MY BIO

When I was 13 years old some of my neighborhood friends and I decided to start a band. The bass intrigued me because of the way it holds the band together and pushes the music forward. I chose to play the bass guitar. Later, I added upright bass. 

My early bands in the Houston - Galveston area included Yesterday's Future. During college at the University of Texas, I played with Marcia Ball's first Austin band, CL Gumbo. After college I spent 39 years working at IBM. During my time at IBM I played music with Benny Rowe & Lucid Dream, Joe Blanda, Bill Rowan & the High Rollers featuring Mary Hattersley, Let's Get Big featuring Mary & Lissa Hattersley, Steve Pack, a couple of times with Austin favorites Walter Hyatt & Champ Hood, and for 10+ years with Erbie Bowser, T.D. Bell and the Blues Specialists. 

During my time with Erbie Bowser & T.D. Bell, I played bass on the blues album "It's About Time." The album was nominated for the W.C. Handy Award as Best Traditional Blues Recording of 1993. In 2006, the Blues Foundation renamed the awards as the “Blues Music Awards” to increase public appreciation of the significance of the awards.

I have filled in with many performers including Jimmy Butler, Rolf & Beate Sieker, The Silky Brisket Brothers, Lauren & the Backdirt Brothers, Folkwine, Blacktop Bend, and Greg Harris. I occasionally play arco bass in church orchestras and ensembles for Christmas and Easter services.

I have performed in musical plays including Cotton Patch Gospel and multiple runs of The Gospel Accordin' To Texas (GATT). I served as Band Leader in the 2013 edition of GATT.

Since retiring from IBM, I have concentrated on Bluegrass Music and I continue to play with bands of different genres, including:

• Western Swing and Country Music with Mike Stroup, Tom Duplissey, Annie Rost and Rachael Hutton

• Folk Music with Folkwine

• Bluegrass and Americana Music with Bobby Giles & Texas Gales, Randy Collier & Grassland, One Eye Open, and the Hot Pickin' 57s as a fill-in

Some notable venues I have played:

• Astrohall in Houston with Yesterday's Future

• Skyline & One Knite Clubs in Austin with Marcia Ball

• Armadillo World Headquarters with Marcia Ball

• Utrecht Netherlands Blues Estafette with Erbie Bowser & T.D. Bell

• Wolf Trap Farms in Virginia and Austin's Frank Erwin Center with Erbie & T.D.

• 10+ year Friday Happy Hour residency at Continental Club with Erbie & T.D.

• The Broken Spoke with Bill Rowan & the High Rollers

• Bloomin' Bluegrass Festival

I have recorded with:

• Yesterday's Future: Green Grass/Don's Diversionary Tactic - single

• Erbie Bowser and T.D. Bell: It's About Time - album

• Joe Blanda: Do What You Wanna Do - single

• Jimmy Butler: Dance on the Blacktop - album

• Steve Pack: Flesh & Bone - album

• Rocky Ivy: Unreleased

• A May Morning: Shockwave - single

• Bobby Giles & Texas Gales - Soon to be released

I am a member of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), the Western Music Association (WMA) and the Austin Blues Society (ABS). I am a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). I am a proud alumni of IBMA's Leadership Bluegrass program, Class of 2018 (Best class ever).

I am a member of the Central Texas Bluegrass Association (CTBA) and served four years as an officer on the Board of Directors (2015-2018).