Morning, Mike, and All,

You asked about my musical career: I started in bands that played school parties, proms, Frat gigs, and such. Moved on to nightclub work, and from there, to the road. On the road, we mostly played Hotel lounges and bars, but later moved on to the clubs and casinos of Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe. Along the way, we opened for some name acts, some quite famous, but never became famous, ourselves. Drugs took it's toll on much of the group, too, as we made more money, and played with more famous folks. Only myself and my room mate, our keyboard player, resisted the temptation.

In all my years as a musician, I was never tempted to try even a single drug, and I'm quite proud of that, actually. Some of those guys in the early bands are long dead from their excesses. Some of them eventually cleaned up the act and moved on to "real" life, where they were eventually successful. A few are still mired in drugs and drama, and their lives are more than a little pitiful, really, and quite disgusting. Sad deal, but hey, they made their own choices, and now are trapped by the consequences of their actions/choices. Hoisted upon their own petards, as the phrase goes.

My last musical adventure, was playing on the Harbor Cruise Boats out of San Diego. That was a hoot! Almost like playing at Disneyland, except the passengers were really the entertainment.... at least for us musicians!! <LOL!!> Man, did we get some characters on those cruises!! My last band was drug and drink free, and did not even smoke cigarettes. That made going to work a real pleasure, and I actually miss those days on the boats.

Back then, I played drums, trombone, Fluegabone, and all the Latin percussion stuff, and I was the lead vocalist in most of the bands of which I was a member. When playing the big venues, I was out front, as the lead singer, and we had another drummer. Now, in our Living History hobby, I play 18th century traditional stuff, on whistles and flageolettes, and that's really a ton of fun! Still keep the pipes up, a little, by singing ballads and traditional songs at our events, in The Sow's Ear Tavern, which we host for colonial participants.

So, that's about it for me. I miss playing music for a living, but to NOT miss the very negative effect that drugs eventually had on that entire scene!! Lost too many good friends back then, and to me, that made those dark days all a waste, and not the "fun, hazy days", that some seem to remember about their drug scene experiences. 'Nuff said.... Thanks for asking, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc