COMING THIS SPRING...SOME ORIGINAL MUSIC BY "RED MORDIKAI"!!!
I started on bass guitar in my high school jazz band. I went on to receive a small scholarship to play in the jazz band of an even smaller community college in northwest Iowa. I learned alot and had an opportunity to play in my band director's big band on occasional weekends. I honed my skills for music reading and improvisation. I soon decided that I wanted to play rock and roll(or whatever I could find as long as it was for money) professionally. So, I started my professional musical career in 1984, playing bass guitar and singing hard rock in local clubs with a band called Alexis Design. It wasn't exactly the style I wanted to be in, so I moved on to playing more of a Top 40 format with a band called X-Plicit in 1985. We were a road band, based in Sioux Falls, SD, and Omaha, NE, playing mostly free-standing clubs around the upper Midwest. Mostly Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa and Nebraska. The band was fronted by a fantastic female vocalist. Vocals were a strong point, with all members singing a lead on at least one song and backups on most all songs. It was in this band that I had the privilege to play with and become friends with world- class drummer Dana Myzer. However, creative differences and internal strife drove the band apart. I moved to Lincoln, NE., in mid-'86 and took up with a local band called Parallel. Back to the strictly local scene. This group played mostly small clubs around the Lincoln and Omaha area. Fronted by another female and an excellent guitarist, who's name escapes me. All I remember is Corby. Unfortunately, the group just wasn't for me. I left them after about 6 months. I took a break from playing out for about 6 months to re-group and move back to my native Iowa. I soon took up with another traveling band in 1987. Strut was fronted by two sisters. Lead vocals were shared by the sisters, guitarist, keyboard player and myself. I also did most of the front work as far as talking to the crowd and keeping them interested. The girls and the manager, however, were new to the business and made some decisions that did not sit well with the rest of the group and it soon starting coming apart. I again took a break from playing out and started working more seriously on writing. I spent about a year just hanging and jamming with some fellow musicians and working on my songwriting. In '89, I took up with some local boys and friends for a one- off gig at a local bar. King Ratz rocked the house! I stayed active musically by playing the local jam night, teaching bass guitar, doing fill- in gigs for a small lounge act fronted by an old college friend and wood- shedding. In December of '91, I was fortunate enough to land a gig with an excellent rockin' blues band called The Blinders. This band included some of the best musicians in the region(so how'd I get in?). We rocked the Des Moines and central Iowa area for about 2 1/2 years. We always filled the house and good times were always had by all!! Problem was some had way too much fun and some had way to big of egos and some grew bored. So, guess what happened? That's right, we split. That was pretty much the last full- time band I played with. In '93(?) some locals and I put together a group called Tiny Elephant. I was hoping it would last for awhile because the talent was there and the personalities did not clash and the gigs were there. We worked about two months putting a show together, played a CD release party for another local band and called it quits. There were day job conflicts. So, thus began my hiatus from the professional end of the business. I am now in a place where I can spend more time working on writing and composing and I figure my time is about due to see my writing come to fruition. I'm not looking to become a big star or any of that. I just want to write some tunes and put them out there for others to enjoy. If more comes of it, well, we'll take it as it comes.
