I was born in the winter of 1955. Started playing saxophone at the age of 10 in the school band. I actually wanted to play drums but my parents wouldn’t go for that. They told me when you could buy your own drums then they would let me! Man did I save my pennies. I was almost there when they finally gave in and let me get an old beat up set of Sears/ Whitehall mixed up drums! I was in heaven and wow did I drive them nuts! I played them all the time cranking up the stereo I put together in my basement. I got a Job in 1970 at a local wedding photography studio (my second love-photography) I was sweeping floors and taking out garbage just so I could be around cameras and photography in general. It also allowed me to have some pocket change to support my drumming habit! My first year in High School I met Larry, a great guitar player, we put our first band together and played at the park district field house my uncle was in charge of! (That helped set up the gig). Larry and I made Flyers and put them all over the school. 25 people showed up!! Mostly relatives and people we threatened. LOL. My boss from the studio came and took shots of us (boy were we DORKS) As the time passed along with many hours of practicing in the garage. I started a 50’s and 60’s band in 1974. We played in a lot of places and honestly we were pretty good (look out ShaNaNa!) All this time I was promoting my bands and got pretty good at it. Still shooting weddings and portraits whenever time allowed. We played all over the Midwest for a few years until about 1978 when the members went their separate ways. During that time I would go to many local country establishments and play with the musicians who all loved Country Music. I got to be pretty well known around Chicago and played with some of the best musicians around. In 1980 I continued playing in a wedding band with a country flavor while I managed a drum department in a local music store. We were busy every weekend for many years. Over time I have played with a lot of great musicians (y’all know who you are) in every style you can think of. Most recently I played with some awesome country players from Indiana. I started my own freelance graphic arts/photography studio a few years back playing off of my previous experiences. I have had the pleasure of doing business with many large corporations as well as small businesses. I do commercial photography of all types. I love photographing concerts and would love to shoot your band in action! All digital I may add. Thanks for visiting me and reading all of this. It’s very nice of you especially if you got this far!
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Rich
Take a minute and visit my website and all my friends listed below!.........Tom Willoughby's CD is available NOW!.........Traci Kennedy's CD Is NOW AVAILABLE! Go to her site and pick up a copy or two!..................
Get Tom Willoughby's CD
Check out Traci Kennedy
Visit our buddy Phil Vassar (piano man in a guitar town)
