I borrowed my Uncle Jim's Martin guitar ( 000-21) in my early teen years. I never returned it. That guitar helped me learn the chords to "Tom Dooley". We learned it from a song book of Kingston Trio tunes. I went on to learn songs from records and song books by such people as Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, James Taylor,John Denver and various country singers. I always liked the simple songs that told a story. In my mid 20's I started to write songs. Yes, most of them were sad love songs (not much has changed since then). In 1980 I took a job in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as an EMT (emergency medical technician) at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center ( or as we called it " the King Fish"). My faithful Martin followed me there.

    Not a lot of nightlife in Riyadh (no bars, no movie theaters, a date often was a trip to the supermarket) so we had to make our own fun. It was then that I met Joe Arsenault - "Papa Joe". Joe and his wife "Mama June" hosted "Hummers and Strummers" on Thursday nights (Saudi weekends are Thursday and Friday). That gang included everyone from groundskeepers to Doctors. Some could play and some were learning. Finally, one week, someone said " Let's form a band and play a gig".

    Thus was formed "Papa Joe and the Animals". We started playing for groups of Westerners at company compounds and at the hospital Amenity Center. Joe was the showman. He always brought down the house when he played his mandolin behind his head. Eventually, Joe's contract was up and he and June returned to Arizona. Enter David Alger and a new focus for the band. We started doing more country stuff - Texas country. We also changed the name of the band to " Doin' Time". We were a mixed group of folks. Alger on vocals and rhythm guitar, Khalid on drums (Egyptian, rock drummer), Steve Roca ( rock bassist), an American guy played lead (don't remember his name), Mary Miller "Killer" Jones (Girl Singer with a great voice) and me ( lead vocals and rhythm guitar). As I recall, our biggest crowd pleaser was " Leavin' on a Jet Plane". My job was not very taxing. I had a lot of time to myself and began to write more songs. I even made a few tapes. I also spent a bit of time in the desert - camping and exploring. I did a 4 day solo trip that I will never forget. I finally got too homesick and, after 6 years in the desert, I decided to pull the pin.

    Back in the US I did a bit of construction work and a bit of truck driving. I never saw either of those as great career options for me. Back from Riyadh came Paula. We had been more than "friends" for the last couple of years in the Kingdom and decided to continue in the States. I moved to Pensacola, FL. and went to nursing school. Despite my strong feelings for Paula, the old homesickness got the best of me and I moved back to Belfair. I went to work in the ER at Harrison Memorial Hospital. 15 years was enough and I moved to Medical Imaging. By this time I had let my guitar playing and songwriting fade. I hardly did any kind of music until that fateful day in Portland, OR. when I saw the "Wicked Tinkers" (bagpiper, 2 drummers and a guy that played the didgeridoo). All of a sudden I HAD to learn to play the pipes. I soon realized that I needed some help with the pipes. Luckily, I found Jeremy Shilley. He taught me about pipe music and the lore that surrounds piping. I'm not a very good piper but I enjoy it. Jeremy is also an educated singer. After about 5 years of piping, I gave Jeremy a CD version of one of my Riyadh tapes. He was "enthusiastic" about my singing. We began voice lessons. This spurred me to pick up my guitar (by now I had an acoustic/ electric Washburn). I started to dig through all the old songs I used to play and had a wild thought. " Why don't I put these on a CD so I can give them to my friends (something I had done in Riyadh) ?" Luck was with me again when I called Jeff Tassin and he agreed to record and produce a CD for me. It has been a wonderful relationship. I sing and play rhythm guitar, Jeff does everything else. I now have 3 CD's of my own songs ( except for " The Vagabond" which is a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson).

    Jeff is building me a website and I have plans for some music videos. ( Half naked women, smoke and lights... maybe not.) I have recently purchased a Taylor guitar and it has opened up a whole new world of notes to me. The only performing I have done since the restart is "Songwriters Showcase" at Pat's Little Red Barn. This is a small resturant/ bar about 3 minutes from my home. It's a great place to get together with friends and play music.