Bio
The time has come, and I am now retired from 21 years of driving a bus for TriMet. I'm now free to pursue some musical dreams I've set aside. For years I've been a behind the scenes kind of guy, promoting and producing concerts. I've also been a side man in various other bands. I've had the good fortune as a talent buyer to meet and watch some of the best musicians and entertainers in the world. Most of which were also great people, maybe a few not so great, after all it is the “music business”. Maybe someday I will try to gather my thoughts on some of the positive experiences in that world. As for now, my focus is on my own musical direction.
I started pre-pandemic working on songs I like, arranging them for my voice and guitar. I went to open-mics and worked my stuff out in order to get comfortable performing in front of an audience. I put a little band together, then everything shut down. So I started practicing my guitar with more intent, and for some reason I started to like what I was playing. Now at 66 years old, I'm reinventing myself as a bandleader while also attempting to establish myself wherever I might fit in this old music community.
I've put together a band that sounds pretty good after playing every Monday night for seven months. The core trio is J Michael Kearsey on bass and vocals, and Rich Reece on drums with myself on guitar and vocals. Michael has been an anchor in the Portland music scene for a long ass time. He's played in such bands as Upepo, The Rockin Razorbacks and Brothers of the Baladi. Rich grew up with drumsticks in his hands and hasn't put them down since. His ability to fill in the cracks never ceases to astound me. The beauty of this trio is that we can move between genres, maintain our own unique style, and have the ability to invite other musicians to play with us. I write songs as well, and we love to play our original material. If you were to stumble onto us at a show you might hear a Buck Owens song followed by a jazz standard, and then maybe a Tom Waits tune. There is also a good chance you might hear a medley of flatpicked bluegrass style fiddle tunes or maybe a Ventures surf tune.
I'm not looking for fame, just an opportunity to play the music I love and share it with listeners and other musicians alike for as long as my body and mind will allow. As long as I'm on the subject of sharing music, my band plays every Monday 7:00 PM- 10:00 PM at the Sundown Pub 5903 N Lombard St Portland, OR 97203.
I hope to see you at one of our gigs.