Oklahoma City-based singer, songwriter, guitar player who was the original guitar player with the Henry Paul Band, the group named for the co-founder of The Outlaws. He and the Henry Paul Band opened for the likes of The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Peter Frampton, The Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels, and more. He also was the original guitar player for the Byron Berline Band and, present day, plays on a new release from Dave Werewolf. He has played with countless artists and at a long line of venues and events and has met numerous other notable names in music throughout his career.
“Billboard reviewed the first album and said it was like The Byrds meeting The Allman Brothers, which was kind of a good compliment.”
“I usually start with a chord pattern and then just something that I like and do some changes that are nifty and then I'll add words to it at a later time.”
“I guess it became my ticket to being recognized. Everybody around me in school and my family were really great at sports and went and excelled. I did so poorly in sports I finally gave up, but I did conquer the guitar in my own way and my identity and still doing it today.”
“I'm the guy that sings the high parts. Everybody laughs at me, but I can always hit those notes, and I am unafraid to a warble if I have to and I've done a lot of arranging as far as both Byron Berline Band and Henry Paul Band in the way of the vocal harmonies.”
“I'm left-handed, so I think I would have picked up the guitar the wrong way instinctively, but in fourth grade I took violin, which I was terrible at, but I initially put the bow in my left hand and the maestro said, ‘No, no, no, no. Play it like this.’ So, I think it damaged my brain, and I became a right-handed player when I picked up the guitar.”
“At that time, I was not using a pick but for bluegrass music, flat picking requires a pick. So, I went home immediately after playing with them because I realized I need to learn how to pick. That's when I started in bluegrass with Byron.”
“That's one thing that I got from playing with Byron in his band was he'd love to play stuff really fast. So, I had to invent ways of keeping up with the tempo by my little tricks and my little pull-offs and my little hammer-ons and everything else.”
“One day I was just, out of the blue, Thailand came into my mind. I don't know why but I realized, ‘Wait a minute. I don't know anything about Thailand.’ So, I decided to research it, and it was so attractive and so neat that I decided, you know, I think I'm gonna try to move to Thailand.”
“We were walking to his apartment, and we turned a corner and on the sidewalk was the outline of a dead person. And we found out that he was killed by a table. Somebody threw a table out of a third story window and knocked this guy into the next world.”
“I've always loved that position where you're enhancing the music kind of in the background and not responsible for saying to the crowd, ‘How’re y’all doing?’ and the rest of the phrases that come out. But that's been my approach to playing with people, trying to bless them with the good sounds.”
“We recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami with the Albert brothers, Ron and Howard Albert, and they were working also with the Bee Gees, the Beach Boys, and also McGuinn, Clark & Hillman. So, this is where we went to record, and you'd be getting coffee in the lobby and the Bee Gees would be standing there.”
“Just don't give up, keep playing, and find people to play with. And just take every opportunity you can to sit with people and to develop your skills and make contacts. And believe in yourself in the sense that, ‘My hard work is gonna pay off.’ Don't get discouraged.”
“You Really Know (What I Mean)” (Henry Paul Band)
“Home Run King” (Byron Berline Band)