Music has been a big part of my life even before I began to play bass guitar. My dad is a preacher who also plays piano (or guitar) and sings. My mom sings in church and my older brother is a very talented musician. I began singing around the age of six or seven. My father had a radio program on a local station and I was so short that I couldn't reach the microphone to sing into it, so they had to stand me on a chair to sing.

I also loved listening to music. I enjoyed live music at church and listening on the radio or to record albums. I use to pretend to be a radio disc jockey. I would play records on my parents record player, and in between the songs I would play the radio announcer. I had a cassette recorder setup, and I had recorded advertisements on it. I would play those ads between songs.

My dad bought a snare drum for me to play when I was probably seven or eight years old, but I didn't become interested in playing a musical instrument until I was older. At that time my dad was playing the piano, mostly, and singing, and my brother played the bass guitar. Around this time the entire family went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and my dad and brother recorded an album with some other musicians. That was very exciting!

Later when I was thirteen, I started to become more interested in playing and my dad showed me a few of the notes on the bass. My brother, Glenn, had learned to play several other instruments by then, and was learning to play the pedal steel guitar. It is an instrument that has a very pretty sound, and I enjoyed hearing him play. There was a man who came to the church services and played the bass guitar when Glenn was playing the steel guitar. He didn't show up one night, and Glenn was not going to be able to play the steel guitar. I was disappointed and decided I would play bass, just to hear him play the steel . My brother called out the chord changes to me, and I also watched my dad change chords, and I played. I enjoyed it and continued to practice and play. My main focus was playing a type of Southern Gospel music. In 1990, I came to Athens, GA to attend the University of Georgia. I studied Classical Culture, and I also played in several bands around town. I was exposed to and learned to play many new and different styles of music. I played with a cover band (that's a band that does songs that were recorded by other people) called No Lexington Exit. I also played with a blues based band known as Cornbread. I graduated from the University in 1993 and moved away for a time, but I had several friends in Athens and I missed the town, so returned a year later.

When I returned, I played with more bands; the Pale-Riders, Sally and the Six Grand Band, Ebenezer West Baptist Church, Ultrasound and several other groups and "pickup" jobs (pickup meaning playing with someone for one or two times). All of this playing covered styles from Gospel to rock'n'roll and from country to jazz. From this, my fascination and interest with all styles in music only grew and it helped me to develop my skills as a musician.

I met Pam in 1995. She was looking for jazz musicians to form a jazz band. I had never played jazz at that time, but was very interested. That band eventually became the Sunny Side-up Band. Originally it was Pam, Joe and myself.. Mindy and Kemp joined soon after and finally Michael. It is a great group of musicians and I enjoy playing with them. The wonderful thing about the band is that it is original music, and it includes many of the styles of music I have come to enjoy playing. The musicians are all very talented, and of course, the audience is the best.

My other interests, outside of music, include sports, movies and being a dad. I enjoy cycling. I raced as an amateur for a few years in my late teens and early twenties. It was very fun. Today, I ride bikes for fitness and fun. I do avidly follow European bicycle racing. I also like college football. But my biggest interest is my family. My wife, Kim, gave birth to our daughter, Marissa, on November 8, 2000. She was born one day before my birthday, which is the 9th, and I was very excited. Being a dad is the most fun and rewarding experience I have ever had, and I enjoy watching her grow.

When I am not playing music, I also have a "day job". I am the Inside Sales Manager at a company called Chalmers & Kubeck - South. We are a distributor of industrial equipment and service repair for a territory that covers the east coast from Maine to Florida.

That's a little bit about myself. Thanks for checking out our website and reading about me. Check out some of the other fun stuff in website and I hope to see you at a show real soon!