About
I began playing at the age of nine when my brother bought a guitar from Eaton's catalogue. He never did learn to play. I played in the neighborhood with some of the older guys to learn chords and some of the old songs.
My first paying job was at twelve years of age and from then on I was hooked by the music bug.
In 1961 some friends and I started a rock n' roll band called the Thunderbolts which was the first group in Kings County.
I was a member of the Thunderbolts and various off shoots of the band until in 1969 I moved to Toronto to see if I could make a living in music. I survived there for about eight years until I returned home in 1977.
While in Toronto I had the opportunity to play with some of the finest country players and singers of that era. Some of them were, Diane Leigh, Carroll Baker, Chef Adams, Gerry Warren, Larry Dee & Dottie Randall, Ollie Strong, Al Briscoe, Willie Wallace, Jimmy Allen and many more. I recorded as a drummer in a number of studios in Toronto and was carving out a good career for myself until I came home on holiday and decided that I liked the quiet life on PEI better than the rush of the big city.
I played locally for many years and started writing songs. I've been lucky enough to have had my songs recorded by many people over the years. I retired from the PEI civil service in 2002 and re-opened a studio in my home that had been dormant for about ten years. I've been fortunate to record about twenty five CDs over that six years that we've been back in business and hope to record many more.
I have the honour of being the first president of the PEI Music Awards Association, now Music PEI, of which I am a life member.
I was one of the organizers of the PEI Bluegrass and Old Time Music Society, of which I am a life member.
I was one of the organizers of the first PEI Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival which is still in place after twenty three years.
I have been a member of the board of directors of the PEI Bluegrass and Old Time Music Society for most of the twenty three years of it's existence and am still an active member of the board and a member of the festival committee.
Awards:
ECBMA Bluegrass DJ of the year 2003
& 20004
PEI Music Awards Weekend Warrior 2004
ECMA Stompin' Award 2005
