(1968-1976) my dad was a railroad man and a fine musician … I started playing clubs with him when I was twelve … the extremes of the venues were really cool … one night it might have been a country club where we wore suits … (I got in trouble once when my dad looked over and I was in a suit and tie but I had on converses with no socks) … then another night we would be in some backwoods club where there was real chicken wire over the front of the stage to protect the band from the drunks throwing beer bottles when they didn’t like the selection …I guess … it was wonderful…….once I watched a deputy sheriff come in for his payoff from the owner ... it was against the law to sell booze after midnight … I got stories … I got to do a little studio work when I was a teen ... it really took me out … that means I liked it … (went to college for a few years majoring in voice … didn’t like it much … got a wild hair, a sincere prayer, and my mom’s pontiac and went west) (1977-1980) went to bible school, got married, left bible school ... all through the musical part of the journey I had attempted to compose songs ... got a job in a welding shop ... called my dad … had him wire me money to buy a bass, and I thumped a little bass around southern california … wrote some nice gospel tunes with a bit o groove … signed to MCA Universal … at the time pretty much the largest record company on the planet … (1980-1995) Gospel Gus most of my time was traveling and recording ... lots o nice hits on CCM radio … crossed over to work as a writer and producer in R&B … wrote a tune good enough for Monty Moyer (janet jackson pleasure principle) to record … I really did perform just about everywhere … from the “seal and otter” stage at Seaworld to Osaka Jo Memorial in Japan … it was wonderful also … (plus when you travel you get to delve into true cuisinart … in the south they eat chitterlings ... I found some at 4am one morning near ShinJuKu station in Tokyo … didn’t taste the same … but I did it (1995-2005) imploded my world … got divorced … worked more in pop music than CCM … hooked up to do source recording for a sample company … did 2 projects that took over 2 years to complete … one got 1998 keyboard tech award ... (I really was one of the first people to record Tuvan throat singers acapella for pop production) … it was a hoot! ... plus the samples of all the different vocal styles I recorded have been used all over pop culture … ads, tv, films like Ray, Crash, Titanic, etc., la la la …I play guitar a bit … got hooked up with some Irish upscale guitar makers ... did trade shows … lots of them … this last year I played in a fingerstyle masters series (recordings of just guitar) … recently I sang standards on a very nice jazz project out of LA … I produced a nice scripture cd, "Comfort", used in hospice care ... my young years idol is Phil Keaggy … Phil was gracious enough to give me pieces of music for "Comfort" ... as well as duduk Master Pedro Estache (Yani Akropolis, tribute to George Harrison) … it was a sweet project … did Gospel Gus gigs until 2002 … guess a lot of us have had to question corporate religion and we are sometimes forced to step back and take a new look hoping to observe and not judge … I let go completely in 2002 … and after a few years I am doing well … love everybody … love to play for anybody … writing is wonderful … revamping old things … loved it this year when I played the Eureka Springs Blues Fest … loved it when I did a summer MD job for a local church … love talkin music with my son and doing music with my son … my Ghost project was experimental music (it is nice and it has done well) … Relaxed Fits is in for a refurb … I taught this year at a Worship Summit ... not much into church but I do love some of those Jesus people … they just thrill my soul (2005-on into tomorrow) music … lots of music … working on the Ray jazz project with my friend Nick Manson has brought a real wave of freshness and after a decade I am wanting to sing again … thanks Nick … all in all … a few years short of 40 and my journey along the musical highways and byways is still very unparalleled by the greatest musicians ever … at the very least that is the way I see it … I was born into a river rat culture with all the trimmings … I had no idea when I left Mississippi that I would be blessed to wander and ponder all these beautiful cultures … singing and playing and producing along the way … hills, mountains, valleys ... hell, like my nephew Tripp used to say: S’all good |