At 10 yrs old, I played the Baritone horn in the marching band for 2 years. The good thing that came out of this was it taught me to read music.  At 12 yrs old, we moved and had a baby grand piano in the house, so I had to try it.  Eventually, I could play melody and maybe a few harmony notes and faked the bass or left hand by using the guitar chords.  I was in a 3-piece band; me on the baritone, a Cordavox and a drummer, but never did anything. My uncle had an accordion and I had to try that.  Not one of my favorites; everything sounded like a Polka! 

 

My cousin got a guitar for Christmas, and soon I had to have one. I saved $100 dollars by cutting grass and bought the coolest (?) guitar, Japanese that was hard to play.  My cousin and I played together as often as we could although miles apart.  I got back together with the Cordavox player and the drummer with my guitar and did play a party or two.  We even had a girl dancing on the table to Wipeout!

 

I eventually met Eric at DeVry who introduced me to Steve.  With Japanese guitar and homemade amplifier Steve and I clicked musically and searched for people to make a band. Soon afterwards, I purchased a Fender Jaguar, and eventually traded it in for a Mosrite, Ventures autographed guitar.

 

During the time I was with "The Other Half" we had a basic, 60's sound, and many times our interpretations of the top 40 turned out very well. The more jobs we did, the better we got, and at one point we seem to exhaust what was on the top 40. It's hard to remember a lot of the songs we did back then but I guess I liked "Third Of January", maybe because it was one we recorded.

 

Back then I enjoyed whatever was popular. Today, it's the 80's. There is an absence of "music" (instruments and melody) in today's music. A beat isn't everything but essential. Complex chord patterns always make the music better. You know, more than 3 chords!

 

After leaving The Other Half I DJ'd for about 15 years incorporating a wide variety of music with a quality sound. I have transferred most of my records (what are those?) to CD. I've worked for the same large company for 32 years. Whoa!

 

Performing with "The Other Half" was a very good, memorable and a valuable learning experience.