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My Music Career

Music has been good to me!

I grew up in a very musical family -- my father was a Professor of Piano Performance at Oregon State University and my mother was also a teacher and one heck of a pianist herself! My brother played trumpet and french horn. I started out on violin but switched to drums early on. I played drums all through school and in several bands afterwards. I got bored with drums so I taught myself how to play the piano, bass and guitar -- man did I blow it -- I grew up with a Steinway grand piano and a Hammond organ with a Leslie in the house -- I never took advantage of my parent's teaching abilities! I'm still kickin' myself for that! Oh well -- it all worked out in the end!

I played piano/keyboards professionally in rock and country bands in the Los Angeles area while I was still in the Air Force. I played in a number of bands in Idaho when I was transferred there. In some bands I would play drums, in others I would play acoustic guitar, bass or keyboards. Kept it interesting! After I retired from the Air Force and moved back to Oregon, I decided to get serious with my music. I was playing keyboards in a band with a good regional following. We had the attention of some people at Sony and Warner Brothers. Then, from seemingly out of the blue, came an offer from Nashville for me and and three of my bandmates to go out on tour with a new singer. We toured for what seemed like forever! Somewhere along the line I married a Canadian girl and came off the road and went back to working as a sound engineer -- something I got involved with at a very young age. I did local and regional concerts -- not a lot of road work, which was good because by now I had a new baby at home!

I actually got my start with sound engineering thanks to my dad when I was probably 12 or 13. He would take me to different churches and teach me the best way to record the pipe organs. I would record his performances and later edit and master them. At home, we had a two-track Sony reel-to-reel with Sound-on-Sound so I learned track bouncing -- the technique the Beatles used to make their incredible sounding albums. Live sound was a natural progression from there and I've had the pleasure/honor of working with some of the biggest names in the business!

Below is a partial list of the people in the music industry I am fortunate enough to have performed with, worked with in another capacity and/or have been out on tour with over the years. What a gas! To the right of the artist's name is a brief description of what I did with or for them and perhaps some comments.

Note: There are several links (that are NOT underlined) left over from my old web site. I haven't retrieved the pictures from my old hard disk yet, so the links are broken -- I de-underlined them (is that even a word?) so they won't easily stick out as links.... I plan to get the pictures up here soon!

Wynonna Judd	Opening Act with Steve English. Calgary Stampede, 1994 WOW!!!
Sara Evans	We go back to her days in Oregon with her husband's band, North Santiam. I also used to work occasionally with one of her guitarists, Casey Pollock. Casey was then in a band named Count Zero. Their bass player, Marc Giltner, had a recording studio and I played keyboards on a few of the band's tracks as well as singing and playing keys on other act's tracks. It's funny how Sara and Casey hooked up. I knew they'd both make it! -- Congrats! :-) More Pictures coming soon!!! The link in the left-hand column is of me and Sara back stage at her concert in Atlanta last year. I have some old pics she'd kill me for posting -- I'll get hold of her and ask if she'd mind terribly... I already know what THAT answer will be!
Rod Thompson Suntrack Sound	I was an all-around Sound Technician/Engineer (Monitors and Front of House) for the best regional sound company in the Pacific Northwest! Suntrack is the sound company of choice for national touring acts -- take a look at the Client List! Rod was also the original bass player (in spite of what the press says) for Quarterflash, whose founders, Rindy and Marv Ross, now have a band named The Trail Band and are still performing!
Roger Nichols	Computer networking/troubleshooting/PC building. I had known Roger for about nine months and had been in his home many times before I accidently discovered he was THAT Roger Nichols -- the guy who, with his partner Paul Williams, wrote hit songs for The Carpenters such as We've Only Just Begun, Rainy Days and Mondays and others. He also wrote I Won't Last a Day Without You, recorded by The Carpenters and Barbara Streisand, Out in the Country, recorded by Three Dog Night and The Times of Your Life, recorded by Paul Anka. And that's just the "Short" list! He still writes songs -- one of his recent projects was the theme song for a Golf series on NBC, recorded locally in Bend, Oregon at Clay Smith's recording studio: SoundSmith Studios. Clay was also the guitarist for a band I mentioned earlier, The Click. Right before I moved from Bend, Oregon, Roger had asked me if I was interested in playing keyboards on an upcoming studio project -- I had to turn him down -- maybe some other time!
Steve English	Keyboards, acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vocals, Band Leader, Production Manager, Technical Lead. Steve had a development deal with Warner Brothers Nashville. We toured North America opening for large concerts and headlining small ones. Spent way too much time in Nevada's casinos! Favorite places were Calgary, Alberta Canada and Las Vegas, of course!
Darrell Donaldson	Keyboards, acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vocals, Technical Lead. The link will (currently) take you to Darrell's site, where there are a few pictures with me in them in his Photo Gallery -- can you pick me out?! I also shot the cover photo for his American Tradition album.
Kenny Chesney	Sound Technician. More Party Amimals! Why are girls fascinated with tour buses?
Chubby Checker	Opening Act with Steve English. This guy is simply amazing!
Terry McBride and the Ride	Opening Act with Darrell Donaldson. I can't remember a better after-show party! MMMmmmmm......
Clay Walker	Sound Technician. Clay is great and has a huge show!
Ethan Allen King	Keyboards, harmony vocals. I also played keyboards and sang harmony on a couple of his albums. We opened for Kathy Mattea at the National Cattlemen's Convention in Reno, Nevada a while back.
Trisha Yearwood	Sound Technician.
Diamond Rio	Sound Technician. I've worked with them several times -- they are amazing!
Lila McCann	Sound Technician. She is a real sweetheart! The link is a series of pics, including one of me and her onstage!
Chris LeDoux	Sound Technician. I've been out on tour with him several times. He is a really neat guy and great performer!
John Anderson	Opening Act with Darrell Donaldson. I never even got to meet him! We had another show to get to right after we got done playing!
Aaron Tippen	Sound Technician.
Mark Chesnutt	Sound Technician.
Patty Loveless	Sound Technician.
Michelle Wright	Monitor Engineer. Michelle's great but her sister Laura is FUN and gorgeous! We had a great time!
Collin Raye	Sound Technician. I got to play piano on "Little Rock" at one of his shows. What a thrill !!
Wade Hayes	Monitor Engineer. Been a long time since I've seen panties thrown onstage! Fun bunch to hang with!
Tracy Byrd	Sound Technician.
Neal McCoy	Sound Technician.
Rick Trevino	Sound Technician. I've been with Rick on 3 tours. When "Running Out of Reasons To Run" went #1 in 1997 it was hilarious! Ask me about it!
Steppenwolf	Opening Act with The Unknown Band.
John Berry	Opening Act with Darrell Donaldson. Sound Technician on a later tour. This guy's voice is incredible!
Kathy Mattea	Opening Act with Ethan Allen King. Does she take her bike everywhere? Yes!!!
Riders in the Sky	Opening Act with Steve English. Front of House Engineer and Monitor Engineer as well. These guys are a riot! Doug and I stayed up all night one time playing BlackJack and cracking people up! Fun times!
Quarterflash	Sound Technician. Photographer. Rindy is one of my favorites! Rod was their original bass player! Always fun!
Baillie and the Boys	Front of House Engineer. Monitor Engineer. This was one of the best tours I've been on! Perhaps it was the ladies! lol...
Doug Supernaw	Monitor Engineer.
Marshall Tucker Band	Opening Act with the Mike Walters Band.
John Denver (RIP)	Keyboards and harmony vocals. His dad worked with me at NASA. He flew out to see the first Space Shuttle landing and played a concert out on the dry lake bed at Edwards AFB, California -- I got to sit in....
Dr. Hook	Opening Act with Steve English. Still huge in Canada! We were in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Pure Party Animals!
Smokin' Armadillos	Front of House Engineer.
Exile	Photographer. One of the best shows I've ever shot. I'll post photos as soon as I get them scanned!
Tab Benoit	Sound Technician.
Rhett Akins	Sound Technician. Rhett is a really nice and humble guy!
Daryle Singletary	Monitor Engineer.
Perfect Stranger	Sound Technician.
Big House	Sound Technician. Their lead singer, Monty Byrom, insists I look just like Delbert McClinton! I take offense to that! lol...
Iron Butterfly	Sound Technician. A dream come true -- I got to play drums on "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" during sound check!
Cactus Brothers	Front of House Engineer. This is a WILD bunch!
Lonestar	Sound Technician.
Paul DeLay	Monitor Engineer.
Robert Cray	Sound Technician.
Tom Grant	Sound Technician.
Craig Chacico	Sound Technician. This veteran guitarist of Starship fame puts on a great show!
Nicolette Larson (RIP Darlin')	Sound Technician. I've always loved her -- her death came as a shock, but God has one terrific singer in His band now!
Kenny Rankin	Sound Technician.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds	Sound Technician.
Blue Oyster Cult	Sound Technician. Always been a favorite! Big birthday celebration backstage afterwards!
Keb Mo	Sound Technician.
Starship	Sound Technician.
Kim Carnes	Sound Technician.
Karla Bonoff	Sound Technician. Sitting at the piano with her and singing "Tell Me Why" (Yes, the one Wynonna made famous -- Karla wrote it!) and "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me" was incredible!
R. Carlos Nakai	Monitor Engineer. I was in another world during this concert at a College. He is so diverse and wonderful! Check him out!
Mindy Abair	Front of House Engineer.
Mason Williams & Friends	Sound Technician.
Curtis Salgado	Front of House and Monitor Engineer. "The Blues Brothers" was his inspiration!
Gary Morris	Sound Technician.
Calobo	Sound Technician.
Body and Soul	Front of House Engineer and Monitor Engineer.
Caliente	Sound Technician.
Dan Balmer Band	Sound Technician.
Mark Allen	Sound Technician.
Patty Larkin	Sound Technician.
Kenny Edwards	Sound Technician. A favorite of mine since his days as Linda Ronstadt's bass player and Karla Bonoff's producer! This guy is incredible!

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