My first conscious memory was of The Beatles performing on the Ed Sullivan show. I was very young  and I think that the only reason I was allowed to see the show was to keep me from interfering with  my folks and older brother and sister from seeing the show. It was customary for Pa to occasionally allow us to stay up late to see special things on the tube. I think that I was just lucky this time and my crying got me downstairs. I can only guess now, but it's the only way I can make sense of it all.  None-the-less, that bit of history changed my life. I felt that more than anything I wanted to be part of something as great as that. And so it was there that I started a life of wanting to play music. I loved it. It's ironic that I thought for so long that I have never been a musician, But looking back I realize I've had a healthy musical career of sorts. So it goes! Maybe I'm not Elvis but I've made a few people dance in my day. That's all right!
 

       Let me show you 'round a bit of my musical musings! Or at least let's take a look at some photos.

Lip Service was one of my first bands. At least the first to ever really have any gigs. We never really had a great focus but we had a lot of spirit. Well, sometimes. Anyway, we played allot of Beatles and 'Stones' tunes and old rock n roll. This picture makes me laugh. I think the Ramones where on the scene and I can remember wanting to be Cheap Trick and my brother Bruce Springsteen. Either way, the kid's are all right!
 

Lip Service sometime around 1980. That's Bob Harp (drums) Dave Fisher my best friend at the time (Bass) Me and my brother Tony (guitar and singing)

    After Lip Service disbanded, I decided to seek an all original band. It just seemed like the cool thing to do. Only problem was most of the bands that I knew weren't very good. But eventually I hooked up with an outfit called The Miami's. The Miami's weren't necessarily gifted either but they had the right idea. A power pop band that played their own songs. My buddy Johnny Piazza ( alias Johnny Miami of coarse!) asked me if I'd play Bass guitar. Since I pretty much tough my friend Dave to play the bass in Lip Service, I thought , "why not."  That band was allot a fun. The drummer, Billy Carr, and I would sit around before and after gigs and have a "joke-off" trying to out do each other for hours. Too bad we weren't as good at remembering as many songs!
      Eventually the Miami's would decide that Boston was the place to be and I guess I just didn't feel confident in going with them. I stayed in Syracuse to play with a new punk band in town. My last night playing with the Miami's was on a bill with the Unholy Wives; That's were I ended up.
 
 

      The Unholy Wives is were I really started to understand my instrument and what it takes to right original material. It's where I really began to grow. The band was basically a trio with a singer so I had to learn a allot of skills on the guitar. It was a great band for learning. I can't say we accomplished great things but we did get our first record deal.

At the Lost Horizon in Syracuse. A skinny young 'Art-fag' rocker as we'd say!

      Ultimately, It was a healthy learning environment that not only taught me how to think out side the box musically but also served to humble my ego. I could see that there was far more to learn than I already knew. That's when I first started looking closer at song writing as a skill and a craft. The cool thing is that I first started working with a guy by the name of Craig Marshall of a rival band, Dogs Outside. That was going on twenty tears ago and now we're teemed up in Austin and have a weekly gig at the San Jose Hotel on South Congress. Check it out on Sunday eve's at 8 o'clock!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

When Sanity Sleeps was our second record. Really the first real attempt at a real record. I think it's even still available through Blue Wave Records.

Well , as frequently happens, the Unholy Wives ran into there fair share of bad luck. Like the Spinal Tap prophecy, we had a drummer blow up, got tired and argued like a Jerry Springier family hour, and then finally after suffering the losses of a warehouse fire, we called it quits on the eve of recording our third album. C'est la vie!!

      So I moved on to new things. The Scrap Dog Poets was one of my favorites. Based out of Chicago, I remember this as being a time of great fun. And it seemed like great things were about to happen but alas, it was not to be. Still we got to record in one of Chicago's better studios and when I think about it, it really did open a lot of doors for me and my friends. Scotty Schimpff of the Wives and the Poets still lives there and works with Billy Corigan. Our great friend Gooch left working for the Pumpkins and is now working for Jay Lo. Did I spell that right?  Anyway, that's all a couple other stories that are off to the side. There's a whole bunch of those but I don't know what's worse: Name dropping or the hurt I feel cause MINE's Not one of the better stories! Damn!  But kidding aside, music isn't really about fame and stardom. It's about feeling and expressing. That's what I love about it. That's where I'm doing great.
 
 

      So it's true that we can't really predict where we are going to be in the future. I never would have expected the course of events that were in store for me. It's a long story, I'll spare you. But, to think back that I've been in New York, Hawaii, San Francisco, Seattle and now Austin, Texas makes me dizzy Miss Lizzy. It's been a crazy adventure and each place with it's own great musical experiences.  I won't boar you with em all right now (I'll get to it later). But here are a few of my favorite musical projects that I've been privileged to be part of.

      One of the most rewarding experiences I ever had actually came as a surprise to me. I had decided sometime around 1988 that I was going to make a living playing music; Strictly, playing music. But it was a lot harder than I had anticipated. Eventually I was able to pull it off and even became very good at it. However, when I was younger and knew everything ( I'm too old to know everything now!) I swore that I'd never play a wedding, in a lounge, dinner music or a Holiday Inn; With in a couple particular weeks, I had done all of them. But it was a surprise to me that for the most part, I found it rewarding. To be paid well, fed, treated pleasantly and even rewarded musically was awesome. It was a very creative controlled environment that you really  didn't need people paying attention too you. In fact, I found the opposite true. That in those situations, It's a sign that you are doing well if not to many people do notice you. I couldn't believe I was feeling this! 

A songwriters Promotional shot! If this picture's not pretty enough, click here!

     Anyway, It all led to many other creative projects, and I can say now that it was the single most rewarding experience ,and learning experience , of my musical life. It was an invaluable lesson that taught me so much about performing on different levels, and really discovering how to become a well rounded musician. But the best part , was the song study of having to learn hundreds of songs. That, for a young songwriter, was the best schooling I could have.

      My experiences  working as a commercial singer also paid off in another way: I found myself earning the respect of more accomplished Syracuse musicians. in  particular a writing performing teem that I loved and was influenced by: Gary Frenay and Arty Lenin. These guys where one of the few musicians locally that had a more global vision. They were the real deal! And for me to become a contemporary of theirs was a great accomplishment. Whether they are playing there original material or playing covers they always possessed the right attitude, and they didn't just play music, they are music. I love that still about these guys. They taught me so much and even more importantly for me, it was validating that not only did they teach me things but I them.
      Eventually these sorts of working relationships led me to create a creative outlet for myself and other talented musician writers in the area. So with Gary Frenay, I started a songwriters showcase. Our original motto was, "No Cover, No Covers." It remains as one of my favorite project I was ever involved with. In a nut shell, It was a comfortable venue  for songwriters to come and perform but it was NOT an open mic nite! We would have local and regional artists as guests to fill short twenty minute sets and allow usually a couple younger or more novice artists to play a couple songs between. We would MC the show with myself or Gary playing a bit at the beginning and end and finally, we would include a paid prominent artist to headline the bill. It was more a musical variety show where performances were kept short to keep it interesting (and not let anyone ego get away with them) and the pace moving along at a steady stream. It was great because it was a healthy environment that allowed more artist to perform for a "listening crowed" and put them on a bill with reputable artists.
Check out some of the clippings!
 

      Kaz Murphy ladies and gentleman, Tha's right! Kaz and I met in Seattle and got along famously. I love his writing. He's the real deal in these days of pseudo folkies and the Americana hoopla!!! Check out that guitarist. That's Mulee ladies and gents. Ok , Ok, it's me. But the charactor  of Mulee is real. Mostly he reveals himself in the shadows, side stage of, off-center troubadours and there stories of life's dark and twisted turns of fate!!! Is that bastard surf-western guitar I hear haunting the tune?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kaz Murphy is one of the most prolific son of  ...    Since I've known Kaz he just keeps spittin em out like dollars to a slot. all right, bad analogy! But this record marks a pointed new focus for Kaz. Putting behind him his quirky pop song craft of Mad Mad Nomad, he decidedly falls to his roots. With a true gift for telling stories of the human condition, and the serendipitous nature of the tangents we travel. But he decides on a straight forward folk like style to tell them. Don't get it wrong, this isn't a folk mass snooze, but there is a reminiscent quality of say Phil Ochs or the Mammas' and the Papas.' But there is a haunting Americana signature that evokes cowboy songs and western surf. Go figure!

Jon Hyde has his mark on dozens of  North West records. He is a multi-talented instrumentalist and a fine songwriter. And he's funny.  But with his being so buisy all the time , I was thrilled to see him put together his debut solo record. This is a great off-center pop record with a warm touch of what has become known as alternative country.

Ron Flynt and the Bluehearts' Big Blue Heart, is a solid record of straight forward song writing put across with a rockin band. I wanna say 'Tom Petty'? I don't know, You tell me!!!  For more information you can E-mail    info@yayarecords.com www.yayarecords.com (or me... My e-mail's at the top)

Penny Jo Pullus' Lucky #7, is her seventh record. I've known Penny for years, owing to our having grown up in Syracuse together, but, you'd never guess it with this Texas sounding record. Penny Jo's a great country twang singer that hasn't lost any of her rock n roll spirit. This record was recorded the summer after I arrived in Austin, and I was so grateful to Penny for trusting in me to help her record her first Texas album. I think we did a pretty damn good job with a nickel dime budget. And #7 has been lucky, leading to a slew of dates and a whole lot of attention for Penny Jo. Go to Penny Jo's web site to see what's going on. www.pennyjopullus.com

The Waulkins' Ok, so this isn't an album but It will be sometime in the next year. The guy I 'm with is Craig Marshall of The Lucky Strikes. We've been guitar geek/ writing buddies for years. Now we have a new project called The Waulkins'. At least that's what I think we're called. We've been playing every sunday night at the San Jose Hotel on South Congress since it opened about a year and a half ago. Now with bassist Vance Hazen we are about ready to cut a record with our Louvin Brothers styled act.

I love this Guys photography.
To say nothing of the subject matter!