I moved to Los Angeles in the late 80's. I had recently withdrawn from the California Institute of the arts in Valencia, Ca where I received training as an opera singer. I began performing in various nightclubs around the city in 1989. The Whisky, The Roxy, The Troubadour, The Coconut Teaser, Club Lingerie, Madame Wong's West, The Palomino and The China Club were some of the venues I played with my band, Planet Z. The original lineup included Andrian Williams on drums and Todd McDearman on guitar. Not having a bass player somewhat handicapped us as a legitimate rock band and Todd introduced me to a bass player named Tony Ruiz. Tony agreed to come on board but would not do so without his brother Nate on drums. I regret having to make the decision to lose Adrian, another CalArtian, excellent player and good friend in favor of the rhythm section package deal but we needed to get things moving and I had to have a bass player. We cut our first demo in the basement of the Los Feliz home of another Cal-Arts buddy named Daniel Shulman. Dan's brother Motti was also a good friend during my early years in Los Angeles and worked hard to help get Planet Z gigs and exposure on the LA music scene. Through my association with Dan and Motti I was introduced to John Loken. John worked for Warner Brothers and was the catalyst for Planet Z securing a performance/showcase opportunity with Bennie Medina at the label. That all important showcase was a complete bomb. The band did a great job but I contracted a mysterious illness just days before the show which left my voice in a less than "ready to rock" condition. A few years later John worked his magic again and got me a meeting with former Warner exec Moira Bellas in London which eventually led to an offer to sign with Warner Bros, UK division for Sunchilde. In 1990, Planet Z signed a development deal with Columbia records. We made our first studio recording with an A&R executive named Guy Eckstein, offspring of the famous jazz singer Billy Eckstein, who produced the demo. Those tracks have been resurrected and can be found on myspace. Just search in music for Planet Z. In 1991 I received an invitation from my longtime friend and business associate Mark McClendon to participate in a new group he was forming called Sunchilde. After many months of preparation with the rest of the musicians in London and a bidding war that would make any wannabe rockstar envious, Sunchilde signed a recording contract with Sony Music, UK and set out to conquer the European market. Our A&R man at the label was Lincoln Elias. He worked with Muff Winwood at Sony Soho Square. Muff, who was the head of the label, is Steve Winwoods older brother. Lincoln's rise as the wunderkind of A&R at S2 was because of having signed Terrence Trent D'Arby to his very first record deal. Lincoln also signed Jamiroquoi and Des'ree. Anyway, the point is that Sunchilde was in great company and in a good position to make big things happen on a grand scale. Unfortunately, like so many other groups that came before us, the band succumbed to internal strife which led to its untimely demise. Despite the fact that several of the songs that were recorded for the cd never made it on the final disc, I think we delivered a stellar first offering nonetheless. Some of the music of Sunchilde may be heard on the myspace page created for the band. After the disappointment that resulted from the breakup of Sunchilde, I returned to th states in search of other opportunities.I moved back to Texas to regroup my thoughts and heal my wounded spirit. I kept in touch with another old buddy of mine from San Antonio named Charlie Redd. Charlie invited me to join a band he had put together in Tulsa, Ok. They are a very successful working band called the Full Flava Kings. Being involved in that band gave me the opportunity to open up for the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, at an historic venue in the city known as the Brady Theater. Tulsa has some awesome musicians. Who would have thunk! I put a band together called Gumbo to play some of my originals and keep my vocal chops up as well as my skills on the acoustic guitar. Gumbo had the pleasure of opening up for Leon Russell during one of his annual birthday celebrations in the city. I spent nearly four years performing with the Kings in clubs, at weddings, corporate events, festivals and the like. I had high hopes of breaking through with that very talented group of musician's. Unfortunately the band was not moving in the direction I had hoped it would (we played at a middle school and also did a "hit" at a daycare!) so I decided once again that it was time to move on. During my stay in T-Town I reconnected with a guitarist/singer/songwriter named Tori Ruffin whom I had met while playing gigs in LA some fifteen years earlier. In addition to touring as lead guitarist with Morris Day and The Time and playing shows with Fishbone, Tori has been writing, recording and performing with his band, FreakJuice. Tori invited me to join the band along Charlie Redd of the Full Flava Kings and his drummer Stanley Fary. The new cd is now complete and you may listen to tracks form the disc on FREAKJUICE'S myspace page. Stay Tuned for a new page featuring original music by Mr. Bullock...Peace. Love. Friendship.
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