My Music Years

For almost 30 years, I enjoyed every aspect of the music industry. I started out in my hometown of Stratford, Ontario with "Bullit". 3 high school buddies and I thought we were going to be the next Springsteen.

As a drummer/vocalist, I've performed in every possible venue, from 35 seat lounges to football stadiums, and on stages ranging from that of the largest, single room nightclub in North America, (Lulu's Roadhouse in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) to farm wagons at Country Fairs! As the house drummer at Lulu's Roadhouse, (4500 person capacity), I worked with, and for, more than 100 of the biggest names in the Music Industry of the past 50 years. Some of these names include The Commodores, Billy Preston, The Platters, and Three Dog Night. Upon leaving Lulu's, I found myself getting phone calls from an assortment of artists and management, which led me to perform at venues that other musicians only dream of. Among these artists are, Billy Preston, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and the Club Bluenote with Junior Walker & the Allstars. Most of these calls would come on an emergency basis, allowing for minimal rehearsal, but the shows had to go on.

Please click this logo to visit my Lulu's Roadhouse tribute pages.
The place was amazing, as you'll see by some of the facts and figures I've collected.

On a more ground level base....I have worked with a lot of great "non-name" bands, playing the bar/dance/concert circuit. Among these and in no particular order are, Charlie Eckstien and the SKD's, (my first road band), The Johnny Guy Show, (10 Provinces and a number of states in 9 months), The Randy Stewart Trio, (yes, the lounge lizard circuit was our home for 2 years, but then we became...), The Roadhouse Band, (Lulu's Roadhouse's houseband), Studebaker Hawk (a revival of the 70's band who's hit "Rainbows, Pots of Gold and Moonbeams" hit top 20 in Canada and did quite well in North America), Justice, Ridin' High, "REFLEX", The Cutting Edge, and The Caledonia Blues Band as well as a few other short projects. (Thanks to Harry Anchan for the use of this .ram file version of a classic Cdn. hit. Please check out the rest of his site. It's a great tribute to a classic era of radio and Cdn. music.)

I greatly enjoy all facets of the music industry. I've worked in the promotional field, running benefit concerts and dances. In promoting the functions as well as the bands, I've handled literally all aspects of running such benefits, from booking the artists and setting budgets, to scheduling, hiring facilities, and pulling donations from local businesses and major corporations. If, through a benefit, I only raise 10 dollars for a charity, while I may have liked to have raised more, it's 10 dollars the charity may not have had.

I have also worked with assorted agents and management companies in relation to scouting and promoting other bands. This has involved preparing promotional material for artists as well as scouting new bands. Having extensively travelled in Canada and parts of the U.S..

I am fortunate to be able to say I have worked with all of the Artists listed below, either as a member of a band, or on my own:

Shirley Alston (the Shirelles), Little Anthony (and the Imperials), The Association, Badfinger, Brook Benton, Chuck Berry, Otis Blackwell, Gary U.S. Bond, James Brown, The Buckinghams, Freddy Cannon, Larry Chance & the Earls, Chubby Checker, The Chiffons, The Chi lites, Lou Christie, Dee Clark, The Coasters, The Commodores, The Crystals, Boby Curtola, Danny & the Juniors, Joey Dee & Starlighters, The Diamonds, Bo Diddley, Mark Dinning, The Dixie Cups, Fats Domino, Ronnie Dove, The Drifters, Exile, Fabian, Donna Fargo, The Fleetwoods, Frankie Ford, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Lesley Gore, Rob Grill & the Grass Roots, Tommy James & the Shondells, Jay & the Americans, the Kendalls, Ben E. King, Buddy Knox, Billy J. Kramer, Brenda Lee, Johnny Lee, Bobby Lewis, Gary Lewis (& the Playboys), Jerry Lee Lewis, The Marvelettes, Spanky McFarlane, The Glen Miller Orchestra, The Moonglows, The Monkees, Rick Nelson, Juice Newton, Peter Noone (Herman's Hermits), Roy Orbison, Donny & Marie Osmond, Fred Parris & the 5 Satins, Wilson Pickett, The Platters, The Powder Blues Band, Billy Preston, Ronnie Proffet, Gary Puckett ( & the Union Gap), Rare Earth, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Tommy Roe, Bobby Rydell, Sam & Dave, Jack Scott, The Searchers, Del Shannon, T.G. Sheppard, The Shirelles, Ronnie Spector, The Stylistics, B.J.Thomas, David Clayton Thomas (Blood Sweat & Tears), Three Dog Night, Johnny Thunder, Johnny Tillotson, The Tokens, The Troggs, Tanya Tucker, The Turtles, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Bobby Vee, The Ventures, Bobby Vinton, Junior Walker & the Allstars, Dee Dee Warwick, Mary Wells, Mary Wilson (the Supremes), Tammy Wynette, and Dennis Yost.

I have to give credit where it is due, in that, my Musical Life has been formed and molded by the above mentioned people. This first happened through listening to them on the radio and television, but the bigger impact came from being able to, and allowedo learn from them, in person. They weren't afraid to be asked what was good or bad about the industry, themselves, or me. For that, I am eternally grateful.