Drum Stuff.......I grew up in southern California. In the late 60’s it seemed like every kid played guitar or had a drum set. Lot’s of garage bands. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were at the top of their game. I loved the drums. I always looked up to the great studio drummers of the 60’s and 70’s such as Jim Keltner, Jim Gordon, Hal Blaine, Bernard Purdie, John Guerin, and later Jeff Porcaro. I was a huge Shelly Manne fan also. After high school (I wasn’t a great student….), I went on the road playing hotel lounges, bars, and nightclubs. After a while, I decided that I wanted to stay at home for a while and get better as a player. I played casuals, bars, Polynesian revues, anything. I studied with Chuck Flores. Studied drums with Freddie Gruber....(Freddie was the guy, he really helped me a lot, we’re still good friends to this day) Played in Big Bands, little Jazz clubs Then in 1980 I attended the first class of P.I.T. (Percussion Institute of Technology) and studied with Joe Porcaro and Ralph Humphries ..Taught drums as a lab instructor at P.I.T. after graduating. In 1982 I auditioned and got the gig playing drums for the Righteous Brothers. I played the drums for The Righteous Brothers from 1982 till 2003. It was a wonderful experience. We played tons of concerts, nightclubs, fairs, opened for Kenny Rogers for 18 months, played at the White House, opened for Alabama for a year with Bill Medley, I also did the “Dirty Dancing†tour with Bill Medley in 1988. Lots of work in Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe. Bobby Hatfield passed away in 2003. I miss him a lot. It was the experience of a lifetime, I loved those guys, and we were (and still are) like family. However, I was pretty much worn out from 21 years of traveling and to be honest a little burnt out musically from playing the same show for 21 years. I stayed in Las Vegas, sold real estate and hardly touched the drums. I still did some work with Bill Medley but besides that not much playing. Then in 2007 I got a call to do some dates with Peter Tork. I set up some drums to learn the music and I didn’t want to stop playing. I’m happy to say that I’m back in love with the drums…. I’m currently working with Bill Medley, Peter Tork, The Grass Roots, and Jamie Browning, and occasionally with my good friend Jeri Lynne.....I’ve got a little weekend Jazz gig that’s a blast! I live in Las Vegas and have a real estate business to support my music habit! I've pretty much had a one gig career but some of the other artists I've had the pleasure of working with or sitting in with are Jennifer Warnes, Merry Clayton, The Contours, Eric Carmen, Stephen Stills, Little Anthony, Alabama, The Mama's and the Papa's....I'm thinking as I write this...it's an eclectic list, isn’t it?
