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Born in Upland California, the youngest of three kids. My
mother played her first public piano recital at the age of
three. She also had a beautiful voice and performed as a
soloist at Carnegie Hall. My father worked for oil
companies, and traveled all the time. When he was younger he
played the upright double bass with the band that backed
up Patty Page. He taught me my first song on his bass …
“Alley Cat”, when I was about 4 or 5 years old. (I had to
stand on a chair to play it!)
I got my first guitar when I was 6 years old as a birthday
present from my Grandfather. We were living with him and my
Grandmother in Okmulgee Oklahoma. It was a Kay
Acoustic. (I really wanted an electric because I liked the
sound Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, and George Harrison’
s electric guitar made.) I liked most of the music the Rolling
Stones and the Beatles were doing back then, and learned
how to play by listening to my sister’s 45’s. She would tell me
I was “wearing her favorite songs out,” because I would sit
and play them over and over again, picking out the notes, and
trying to figure out how to make a certain chord. I also liked
The Ventures; those guys could play a guitar!
I moved to Baird Texas to live with my Great Aunt, Bess
Driskill, when I was 11 years old. Baird is a small town in
West Texas, population of 1,100 more or less depending on
the day. Aunt Bess had a heart bigger than Texas itself.
She taught me everything that was good in life, and
encouraged my guitar playing. She bought my first electric
guitar, a Sears Silvertone, with a matching Silvertone amp.
It had tremolo and a foot switch, which I thought was so cool
‘cause I could play songs like “Crimson and Clover” and
“Day Tripper.”
Two of my friends and I started a 3-piece rock and roll band
my freshman year at Baird High School. We found out
really quick that Country Music is what you have to play in
West Texas, and luckily found a guy at our school that had
a great voice for country, and he also played the guitar. I
found an old dusty Hoffner bass guitar stuck back in a
corner of a store room in the school’s band hall, neglected
and forgotten. That’s when I began playing bass guitar. The
four of us became the FFA talent team at our high school.
We named the band “Sierra Light,” competing in talent
shows all over Texas, ending up qualifiers at the state finals,
at the Houston Astrodome. We played in honky tonks,
American Legion and VFW dance halls all through high
school. After High School, I moved to Dallas Texas to go to
college. I played music every weekend with Sierra Light.
During the week I would listen to and occasionally sit in with
the bands playing around Dallas. That was a part of my
college education too! Sierra Light stayed together 11
years, playing honky tonks and dance halls, big and small, all
over Texas.
When I was in the 7th Grade I met Shawn Deel. We went
“steady” for a while until she dumped me for an older guy in
the 8th grade (he had a drivers license and a black mustang,)
and broke my heart. We attended different colleges after
High School, and ultimately wound up back together after
college. I stopped playing music when we left Texas about
20 years ago. We lived in Albuquerque New Mexico and
then Las Vegas Nevada, where our beautiful daughter was
born, Micah Simons. We moved to Phoenix almost 17 years
ago. Micah has graduated from Red Mountain High School.
(2006), and she is the apple of my eye.
I first went to Filly’s on a Thursday night because someone
told me they had really good Broasted Chicken. Filly’s is the
closest place I have found to a West Texas Honky Tonk
since I left Texas 20 years ago. Steve was playing his guitar
and singing. I wasn’t sure if I liked the Broasted Chicken or
Steve’s guitar playing better. (Both were pretty darn good.)
He asked me how the chicken was, and sat down and we
began talking about guitars, songwriters, music, and stuff
like that. A few weeks later, he called me to come in and
audition to play bass guitar with his band, Tru North. Now
almost a year passed. I am still here playing music and eating
Filly’s Broasted Chicken.
Thanks Steve … and I hope I passed the audition!
mother played her first public piano recital at the age of
three. She also had a beautiful voice and performed as a
soloist at Carnegie Hall. My father worked for oil
companies, and traveled all the time. When he was younger he
played the upright double bass with the band that backed
up Patty Page. He taught me my first song on his bass …
“Alley Cat”, when I was about 4 or 5 years old. (I had to
stand on a chair to play it!)
I got my first guitar when I was 6 years old as a birthday
present from my Grandfather. We were living with him and my
Grandmother in Okmulgee Oklahoma. It was a Kay
Acoustic. (I really wanted an electric because I liked the
sound Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, and George Harrison’
s electric guitar made.) I liked most of the music the Rolling
Stones and the Beatles were doing back then, and learned
how to play by listening to my sister’s 45’s. She would tell me
I was “wearing her favorite songs out,” because I would sit
and play them over and over again, picking out the notes, and
trying to figure out how to make a certain chord. I also liked
The Ventures; those guys could play a guitar!
I moved to Baird Texas to live with my Great Aunt, Bess
Driskill, when I was 11 years old. Baird is a small town in
West Texas, population of 1,100 more or less depending on
the day. Aunt Bess had a heart bigger than Texas itself.
She taught me everything that was good in life, and
encouraged my guitar playing. She bought my first electric
guitar, a Sears Silvertone, with a matching Silvertone amp.
It had tremolo and a foot switch, which I thought was so cool
‘cause I could play songs like “Crimson and Clover” and
“Day Tripper.”
Two of my friends and I started a 3-piece rock and roll band
my freshman year at Baird High School. We found out
really quick that Country Music is what you have to play in
West Texas, and luckily found a guy at our school that had
a great voice for country, and he also played the guitar. I
found an old dusty Hoffner bass guitar stuck back in a
corner of a store room in the school’s band hall, neglected
and forgotten. That’s when I began playing bass guitar. The
four of us became the FFA talent team at our high school.
We named the band “Sierra Light,” competing in talent
shows all over Texas, ending up qualifiers at the state finals,
at the Houston Astrodome. We played in honky tonks,
American Legion and VFW dance halls all through high
school. After High School, I moved to Dallas Texas to go to
college. I played music every weekend with Sierra Light.
During the week I would listen to and occasionally sit in with
the bands playing around Dallas. That was a part of my
college education too! Sierra Light stayed together 11
years, playing honky tonks and dance halls, big and small, all
over Texas.
When I was in the 7th Grade I met Shawn Deel. We went
“steady” for a while until she dumped me for an older guy in
the 8th grade (he had a drivers license and a black mustang,)
and broke my heart. We attended different colleges after
High School, and ultimately wound up back together after
college. I stopped playing music when we left Texas about
20 years ago. We lived in Albuquerque New Mexico and
then Las Vegas Nevada, where our beautiful daughter was
born, Micah Simons. We moved to Phoenix almost 17 years
ago. Micah has graduated from Red Mountain High School.
(2006), and she is the apple of my eye.
I first went to Filly’s on a Thursday night because someone
told me they had really good Broasted Chicken. Filly’s is the
closest place I have found to a West Texas Honky Tonk
since I left Texas 20 years ago. Steve was playing his guitar
and singing. I wasn’t sure if I liked the Broasted Chicken or
Steve’s guitar playing better. (Both were pretty darn good.)
He asked me how the chicken was, and sat down and we
began talking about guitars, songwriters, music, and stuff
like that. A few weeks later, he called me to come in and
audition to play bass guitar with his band, Tru North. Now
almost a year passed. I am still here playing music and eating
Filly’s Broasted Chicken.
Thanks Steve … and I hope I passed the audition!
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