I have been obsessed with music from my earliest childhood.
My first gig outside school was in 1984 at JRR's Warehouse on Lake Street in Traverse City with Genghis Khan, playing Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath songs. As the 80's marched on into the 90's I performed reggae and ska with Cracker House, rock and funk with Kenny Olson, and punk rock with Motor Circus and Dicked. I'm pretty sure my first gig outside the Traverse City area was with Motor Circus in Flint MI. Thanks Joel. Working in the punk scene such as it was in Traverse City allowed me to become familiar with all aspects of putting on a show, in particular sound reinforcement and stage production.
In 1994 I started working in the studio for a fella named Don Julin, and within a year or 2 we started Big Swifty and Associates, an avant garde/eclectic ensemble focusing on, among other mutual interests, the music of Frank Zappa. As Big Swifty grew from a Sunday afternoon music club into a working ensemble, I also enjoyed rocking out with 74 Marauder, the Pliskins, Peter Funk and the Reptiles, and, beginning in 1998, the Dopes.
In the early 2000's I was working more or less full time at Milliken Auditorium, and continuing my informal musical education, studying jazz with Don Julin and Ron Getz. In 2006 fellow Dopes member Mark Camp started the western swing outfit Rusty Blaides. In 2007 I acquired my first upright bass at Elderly Instruments, and started performing more one-off gigs as a side man in a variety of musical styles. After Mark moved to Austin TX in 2008, I began performing with Sister Wilene, another country/folk ensemble.
Not long after, Joe Wilson and I formed the True Falsettos, a swing duo that has released 2 albums and performed all over the midwest. As sidemen, we have also continued to work with a wide variety of folks from all over Michigan. In 2014, I was again approached by Don Julin about joining his duo with Billy Strings. Their meteoric success led me from one end of the US to the other multiple times, and allowed me the opportunity to perform at many of the most prestigious festivals and venues in America.
Since Don and Billy parted ways in 2016, I have been working again with the True Falsettos, as well as a variety of progressive instrumental groups led by Joe Wilson and/or Don Julin. The Dopes and 74 Marauder still perform semi regularly, and I can be seen with Leelanau County institution the Cabin Fever String Band quite often as well. Most exciting of all are the projects still in the works!