Hi Folks – I have immensely enjoyed reading about so many of the talented musicians on this forum. It’s very interesting to see how we all ended up on SZ… I’ll try not to bore you too much, but here’s Saxxman’s life story.…

My Dad was an old “nickelodeon” piano player, an absolute monster. He could play anything without the music and he had a great stride style of playing. Dad had been classically trained and he and my mom and aunt even had a show on the local radio station (playing piano, steel guitar, ukulele and singing). About the time I was eight, my cousin was taking piano lessons from a nice lady and since my Dad worked at night my parents sent me to my cousin’s piano teacher (got a free ride courtesy of my uncle each week). That worked for a year ‘til my uncle passed away and then my piano lessons ended. By then I was in the 5th grade and when the band teachers came to our school I wanted the drums but my Mom said “get a sax”. So I played a year on sax. It was a natural fit for me and I was able after a year to play w/my Dad – quite a novelty for the relatives. In the 6th grade, the county wouldn’t loan me the sax for another year so my music classes ended. During the next two years, I discovered my Dad’s accordion and fell in love with it. I played it every day all summer long for a couple summers. I picked a sax up again in eighth grade when the band leader was trying to build up the band and he put me in the junior band. So I played through high school and was lucky enough in my senior year to hook up w/a pianist and a drummer and we started “The Three Aces” (our phrase was “Call Us for a Full House”)..haha. We played the American Legions and Elks clubs for three years ($35 a night). I should point out that throughout my childhood and teen years, my Dad worked 3-11 at the local Celanese textiles plant. He would come home every night at 11:30 and start playing the old upright piano, which was directly adjacent to the wall where my bed was. So I was treated to “standards lessons” several hours a night. Due to hearing my Dad’s playing into the very early AM hours night after night, I learned the melodies to just about any song you can imagine…. You name it… from “Tammy” to “Winchester Cathedral”. I entered college as a physics major and took sax lessons from the music faculty and concert, marching, and jazz band as electives. Since I commuted to school and the music classes were my best shot at getting a few “A’s”, I spent most of my idle time practicing in the music department (bathrooms and practice rooms)….turned out I must have been practicing a lot more than the music majors. When I took my jury, the faculty asked me why I wasn’t a music major and I said “I never really thought about it”…so they convinced me that music was much better than physics (it was certainly more fun!).

I earned a music education degree and taught 6 months (finished the year for someone who was very sick). Decided I liked playing much more so I enlisted in the Air Force as a musician. What a gig! All I did was perform with 40 other folks (most of) who loved music as much as I did. For five years, I probably wore out 100 pairs of blue jeans riding all over the countryside in our plush Greyhound bus and playing “Hearts” and “Spades”. Did that for 5 years until I had a falling out with my band director over me wanting to arrange “A Child is Born” for our Xmas concert. He initially said “no” til he heard the chart and then changed his mind. But in the meantime I had visited the computer programming school on base and took a battery of tests. Next thing I knew we played “Child is Born” but I was pulled kicking and screaming from the band. So that started me down the path to spend the rest of my life as a computer geek. I lucked into a commission in 1979. I’ve worked as a programmer, analyst, requirements manager, staff officer, and tester of automated systems since 1977. But the computer interest was what got me so entwined into the technologies we all enjoy on SZ. I got into PG Music’s Band-In-A-Box early on (early 80’s with my Apple II) and have stayed with it as the capabilities have grown. I’ve also done my part to keep the music keyboard business alive. Since the 80’s I’ve owned a Fender Rhodes (suitcase), Wurlitzer portable, Korg EPS string keyboard, several Korg synths, and two Roland U-20’s. Got my first arranger over 10 years ago (PSR-1000) and have loved them ever since.

While doing the computer thing with the Air Force I got lucky enough to work in a recording studio in Oklahoma City (performed on several gospel and country albums) and in Germany I met up with some American jazzers and we formed a trio which became popular in several of the local communities. Since retiring from the Air Force, I have been working as a computer systems test engineer and playing my sax and keyboard on the side. My networking is finally starting to pay dividends and I am getting a fair amount of work although it still has to be balanced w/my day job.

It’s been a great ride and I have loved it. On a sad but current note, the Horizon oil spill (I fear) will be a huge tragedy across the southeast and we are counting the days until the slick ends up soiling the most pristine, sugar white beaches I have ever seen. If that happens, I will likely get a host of cancellations for beach weddings that I have booked through October. I may end up with a couple years of “serious practice time” while we hope for the beaches to recover.

Thanks Bebop and those of you who have added your stories…it’s great to read about SZ members and to spend time with something other than “today’s reality news”.

Best wishes to all for a prosperous and highly musical summer 2010!

Randy