I was born and raised outside of Detroit. I remember my brothers and I lining up in front of our black and white tv set in 1964 to watch the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Jeff and I used a broom and pogo stick to play along with "All My Lovin" and "She Loves You". The following year, I must have been about 10, my Mom got me into music with accordian lessons. I knew music held a special place for me, just wasn't sure accordian was the right instrument.
A couple years later I remember my Dad had this blonde arch-top Harmony guitar up in the back of his closet. Dad loved to sing Country music and an old girlfriend had bought it for him just before he met Mom. When my Mom and Dad went out and I was left to babysit my three brothers. We would go up there and get it out from the closet and play with it. I learned learn a few chords on it and one day, my dad came to me with the guitar and said "why don't you just keep it in your room son". From then on I played that thing night and day. Learnin Dylan songs Back then everyone played guitar.
Along about 1974 I heard Stanley and Jaco, then Ron Carter and Mingus. Then I decided I wanted to play the bass. I picked up a maroon Gibson EB-3 and that was the start of it. My first band that played-out was with Chuckie Hanson. We played Hendrix and Cream Chuckie even kept an extra guitar to set on fire as part of the act. I played around in Detroit attempting jazz fusion with my EB-3 and an accoustic 3/4 size bass I found in a yard sale.
In 1979 I moved to Florida and met up with Starling Howard. Starling was a 60 year old Jazz guitarist that played with the West coast cats in the 60's and 70's. He had played with Wes Montgomery, Rasaan Roland Kirk and Chico Hamilton. He came back to his hometown Dania, Florida and had a Non-profit charter and a donated shack where he was teachin the kids how to play jazz. He told me if I'd invest my time in teaching the kids he would work with me and teach me. Like so many of us musicians, I could play, I just didn't know what I was doing. I spent three hungry years teaching the kids out of which came the Peoples Music Workshop All-Stars. We brought more adults to the workshop and spawned a 22 piece swing band. I spent time writing grants for money to provide jazz concerts in the parks with local jazz bands.
In 1982, I got hitched and my playing music stopped for twenty years.
My brother Jeff kept playing all along and a few years ago had this Friday night jam session going with some of his friends. He called on me when they got a freebee gig for the March of Dimes Walk-a-thon and needed a bass player. I came over and rehearsed a set or two with them and after the gig they asked me if I wanted to keep on. I said sure why not. And I'm so glad they did!