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I was interested in music early on and took any free lessons I could find (piano, trumpet, accordion). Eventually picked up a used bass and Sears Silvertone amp and taught myself to play by tuning in to country western on local TV (yes,even an LA boy can grow to love country music!) I started putting together bands in grade school and played wherever people would let us. In high school, I started working with more serious musicians and bought a new 1964 Fender Jazz Bass, which I still have today. It's at this time that I got my first taste of studio work as a back-up musician for J.C. Horton. Early on, I was influenced by Folk music, early 60's Motown and the SoCal surf scene, hitching to the coast to see Dick Dale at the Rendezvous Ballroom and catching Buffy St Marie at a coffee house. All good stuff, but I went thru some major changes with the British invasion (Beatles, Stones, Cream) along with some pretty heavy US talent (Hendrix, Airplane, Zappa). Before Jumbo, I played with Mike Baxter in a band called The Movie. We opened for Neil Diamond at the Hollywood Hullabaloo in 1966. We were playing on a revolving stage and, apparently, the stagehand saw our drummer make some hand movement. Thinking it was a signal that we were done, he pushed the button half a set too early and we were revolved right out of showbiz. After the band broke up, Mike went on to form St. John Green with Vic and I started attending USC. I lived two blocks from the Shrine Auditorium where all the hot groups of the day played and I remember going to the clubs on Sunset where you could sit a few feet from Morrison/Doors grinding on stage and watch Lindsey and Stevie trying to get their careers started as a duo before joining Fleetwood Mac. When Mike and Vic came knocking to ask me to join Jumbo, I jumped at the opportunity and quit school. I have some great memories of the days with Jumbo, laughing with the guys, writing tunes, working on the music, playing clubs and making one song last the whole set. One of my fondest memories is kicking back after a gig and listening to Mike B (absolutely one of the best rock keyboardists around) improvising on the piano late into the wee hours of the morning. While working at Bill's Beech Inn with Jumbo, I met my wife Josie and we are still together to this day...going on 40 years. I still enjoy listening to the Jumbo tunes, even after all these years. |
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