|
|
| As the youngest of five with a separation of seven years to my oldest brother, musical tastes varied dramatically between our parents and each of the kids. Just as musical artists and groups become popular today and fade away within a year or two, the same phenomenon occurred during the 60’s through the 80’s. |
| My parents liked big band and solo artists like Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. They were also devout Catholics. Not that you could have guessed that with having five kids. We all went through the same Catholic grade school which included music class. I didn’t think I learned much at the time, but the seeds of reading simple music, appreciating harmony and the importance of timing were deeply established. The majority of the time, I thought the singing training was just a lame attempt at recruiting choir members. |
| On the home front, I was exposed to several different musical instruments growing up. We had an upright piano in the living room. My oldest brother Dan, learned to play the accordion, which intrigued me that something that big with all those buttons and keys could actually produce something intelligible. Even more surprising was the fact that my brother was doing it. The musical bug got John, brother #3 as he wanted to learn to play the guitar. I was impressed at his dedication at going to lessons once a week and practicing on a regular basis. Of course, even when the motivation was dwindling, mom was always there to stress that after paying for the lessons, practice wasn’t an option, it was a requirement. |
| In the summer of ’69, Dan joined Moeller High School’s band and began playing the clarinet & saxophone. Through some agreement, Jim (brother #2) also joined, even though he was only going into the 8th grade. Jim elected to play the trumpet and was released early from grade school to go to practices. Needless to say, I was looking forward to the time when I would get my opportunity to get out of school early. |
| The timing for horn players in the family coincided with the rising popularity of groups like the Beach Boys, Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. The blending and harmonies of the horns and vocals still appeal to me even today. John joined the Moeller band in the summer of ’74 and maintained the string of horn players by choosing the trombone. As a freshman, he was still pretty small and wasn’t capable of reaching the end of the slide, so he started out on baritone until he grew into the trombone. |
| Two years later, my turn arrived. My heart was set on playing the drums, but that was cut short by my mom who refused to have that noise in the house. As if that would have been any different from what sounded like cats wailing as we learned to play horns for the first time. As a second choice, I maintained the string of horn playing and took up the trumpet. After a few lessons with limited enthusiasm, combined with the lack of baritone players in the band, I was coerced into changing to the baritone. With the desire to still play the drums and an unwavering disapproval at home, my playing career ended at the conclusion of my freshman year. |
| Dan & Jim continued their playing careers into college and Jim’s desire to learn how to play several different instruments was great entertainment. Towards the end of his law school days, he started up a band called Time Span. By a stroke of fate or luck, the sound man was unavailable and I was recruited to fill in. Well, the fill-in jobs became more frequent and I was soon the full time sound engineer for the group. I continued with the group for a couple of years, but due to increasing work commitments, I was forced to go into “retirement”. During this “off” time, I met my soul mate, Chris. This was virtually love at first sight and we were engaged in 5 ½ months. Of course, we had Time Span play for our wedding reception. |
| Jump ahead to the year 2000, 10 happy years of marriage and 4 kids later. Jim was still doing an occasional gig with Time Span, but they few & far between. Through a series of events, he was asked to join a group called Blue Stone Ivory (check his biography, if you haven’t already). Being a Moeller grad, I knew about the storied past of the group, but was never lucky enough to have seen them play. |
| Little did I know, that my past was about to repeat itself. In October, 2000, I received a call that the sound engineer was unavailable for a gig at East End Café and I was requested to fill in for the night. I had a lot of fun that night and basically offered to fill in if they ever needed me. The need arose again in January, 2001 and within a week or two, I was asked if I could transition out of the fill-in role to the primary role. |
| With the dedication and passion of each of the members, there is no doubt in my mind that the group is just going to get better. Don’t be surprised if the 2001 Cammy Nomination turns to 2002 Cammy Winner. I continue to be a “student” of sound mixing and try to learn more every time I’m behind the board. My desire is to bring out the best blend of music and showcase the talent of this great group of musicians known as BlueStone Ivory. |