ARTIST BIO

Little did I know what choosing the snare drum in 4th grade, practicing 30 minutes a day on a rubber pad, and finding my niche in public school music programs would lead to.  Certainly, finding life long friendships and getting paid to perform publicly outside the school setting at the age of 14 wasn’t on my mind at the time.  Stuff happens to pull you one way rather than another.  While earning a BA in music at UNI, playing in diverse music settings in and out of school just added to the mayhem.  Performing with a symphony, wind or percussion ensembles, jazz bands and small groups, dances at Elk’s Clubs, country clubs, and ballrooms across the state, a few rodeo’s, a circus ( got Karl Wallenda’s autograph ) rock/funk bands, and even a Bob Hope show seemed to interfere with looking for a band director job. I finally decided to up my income from short term work and substitute teaching by starting a 29 year career in Special Education.  A ‘normal’ day gig led to a few lengthy runs with some local bands including The Dreams Band, The Nationals, and 26 years with Orquesta Alto Maiz.  Lucky me.  And now with these 6 guys, I get to add to the story.