princeton sound like a British Stack .
Now after getting my fix of the pop music phase, I now play bass in an above average bar band, The Shakerz. Taking a cover tune and making it ours was the thing. We got to do some opening act slots for Exile and B.B. King, at his annual birthday bash. All rolled into the big enchilada of experience to reaching my dream of touring and having someone do sound for the project I am in.
At this point, I now shuffle from playing in bands, doing sound at F.O.H., stage tech, crew chief, spot-op, lighting assistant, and opening act and monitor engineer for folks like:
Keith Anderson, Jason Michael Carrol, Little Texas, Sinbad, ESPN2, Don King Boxing, Showtime Boxing, The Subdudes, Pretty Ricky, Keith Sweat, Norman Brown, Rick Braun, Boney James, Kirk Whalum, Pieces of a Dream, Earth Wind & Fire, The Temptations, Confederate Railroad, Trick Pony, Exile, Bobby “Blue†Bland, Denise LaSalle, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chubby Checker, Neal McCoy, Steve Azar, Michelle Wilson, Nancy Wilson (jazz Lady), David Allen Coe, Mark Collie, Cowboy Mouth, Chris Botti, Michael Twitty, Commander Cody, Ricky Van Shelton, Earthquake, lil’ Romeo, Pat Benatar, Ginuwine, Three 6 Mafia, Tony Toni Tone, Peabo Bryson, New Edition, Mel Waiters, Theotus, Jimmy Davis, The Bar-Kays, Rose Royce, Zapp Band, Breaking Benjamin, Dj Kidd Capri, Young Buck, Jibbs, Project Pat, Too Short, Trina , James Cotton, Sam Carr, Big Jack Johnson, Clarence “Gatemouth†Brown, Super Chikan, Robert “Wolfman†Belfour, Jethro Tull, The Guess Who, Don McMinn, Preston Shannon, The Chi-Lites, Connie Smith, Amy Grant, Bill Cosby, Sommore, Lord T and Eloise,and ......to be continued.
