The Story
On October 15, 2020 my dear friends Carl and Carol Verheyen, Mark and Beth Hetrick along with Bernard and Lisa Matthews invited me down to Hood River, Oregon for an extended weekend get-away. I was 3 months into treatment for an aggressive form of prostate cancer and really ready for this much needed restful vacation. What was about to transpire was actually a musical intervention.
For over 50 years I’ve been a musician, performer, songwriter, audio engineer and music producer. In all that time I had never recorded an album of my own songs while singing and playing guitar. Carl, Mark, Bernard and I took time that weekend to select 10 of my songs with the commitment to record and produce my first album.
By December we had the rhythm charts finished. Then in studio 2 of Hollywood’s iconic Sunset Sound a small army of world-class musicians consisting of keyboardist Jim Cox, bassist Tom Child and drummer John Mader gathered to record basic tracks with Carl and myself on guitars. Engineer Bernard Matthews at the console recorded all this music in just 2 days.
Unfortunately in August of 2022 my cancer returned and I went into a more extensive treatment protocol. These treatments had left me with a very limited voice. For three years Bernard made many trips from Oregon to my studio in western Washington. Working his magic as a renowned vocal producer he was able to coax some pretty good vocal performances from my unstable throat. And thanks to some voice coaching from my great friend and singer Mike Shiflett, 4 years later Bernard had completed tracks to mix and master.
If you my faithful family, friends and fans happen to hear yourselves in the stories I am singing please know that it is intentional on my part. You are the fabric in this patchwork quilt I call “MY WONDERFUL LIFE”. Thank you all for holding me together.