I have been playing music professionaly for over 25 years.During the years I did recording sessions, these were some of the musicians, producers and engineers that I worked with:
Dennis Wilson Stuart Duncan, Steve Nathan,
Chuck Ainlay, Richard Bennett Paul Liem,
Mike Henderson, John Wesley Ryle Lonnie Wilson,
Billy Sherrill, Blake Chancey, Garth Fundis,
Owen Hale, Sonny Garrish, Norro Wilson,
Tony Brown, Brent Mason Greg Morrow,
Rob Hajacos, Pig Robbins, Dan Dugmore,
Paul Worley, Brent Rowen, David Malloy,
Paul Franklin Buddy Emmons Ed Seay,
Harry Stinson Keith Stegal, Buddy Cannon,
Harold Bradley, Darrell Scott Johnny Neel,
Mark O'Conner Tony Harrol Chad Cromwell
Steve Hinson J.T.Corenfloss Larry Franklin
Jerry Douglas Tim Lauer Glen Duncan
Here is a list of most of the artists I've recorded with:
David Ball Thinkin' Problem (1994) Vocals (bckgr)
Marty Brown Wild Kentucky Skies (1993) Harmony Vocals
Marty Brown Cryin', Lovin', Leavin' (1994) Bass (Electric), Vocals (bckgr)
Marty Brown Here's to the Honky Tonks (1996) Bass, Harmony Vocals
Tracy Byrd I'm from the Country (1998) Vocals (bckgr)
Bobby Cage Coming Home to You (2001) Guitar (Acoustic), Percussion, Guitar (Bass), Vocals (bckgr), Producer
Deryl Dodd One Ride in Vegas (1996) Vocals (bckgr)
Deryl Dodd Pearl Snaps (2002) Vocals (bckgr)
George Ducas George Ducas (1995) Bass
Sara Evans No Place That Far (1998) Vocals (bckgr)
Keith Gattis Keith Gattis (1996) Bass, Vocals (bckgr)
Hayseed Melic (1998) Bass, Vocals (bckgr), Engineer
Mike Henderson Country Music Made Me Do It (1994) Vocals (bckgr)
Mike Henderson Edge of Night (1996) Bass, Harmony Vocals
George Jones I Lived to Tell It All (1996) Vocals (bckgr)
George Jones It Don't Get Any Better Than This (1998) Vocals (bckgr)
George Jones Cold Hard Truth (1999) Vocals (bckgr)
Jim Lauderdale Whisper (1998) Vocals (bckgr)
Danni Leigh 29 Nights (1998) Bass, Vocals (bckgr), Bass (Upright)
Martina McBride Wild Angels (1995) Vocals (bckgr)
Mindy McCready If I Don't Stay the Night [BNA] (1997) Vocals (bckgr)
Allison Moorer Alabama Song (1998) Bass, Vocals
Ricochet Blink of an Eye (1997) Vocals (bckgr)
Bruce Robison Long Way Home from Anywhere (1999) Bass, Guitar (Bass)
Tammy Rogers Tammy Rogers (1996) Vocals (bckgr)
Connie Smith Connie Smith [Warner Brothers] (1998) Bass, Vocals (bckgr)
Marty Stuart Hillbilly rock {1990}
Marty Stuart Tempted (1991) Bass, Vocals (bckgr)
Marty Stuart This One's Gonna Hurt You (1992) Bass, Vocals (bckgr)
Marty Stuart Love and Luck (1994) Vocals, Harmony Vocals
Marty Stuart Marty Party Hit Pack (1995) Vocals (bckgr)
Marty Stuart Honky Tonkin's What I Do Best (1996) Vocals (bckgr)
Marty Stuart Pilgrim (1999) Vocals (bckgr)
Jerry Sullivan & Tammy... Tomorrow (2000) Vocals (bckgr)
Verlon Thompson Verlon Thompson (1990) Bass, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Rick Trevino Looking for the Light (1995) Bass
Rick Trevino Rayo de Luz (1995) Bass
Ricky Van Shelton Love and Honor (1994) Bass, Vocals (bckgr)
Original Soundtrack Heartbreak Hotel [Original... (1956) Guitar (Bass)
Original Soundtrack Black Dog [Original Soundtrack] (1998) Vocals (bckgr)
Various Artists Red Hot + Country (1994) Vocals
Various Artists NASCAR: Runnin' Wide Open (1995) Vocals (bckgr)
Various Artists NASCAR: Hotter than Asphalt (1996) Bass, Guitar (Bass), Vocals (bckgr)
Various Artists Tammy Wynette...Remembered (1998) Vocals (bckgr)
Various Artists Edges from the Postcard, Vol. 3 (1999) Vocals (bckgr)
Various Artists Dancin' with Thunder: The Official (2001) Vocals (bckgr)
This is not a complete list of albums.
This is not to mention the songwriter demos I played and sang on.
Toured with:
- T. Graham Brown {1 year}
- Roger Miller { filled in for 3 or 4 months}
- Randy Travis {fall tour}
- Marty Stuart {4 years}
- Mike Henderson {summer tour}
- David Ball {summer tour}
Performed with:
- Buck Owens
- Emmylou Harris
- Merle Haggard
- Porter Wagnor
- Pee Wee King
- Travis Tritt
- Willie Nelson
- Kitty Wells
- The Staple Singers
- Johnny Cash
- Waylon Jennings
- Connie Smith
- Wilma Lee Cooper
- Joe Diffee
- Jack Green
- The Fairfield four
Television Shows performed on:
- Chuch Street Station
- Austin City Limits
- On Stage
- Grand Ole Opry
- Nashville Now
- Hee Haw
- Country Music Awards
- No Hats Tour Pay per view
- Many Music Videos on CMT
I started in Music as far back as I can remember. My Father, Duane , was, and still is a Steel Guitar player, so I was exposed to music at a very young age. When I was six months old my Dad was playing with Pee Wee King and the family was on the road to Montana for about a year. He was always playing Steel around the house and I think it really tuned my ear in a way few other instruments can. My Mother was also a singer, although not professionally, she would record herself singing on their old wollensak tape recorder. She and my Dad were both great harmony singers and I know that also trained my ear to hear harmony parts. Later I found these recordings and heard myself crying as a baby in the background. I also found songs that Mom and Dad had Recorded together and even some original songs my Dad wrote.... what a find !!!
The Early Years
One of the things I remember when I was very young was , my Dad's brother, Gary Marrs, played drums in a Rock and Roll band first called "the Moonglows" and later "the Skeptics". They would practice on Saturdays at the nightclub they played at in Ochelata Oklahoma. they said that I would dance like crazy while they played and everybody got a big kick out of it. Later I wanted to get on stage and play the tambourine with the band, so they tolerated me. One time Gary had his drums set up in a bedroom at my Grandmothers house and I thought that was about the coolest thing I'd ever seen in my life. They looked huge to a four or five year old boy. I've never forgotten those experiences and I know it inspired me to want to play in a band. By the time I was in fifth grade I wanted to play the snare drum in the school band but there were too many kids trying for the same thing. So I settled for the Trumpet. I worked hard and even learned some songs by ear like Henry Mancini's "Man with the horn". But my heart was not completely in it. I wanted to play guitar. So my Dad taught me some chords and I picked it up a little. Then I discovered the Bass guitar. Once When we were visiting in Oklahoma - we moved to Nashville when I was six - My dad took me to a music store where an old friend of his worked. He told him I was interested in Bass and I had found one I really Liked on the wall, a Beatle bass. My Dads friend told me if I would really learn to play that thing that he would give it to me. Well I did and years later when I played with Marty Stuart , We played a nightclub In Tulsa and who was opening for us, none other than Roy Ferguson, the man who had given me my first bass. In Jr. High I was still playing Trumpet but not doing so good. The Band director knew that I played bass so He worked it out where I could play tuba parts on the bass as a teachers aid. I was actually bringing a bass amp to school in seventh grade. I was the bass player in all the school plays and even acted and sang in some of them. Through High school I continued playing bass in as many bands that I could get in and also playing guitar and drums in bands also. After High School I went on to play in different bands, from rock and roll, to country and even some jazz and oldies groups. By this time I was settled in on bass and besides I was the only one among my friends that had a bass and an amp and a stationwagon to carry the rest of the bands gear in. After a few years of playing around Nashville I was asked to join a new band that was trying to get a new sound for country music.The Group was called GOLDEN SPEER. Something that had elements of rock, but with country harmonies and lyrics. This was when I met Rusty Golden and Chris Golden . Of course their Father William Lee Golden is the member of the little old group called The Oak Ridge Boys . This was the first time I was exposed to professional recording studios, perfomance showcases for record labels in Nashville, photo shoots, and playing in some of Nashvilles most popular night clubs. This was to provide me with real experience in the music bussines. I know I didn't realize it then, but playing in that band laid down the foundation for the rest of my career. And the band was very ahead of thier time. From the way we dressed to our performance on stage. We were well rehearsed and confident on stage and even though we never produced a record deal while I was in the band, Rusty and Chris went on to form "The Goldens" and were signed to Capitol/SBK records. I credit Rusty and Chris with helping me in ways I may have never told them. Thanks guys!!
After that I continued to play around Nashville and eventually joined "The Lorna Greenwood Band" and " Mel and The Party Hats" not to mention most of my friends were songwriters or musicians and I was always playing in local studios on their stuff. There were a lot more people and groups that I haven’t mentioned but I just can't list them all here.
Enter T Graham Brown
About 1986 I got the opportunity to play with T.Graham Brown. One of my close friends was all ready running sound for T. and when the bass player spot became open Todd Grammer worried T. silly until He hired me. The first Time I ever met T. was on the set of Nashville Now with Ralph Emery and we were getting ready to play on National Television to millions of people. He looked at me and said "Hey you've got something on your shirt" and very nervously I looked down and when I did He flicked me under the chin with his finger, as the joke goes. So that broke the ice and I did just fine on the show. We went on to tour with Kenny Rogers, Dwight yoakam , The Judds, and many others as the opening act for big shows, of the like I hadn’t done before. We took a trip to Europe and played in London , all over Germany , Austria , and opened for Joe Cocker in Brighton England. Towards the End of 1987 my Mother passed away from a long battle with cancer. She never really got to see the success I had achieved with T. Right after that I got on my first major harmony session with T. singing on the song " Darlene" which was a pretty big record for Brown. With the death of my mother I was left dazed and confused and I left T's band to be at home with my Family.
Enter Marty Stuart
After playing in some local bands for a couple of years without any plans and nothing really happening I received a call from Marty Stuart. He asked me what I'd been up to since I saw him last {I had auditioned for him around 1985 but decided to join a rock band instead, funny how things work out], I said I wasn't doing anything right now. He told me about the CD Hillbilly Rock just out and He had about 75 dates opening for Willie Nelson. Well that sounded just great to me and I started some of the most successful years in the music business. The band started with Ray Flack on guitar {of the Ricky Skaggs band} Dave Durocher on Drums { now with Bug Music in Nashville}Marty and me. That first year was amazing. Getting to do all those shows with Willie was like a dream come true to a Willie fan. The band was only together one month when we did Austin City Limits with Waylon Jennings. Then many appearances on Nashville Now, The Grand Ole Opry,Music Videos like Hillbilly rock {I play the cow Bass}, many more dates with everybody you can think of in Country Music at that time. During that year Marty had been doing some Shows with Roger Miller as his guitar player. Well Roger asked Marty if I would do some shows playing Bass and of course I said yes. I ended up doing about 17 dates with Roger , one of those was at T-PAC with the Nashville Symphony playing Hillbilly Music of all things, but it really turned out great. Sadly We lost Roger later that year. He used to ask Marty If I was growing any hair yet when they would talk. At the End of 1990 Ray and Dave left the band and ended an Era. People have told me that that band really inspired them to want to play Country Music. The band was aggressive, really like a modern day Buck Owens and The Buckeroos. A real Honky Tonk Band That could play hard Country or Thrash-a-billy at the drop of a hat.
In 1991 We started with two new players , Johnny Sturdivant JR , who had already played with Marty and got me the audition in '85 , and Brad Davis who was primarily a Bluegrass Flatpicker at the time not having played a lot of Electric guitar. It wasn't long before this band formed into one of the most polished bands on the road. Opening for groups that had twice as many players, it forced us to be tighter and fuller sounding with our arrangements. People have told me they couldn't believe the sound that we got with just a four piece band. We went on to perform in "The No-Hats Tour" with Travis Tritt which in 1992 was one of the biggest selling shows in all genres of music. We played in 48 states in America and all Providences in Canada and Nova Scotia. We did everything that could be done as a band playing everywhere you could imagine. On TV, Videos, Radio, in the studio on the CD's. It was big time as it gets. Most of the pictures on the site are with this band.
