Born:  Dayton, Ohio

            High School:  Diamond, Missouri -- class of 1980

            College:  Missouri Southern State (2 yrs)

            Military:  United States Air Force (1983-1992)

            I grew up in a musical family.  My father sang and played several instruments and mother had a wonderful voice.  Many of my extended relatives shared similar talents.  So, I owe a lot to God and to a roll of the genetic dice.  As a wee lad in grade school my parents persuaded me to enter into the school talent show.  There I was, absolutely petrified, singing "You Are My Sunshine", a capella, in front of all those parents and teachers, nearly crying--but I made it through the ordeal.  After that, I figured it couldn't get any worse, so I've never been afraid of an audience since then.  In 5th grade father told me to pick an instrument.  Well, since most of our relatives ceaselessly engaged in "pickin' and a' grinnin'", I wanted anything but guitar.  Drums it would be, then.  The music director for the grade school had to test anyone who wanted into the band to see if they at least had rhythm, and I scored very high.  Thus began my long involvement with music.

                After my parents divorced in 1974, we moved to Joplin, Mo.  I continued as a drummer and joined choir in Junior High, and even made the selection into the All City Choir in 1975.  Sadly, life was somewhat bumpy at that point of my life, so I didn't have much time to really enjoy all the experiences.  My mother's remarriage in 1976 took us to Diamond, Mo.  Without any reservation, my High School experience was one of the fondest memories I'll ever hold.  And this is where my involvement in acting began.  Yes, of course, I was in band and choir, but after taking a speech class I realized that speaking in front of people is easier than singing in front of them.  An upper classman saw my interest and got me involved in debate and oratory.  From there I branched into duet acting and eventually got into the one act plays.  In my senior year, during rehearsal for a one act cutting of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons", our drama teacher brought in a friend of hers who was a professional stage actor.  It was obvious that he knew how to command the stage and the audience and he taught us more about acting than most learn as an acting major in college.  At that point I knew the stage would always be a second home for me.

                My college experience served only to dampen my enthusiasm a bit.  Getting anywhere in the acting arena in my college depended on breaking into the clique that had been so solidly in place for years.  I chose to spend more time finding my place for a substantial career.  And it was getting more expensive each semester--and I was doing this on my own.  At this point the Air Force was bombarding the media with "get your degree in the Air Force" adds and it looked attractive.  In 1983 I joined the Air Force.  During basic training I had the opportunity to see a Tops in Blue performance.  I was amazed that regular Air Force members were able to be part of something that spectacular.  After basic training I was able to bypass tech school for computers and was assigned to Laughlin AFB, Texas in March.  The very day I reported in a civilian co-worker asked if I did any acting.  You can guess the answer.  And with this I joined The Upstagers.

                I continued to improve my acting and broaden my singing skills to include a good many styles and even began learning choreography.  My first lead in a musical came in 1986 with "Anything Goes", and it was quite a magical experience for me.  But I need to back track just a bit.  Remember I mentioned seeing Tops in Blue during basic training?  Well, in 1984, during work on the musical "South Pacific", I met a young military lady who had just returned from a tour with Tops in Blue and their Super Bowl half-time show.  She coached me on all the things they look for when selecting a TIB cast: choreography, attitude, flash, comradery.  1985 brought my first attempt to make it.  In those days, the road to TIB was much different than it is now.  You had to survive base level, command level, and get to World Wide--just to be seen by Tops in Blue.  Well, I won my Male Vocalist and Best of Show at Laughlin that year.  It did not prepare for competition at the Air Training Command level, held at Keesler AFB, MS.  I learned a lot, but came back empty handed and with a bit of a bruised ego.  I was determined, though, that 1986 would hold a different outcome.  Base level at Laughlin in 1986 was a repeat of 1985--top Male Vocalist and Best of Show.  But I knew what to expect at ATC, and used that knowledge and my added experience to propel me to best Male Vocalist for the command.

                Here is where my story takes on another dimension.  During the ATC competition I met dozens of extremely talented performers, some I knew from the previous year and some who were new.  There was one in particular that was especially impressed by.  A young female airman from Sheppard AFB, TX, by the name of Terra.  Her performance in the Female Vocalist category was powerful and she exuded so much confidence that I new I had to meet her.  By the time the finals were announced we had developed quite an attachment.  But since I had made the finals and she had not, there was a chance things would pretty much end right there.  However, I knew there was a good chance that, because she was such a strong performer, she would receive a waiver to go to World Wide for a chance at Tops in Blue.  And receive one she did.

                World Wide competition, held that year at Minot AFB, ND, was an experience that made command level seem like a walk in the park.  ATC had a very strong team that year, but I put little faith in any chance at grabbing either a Roger or a Wilco in my category.  I focused completely on getting picked for Tops in Blue.  This meant auditioning in any capacity I possibly could.  I signed up for vocal group auditions, dance auditions, even drum auditions.  You can imagine my surprise, though, when I was announced as a finalist in my category.  And although I placed second, it didn't matter--it had been one more opportunity to be noticed by Tops in Blue.  After the finals were over and all the contestants gathered in the big room to celebrate, we listened in anticipation at each name called forward to be part of the new cast of Tops in Blue.  I got more nervous by the second as nearly a third of our team, including Terra, got called up.  I let out a breath that I must have held forever as my name was called, second to last.  The tour was the most challenging, exhausting, painful, and joyous time I have ever spent, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Finishing that tour, Terra and I both got called back to be part of the Lee Greenwood and Bob Hope Special performances, and it's hard to express how rewarding that was.

                One of the many things I brought back home with me was an intensity of performing and need for perfection that to this day drive every show I'm a part of.  In order to hold on to some of the TIB experience I collaborated with Terra, who had transferred to Laughlin, two other Tops in Blue priors, and another very talented friend, Bill Culpepper, in the creation of a vocal showcase called "Music Magic".  The mission of that group was, and still is, extremely professional quality vocals and lively visual performance in musical variety.  Music Magic has been affiliated with many pageants, Del Rio July Fourth celebrations too numerous to count, and a multitude of Laughlin functions.

                In 1987 I also joined up with the hugely successful band "Caught in the Act", which included drummer Jimmy Hunkin and his brother, Mickey, on bass guitar.  I had picked up playing keyboards in 1985, so I was not the greatest player in the world.  And I'm still not.  But, what I lacked in skill I made for in enthusiasm and the combination of players launched us to win the Southwest Texas Battle of the Bands three years in a row.  And, as things happen, 1989 saw many changes.  Shortly after winning the third BOTB, the band broke up.  I married Terra.  And I received orders to be stationed at the Pentagon.  To shorten this part of the story, Washington D.C. is a disgusting place to be and I absolutely despised my two years stuck there.  Two things made it bearable.  Terra, primarily, and my entry into a popular local band "Jumpstart".  I had never made so much money with a band before, but it's a good thing I did.  It was unbelievably expensive to live there, especially as a Staff Sergeant.  I decided that I would not re-enlist when my time was up in 1992.  We moved to San Antonio where Terra worked as a secretary and I worked with an international computer and network repair company. 

                But I missed Del Rio.  Terribly.  San Antonio was still too big, too congested, too crime-ridden.  And I had virtually no outlet for my musical yearnings.  This was the phase of inward development for me.  I developed my knowledge of MIDI in order to be able to produce all the music by myself.  Armed with a computer and a rack of synthesizers, I soon found there was almost no limit to what I could do.

                I have always believed that as each door closes God opens another one.  It is up to us to step through it.  The next door to open was an opportunity to change jobs and work for a computer firm in Uvalde, TX.  Happily, this put me quite a bit closer to Del Rio and to many of my old friends.  In fact, shortly after settling in, visits to Del Rio allowed me to get involved with The Upstagers again.  They were working on the musical "Gypsy" and were trying to curb the costs of getting the music recorded by having it done on keyboards.  And so I began doing entire arrangements of various numbers for the show--putting to a test all the things I had been teaching myself while living in San Antonio.  As usually happens when one gets involved with an Upstagers' production, in for a penny, in for a pound.  Helping with the music turned into playing not one small part, but three!  All the late nights driving back from Del Rio after rehearsal or performance prompted me to decide that I'd rather commute to Uvalde every day for work than have to drive home so late.  And I knew "Gypsy" would not be the only show I'd be involved with.  God opened yet another door and gave us the opportunity to buy a home in Del Rio and in 1994 finally made it all the way back. 

                The musical "Pump Boys and Dinettes" was the first show that I arranged and performed the complete score to.  It was also the first show that I took part in the bi-annual Texas Non-profit Theatre play competition.  We made it to the State competition, as The Upstagers have nearly every time, and I received All-Star Cast in recognition for the music.  Over the years I have been able to increase my skills as musical director, and always try to improve not only on the original scores of shows, but the potential of the performers.  As a result each production tops the previous one and audiences have never been disappointed.  In 1998 The Upstagers had the honor of producing the world premiere of "Soup Du Jour".  The composer of the music, Mr. Gregg Opelka, was so pleased with my arrangements of the score that he grants me half of the receipts for any theatre group that uses the sequences I produced.

                Also in 1994 most of the members of the band "Caught in the Act" got back together under the name "Red Handed".  You could tell immediately that the time apart had allowed each of us to develop our musicianship and we quickly became the busiest band in Southwest Texas.  Mickey Hunkin and I began writing for the group and our original compositions were very popular.  We always had innovative arrangements of cover tunes, as well as vocals so powerful there wasn't a band around that could touch us.  Unfortunately, success could not compete with frustration and exhaustion, and "Red Handed" broke up just short of creating our first CD, in 1997.

                That year also was the most exhausting for The Upstagers.  A normal season is comprised of three comedies, one large musical and one small musical.  Not so, in 1997.  In addition to the three comedies, we produced "Grease", "Oklahoma" (which was my rather dismal directorial debut), and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".  Suffice to say I will never run that marathon again.  Since then I've had the honor of working on some of our most successful shows, including the revival of "Anything Goes" (in which I reprised the role I played in 1986), "Monky Business" (which brought us the 2001 State Championship and an impressive showing at the Regionals in Oklahoma), and the recently produced "Guys and Dolls" (for which I wrote many new pieces of music).  My crowning glory was the dramatic music "Jekyll & Hyde".  Easily the most challenging performance of my life, but the most rewarding.  It was at the completion of this show that I chose to semi-retire from acting.  Why?  Turning my life back to God has changed my priorities, simple as that.  Leading praise & worship at church is both demanding and exciting, and given a choice between that and performing on stage....well, there's no contest there.  Surprising to those who've known me forever, I know.

                That said, I am very intense in everything I do, especially when it comes to performing.  When I've heard a few people in the past ask the question, "Why do we take this so seriously--it's only community theatre?", I admit to fighting back a bit of anger at that attitude.   Community theatre is voluntary, but it does NOT mean it has to be any less professional.  I take personal pride when a theatre goer tells us our production was as good as something they'd seen on Broadway.  It takes the hard work and dedication of many individuals, as well as consistently energetic performances to deserve that kind of acclaim and justify audiences buying a ticket.  The Upstagers have not come by their reputation in Texas, nor been recognized as the award-winning theatre troupe it is, without taking it seriously.  And I'm proud to have had a big part of that.

                Last, but not least, I got my Open Water Diving certification in May of 2001.  I had gone SCUBA diving several times since 1985 with a friend of mine who was certified, but I finally broke down and took the PADI course and got myself some gear.  I took the opportunities where they came up to dive with other people, but Terra had a phobia about breathing underwater.  However, in 2005 she finally agreed to try out my gear in a pool and found it wasn't so bad.  Soon afterward she got her certification.  We went on a cruise in December 2005 and she did her first salt-water dive at Grand Cayman.  Now we have one more thing in our lives that we can share.

                So, if you've read this far then you know all there is to know about me....well, not all there is to know, but if it has to do with music you've got a pretty good handle on it.

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Last updated:  2 Jan 2006