When and where were you born? Are you originally from Orange County, CA?

Born Oct 21, 1949 in Santa Monica, CA. We moved when I was about 8 to Palos Verdes, Ca. where I started playing bongos for hours at a time just getting hypnotized by the different rhythm patterns, and my brother Dan started playing acoustic guitar and a little piano. We moved to Cambridge, England around 1959 for a couple years for my dad's work and I started trumpet lessons there. Then In the mid-sixties, when I was around 15 years old, we moved to Orange County CA, where it all really started happening. We lived in East Bluff, an upper-middle-class neighborhood in Newport Beach.

I went to Corona Del Mar High School and my brother Dan went to Lincoln middle school. Our first gig was just the two of us playing (mostly jamming) at our friend's parents' party up the street. I put together a drum set of bongos, pots and pans and a frying pan lid for a cymbal and some brushes. Dan had a home-made amp he made and an acoustic guitar with a pickup – we were a success and actually made $30 between us. I can recall one of the songs we played was "Tequila" that got them all up dancing. A bunch of drunk parents probably in their 40's. It was a blast. We wanted to do this more, a lot more...

What was growing up like for you?

For me growing up was like a real adventure, a magical time of just being a kid before the stress and responsilbilities set in as you get older. There was always music in our house, the sound of my mom playing her violin and piano. She was a first-chair, concert violinist in the UCI (University of California at Irvine) orchestra, conducted by Mehli Mehta. My mom also had a string quartet that would rehearse at our house. I remember waking up in the morning and hearing beautiful music lofting into my room.

My brother Dan was my best friend growing up and we would always hangout together. It seemed like we were pretty much free to do whatever we wanted and we had a lot of fun. I think times have changed for kids, it's scarier now and most parents are much more protective. I should know, my wife and I adopted a beautiful 3 year old girl in 2006. She is now going to college in Denver CO. She didn't have near the freedom we had growing up in 50's and 60's but now shes pretty much on her own making her own decisions and doing great.

Brother Dan on Guitar and James on Drums -- just the beginning.

You have a brother, Daniel Shattuck that plays awesome guitar:

Dan plays with a lot of emotion and he learned from the best – he was influenced by Clapton and Hendrix and other guitarists of the time and he developed his own style and he is one of the best musicians I've ever played with.

When did you first begin to fall in love with music and what was it about the drums that initially fascinated you?

I loved hearing my mom play her violin, she had so much emotion in her playing and I could really feel it. What a powerful thing getting moved by music when you're just a kid and that stayed with me. My older brother, John, had a 1957 Chevy and would take us cruising with the radio on and I loved listening to music and I remember I would focus mainly on the drums, melody and feel of the song, not so much the lyrics.

James on Trumpet, brother Dan on guitar.

Was this the first instrument you learned how to play?

My first instrument besides bongos was the trumpet. My dad worked for Douglas Aircraft and we had a chance to go to England so he could work on a project for Douglas. They were adding minute-man missles to their defense system there. We lived in beautiful Cambridge, for a couple years. My mom setup trumpet lessons for me there and I got pretty good. After coming home I took orchestra my freshman year at CDM high school and I did well but part of being in the school band meant that you should take part in the marching band which I did, but it was really not my cup of tea. So I only did that for my freshman year then gave up trumpet and got my first set of blue pearl drums! My mother being a full-time musician felt we had talent and wanted us go down that same creative path she did and always pushed us in the direction of music, which I am very thankful for.

What was your local music community like growing up and what would you and your friends do for fun?

I had a group of friends from CDM high school that would congregate on Balboa Island in front of the Jolly Rodger restaurant, where we would find out where all the parties were. Also, on the Balboa Peninsula, there was a lot going on like this cool club, "The New Look" , a teen hangout, where local bands played. We had a regular gig there, the band was called "Family Reunion". The club was always packed and a real blast to play there. I remember we had a dressing room back stage where all the girl friends would be ratting our hair making sure we looked good and we could sneak a little smoke before the show.

Also, just south of us there was Laguna Canyon, a huge community of musicians and artists, where there was always a party going on. You could just follow the smell of pot in the air and find a gathering of 6 or more people around a hookah pipe. There were a lot of bands playing and rehearsing there. Remember this was the 60s peace and love era. A lot of love and a lot less hate like there is today. It was a good time and place to grow up for me.

So many incredible bands came out of LA back in the day! Did you go to many local shows in your area?

My favorite local place to see bands was the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach. I lived about 15-20 mins from there. I loved it because it was such a small venue, you could get up close to the band. I saw bands like: Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Janis Joplin, Elvin Bishop to name a few. I played there a couple times over the years in different bands. Then there were concerts at UCI (University of California, Irvine) where I saw Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin. They played in a gymnasium on campus and I remember the acoustics were pretty bad, but it was an enjoyable show. We sat on the floor about 10 yards back and had a great view. We also brought our pints of Wild Turkey and had a drink every time Janis lifted her bottle up. So, unfortunately Zeppelin was kind of a blur.

Where would you go to see concerts and what was the first band you saw perform live that made a big impact on you early on?

A group of friends and I went up to L.A. to see a concert with Jimi Hendrix, Blue Cheer, and Electric Flag (Buddy Miles on drums) the date was Feb 10, 1968 at the Shrine Auditorium. I was a little let down by Hendrix, he seemed so stoned and a little sloppy, basically just out of it, and I also didn't like the part where he poured lighter fluid on his guitar and lit it on fire... I didnt get it. Hendrix is one of my favorite guitar players of all time, but this show was not his best. Blue Cheer just kicked ass, and they put on a great show.

But Electric Flag, or should I say Buddy Miles stole the show by far and it had a big impact on me, I loved it. I was blown away and the crowd was too, they basically brought down the house. To me Electric Flag was not near as good as a recording band, I never really got into their records, but live they were a great show, IMHO. My friends and I also saw Jefferson Airplane and the Doors up in L.A. I wasn't blown away by Jim Morrison, it sounded like he had lost his voice but the band was great. Jefferson Airplane also put on a good show.

Did you participate in any other groups prior to Supa Chief? If so, who/what were they and could you give a brief history on your experiences and what memories stand out in your mind from those early days?

FAMILY REUNION:

Well the first couple bands aren't worth mentioning, but when I met Terry Wright, a singer in high school, things would start to change for the better. Terry could sing and move a lot like Mick Jagger, so with my brother Dan and Terry we started putting together the new band. We added rhythm guitar, bass and a female singer, Nancy Park. It was called "Family Reunion", as I mentioned earlier, we became a house band at The New Look on the Newport Peninsula. We did a few originals and some Stones, Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, Buffulo Springfield, and all the popular songs of that time. This band would lead to the forming of SupaChief.

How did you initially meet your fellow bandmates Dennis Koker, Mike Carousal and Bob DeMalignon?

The Family Reunion was breaking up, our bass player was going off to college, Nancy, our singer, decided to pursue other interests, and Terry wanted to start managing bands. So he left the band to start working part-time at Criterion Music up in Hollywood. There was another local band, "Rhythm and Blues Workshop", working at The New Look, managed by Terry, that were also breaking up. He worked a deal to bring the singer: Bob DeMalignon, Dennis Koker: bass, Mike Carousal: guitar into what was to become SupaChief with me and Dan. The Rhythm and Blues Workshop would go on to become the band "Honk" also with the help of Terry. Honk went on to record an album which became the sound track for the surf movie "Five Summer Stories".

Family Reunion - Rt to Lt- Mike Sorber, James Shattuck, Terry Wright, Nancy Parks and Dan Shattuck (high school days).

When and where did you guys meet and what were your first impressions of everyone?

I had heard their band play (Rhythm and Blues Workshop) before and was impressed and felt this would be a good change for us.

What initially led to the decision to start the group in the first place?

Our manager Terry put it together - It just happened and it felt right.

What commonalities did you guys share?

The main thing I think was we were all free to give 100% to our music. We were all around the same age and our musical taste was in the same ballpark so it was something we could mesh together with time.

When and where was the first rehearsal for the band and what was the chemistry like between everyone?

Our chemistry worked from day one. We all agreed at some point that any songs we wrote as a band would be split up evenly. I don't remember any power plays or ego trips... Everyone seemed pretty open to what we were doing.

Supachief - released a single with AM records that got some airplay in Europe.

What was the band's approach to writing original material like?

I remember my brother Dan (guitar) bringing in a riff and then Mike (guitar) would add an idea he had and we would start jamming and Bob would put a melody on top. If we had something we liked we would all be adding ideas until it came together. If we were stumped on lyrics, we would sit around and all add our ideas. And it would develop more over time. I think that's how it should work in a band but rarely does with all the different egos.

When and where was the first gig and what was that experience like for you?

We played a lot at a club owned by our friend Jerry Roach, called "Bacchus House" in Newport/Costa Mesa area. I Don't remember if it was our first gig, but I loved the stage and acoustics of the room and since we grew up in that area we always had a good group of fans. We all had real creative freedom in this band, so it was a lot of fun. Koker (bass) was really focused to whatever I played and we were a tight rhythm section... He was a very humble guy and a drummer's dream to play with.

What would the band’s set consist of in those early days?

A lot of bluesy rock covers along with our originals. I think it was 50/50 when we played clubs and mostly originals when we played concerts.

SupaChief - Back seat: Bob DeMalignon-vocals, Dennis Koker-bass, James Shattuck-drums, Front: Dan Shattuck-guitar and Mike Carousal-guitar.

How did the name Supa Chief come to be?

Not sure who came up with the name Super Chief in the first place. Possibly our manager. I don't remember.

Tell me about becoming regulars at West Hollywood venues such as The Troubadour and Whiskey A Go Go?

I've played there so many times in so many other bands, those early days are a little foggy.

What were those experiences like and are there any early gigs that still stand out in your mind to this day?

In 1978, I was in the band, Blitz Brothers, we opened for Nick Gilder at the Troubadour, he had a hit song that was climbing the charts "Hot Child in The City" (it eventually made it to #1). The Blitz Bros was a powerful rock band, a lot of our fans came up from San Diego to see us play there. We had a great performance and we really rocked the place. A&M records saw us and offered us a demo deal. (The guy we were dealing with from A&M got fired soon after that and the deal never happened) ANYWAY --- Nick Gilder refused to come out and play after our set.

SIDE NOTE: – "Hot Child in the City" is a song by English-Canadian musician Nick Gilder. It was released in June 1978 as a single from the album City Nights. It went to No. 1 both in Canada and in the United States.

You guys played at the Newport Pop Festival in Costa Mesa in ‘68, can you tell me about that?

Yes we did perform at the Newport Pop Festival, Aug 4th 1968. There were close to 50,000 people there. We played on the second stage opposite from the main act, Country Joe and the Fish, probably a football field across from them. We were supposed to start our set right after they finished. There was a sea of people all looking in the direction of the main stage, listening to Country Joe. We were set up and just waiting for the signal to start. We are to open with a Lee Michaels song called “Hello” and then go into our songs.

“Hello” what a great opener. We had the wind at our backs and Quilter amps had supplied us with everything we needed. We got the signal to start and I counted it off and away we went. All 50,000 people turned towards us as we were rockin’ that song... Halfway through the song, somebody ran up on stage and ripped all the cords out of the amps... It was Country Joe's roadies – apparently they weren't finished playing!! So we were forced to stop and wait until they were done..after they finished, we continued our set, and what a rush it was playing in front of a sea of people like that!

Supachief setting up to perform at the Newport Pop Festival 1968. There was close to 50,000 people. Notice the Quilter amps! On the left: Mike Caraselle, guitar then Dennis Koeker, bass, rodie, Steve Dobby, Me on Drums, Brother Dan on guitar, and Singer Bob de Malignon - far right. The band was waiting for Country Joe and the Fish to finish their set on the opposite stage.

How did signing the deal with Criterion Music Corporation come about?

Our Manager Terry, was a great hustler and could really make things happen. I'm sure he was responsible for this deal becoming a reality.

Tell me about recording at the studio on Gower St. What was that experience like for you?

Don't remember much except it was fun... I know we did at least 3 songs: #1, Red Brained Woman; #2, Animal Woman and #3, Come and Get Me. A few months ago I got an email from a guy named Michael, he said, "I was at an estate sale in L.A. and I bought some old acetates (demo records) of SupaChief recorded in Hollywood in the late sixties"... He was nice enough to make a copy for me. One of the songs, "Come and Get Me", is pretty cool also.

How did the deal with Polydor/Prince Records come about?

Again, Terry Wright made it all happen. The guy was amazing.

Can you walk me through the process of writing as well as recording the tracks ‘Red Brained Woman/Animal Woman’?

I'm pretty sure we just played live to try and capture that energy. I know we did several takes. There may have been some touch-ups on the vocals and leads... I really don't remember too much.

When did recording initially start and where was the studio located?

Located in Hollywood.

How long was the process of recording from start to finish?

I think it was pretty quick since we did it live.... Seems like we went up to Hollywood everyday for a week or two.

How did you guys want to approach music that differed from the other bands coming out of the scene during that era?

There was no thought, or approach, we didn't try to sound a certain way we just did our thing as a band and what came out was that record. I do think we had a more powerful sound when we played live on stage.

What happened after those sessions were finished?

We went out and played clubs and concerts, and I remember we did a TV show hosted by Twiggy, about the Hollywood music scene and I believe we played both songs on the record live. It was on channel 13 in L.A. A lot of our friends saw that show and commented on it. I have tried to find a copy of that show but haven't been able to.

Was there ever talk of recording a full LP worth of music?

Of course that was always the hope, but I think using the single to get a deal with a major label was the idea. We did accomplish getting signed with Polydor records.

Can you tell me about some of the shows you guys played and what performances still stand out in your mind to this day?

Well there was an outdoor concert at UCI in Irvine around 69. I remember a large crowd, several hundred people all sitting on the grassy hill in front of the stage. We opened for Quicksilver Messenger Service and Spirit with Randy California on guitar. Now if my memory serves me correctly, during our show a guy from the audience came running up on stage and jumped on me knocking me off my drums and then he picked up my sticks and started to play, then one of our roadies grabbed him and punched him and he went off the back of the stage about 4 feet down... I got back on the drums and we kept going... It was crazy, the band kept playing the whole time. I know this sounds kind of out there but, during our show a helicopter was flying over the concert dropping Orange Sunshine LSD tabs.

Underground chemist Tim Scully who co-created the infamous Orange Sunshine.

In the heyday of LSD, secret Windsor lab produced millions of the Orange Sunshine.

I found out later that it was the Brotherhood of Eternal Love from Laguna Beach, and Owsley Stanley, one of the founders, was responsible for dropping the tabs. I was unaware, but the crowd was getting really high. After our show I went out to meet my girlfriend and watch the other bands, Spirit and Quicksilver. She gave me some of her fruit drink and I took a few huge sips...I had no idea, but it was spiked with the Orange Sunshine – what a trip that day was! After the show I actually drove her home and I ended up starring at the cottage cheese ceiling in my bedroom for several hours, unable to talk to anyone.

NOTE: The biggest hit for Spirit was "I Got a Line on You" (Most of the songs were written by Jay Ferguson, although Randy California contributed an instrumental called: "Taurus" that would prove inspirational to Led Zeppelin, which based the intro to "Stairway to Heaven" on it.) Quicksilver's biggest hit song was: “Fresh Air,” released as the album's single. It turned out to be their most successful song. Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails - 1969 Full Album -These are the songs they were playing around the time of the concert.

What eventually happened to the band?

I don't remember the reason we split up, but I did get caught with a joint behind my ear by the Costa Mesa police and went away for few days and then got probation...that may have contributed. But, I think there were a lot of reasons, I don't remember.

Are you still in contact with any of the surviving members?

I still communicate with Bob (singer) and my brother Dan (guitar) occasionally. Our song "Red Brained Woman" is still making some money and Bob handles the financial part and sends us our share of royalties.

“Red Brained Woman” was featured on the first volume of the Bone Head Crunchers comp as well Numero’s “Warfaring Strangers: Acid Nightmares” comp.

What eventually led to the group disbanding?

Not sure, but I know I at least contributed to it. I was getting too messed up and partying too much... I know some of the other guys were partying too, but not quite as bad as I was. I got busted again for being drunk in public when I was already on probation for possession of pot. So, I spent about month in jail. About that time the band was starting to fall apart. I look back at what an idiot I was, and wonder what was I thinking, if I was thinking at all. We had a great chance to go further in the music business, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be at that time. I do carry guilt for that. But I managed to get it together as I moved on to play in some other really great bands.

Did you continue to pursue music afterwards? If so, what other bands, or creative endeavors did you pursue over the years?

Yes, I've never stopped playing, or creating music. After SupaChief, my brother Dan and I joined the band, Stagecoach, in the early 70's with singer Danny Sype, Frank Prout on bass, and Greg Morgan on guitar. We played Orange County, L.A. and San Francisco clubs for about a year until we were contacted by Bobby Caldwell and Bobby Jabo from the band "Katmandu". They were from Miami, but came to L.A. and contacted us about merging together with me, my brother Dan and singer Danny Sype. I remember they came to hear us perform at the "Pier 11", a club on Newport Blvd in Costa Mesa. Their band had been playing a lot up in the L.A. area and some of the guys wanted to go home to Miami. We hit it off.

LIVE JIVE:

The new band was named "Live Jive" and consisted of Bobby Caldwell (guitar-keys & lead vocals) Danny Sype (lead vocals) Dan Shattuck (guitar-keys-vocals) Bobby Jabo (bass), and James Shattuck (drums). We played up in the L.A. area a lot and became a regular at "Sopwith Camel" a big club in Glendale, close to L.A. We played a lot of funky R&B music and would pack the place. Songs by Isley Brothers, Spinners Etc. We also did gigs in San Diego, where we used a horn section and that was really cool. We broke up in the late 70's because Bobby Caldwell wanted to go back to Miami and write music.

NOTE: Bobby would go on to write a few hit songs. One song he wrote and sang was a pretty big hit you may recognize is "What You Won't Do For Love". He's had a great career performing and got really big in Japan.

NOTE: In the early 80's my brother and I were in a band called "Shake" and we were in the studio in the middle of recording an album at IAM studios in Irvine when Bobby Caldwell called and asked if we would be interested in going on tour with him in Japan, that was a real tough decision, but the timing wasn't right and we just had to turn it down.

BLITZ BROS:

After Live Jive broke up I played with an off-shoot of Live Jive and it had a 3-piece horn section and we played local Newport Beach clubs and that was a lot of fun. After a few months... I got a call from the Blitz Brothers! The Blitz Bros with my high school friend Richard Livoni on guitar and Danny Jamison on bass and Dick Dodd of the Standells on Vocals (Standells Hit Song - Dirty Water - released in Nov of 1965). He was also on the Mickey Mouse Club (as Dickie). Dick normally played drums and lead vocals except he was in a car accident with his Corvette and broke his shoulder and could not play the drums...

So they called me to fill in for a few months. The Blitz Bros was a huge draw in San Diego and they were a kick ass rock band that was exactly what I loved playing... Dick Dodd could play some percussion and be the frontman while still in a cast. This was so awesome, I loved all their originals and got into a groove with them right away. They had a steady gig at a club called Neutral Grounds 4-days a week and it paid well. It was a huge biker bar in San Diego. This place was packed every night. We had a great sound man and a girl doing lights and the bikers loved us and protected us when needed. Richard was a great guitar player similar to Joe Bonamassa / Jimi Hendrix mixed together, he put on a great stage-show, and Danny was really solid on bass.

Blitz Bros - Danny Jamison (bass) Rt Dan Shattuck (guitar) at Neutral Grounds SD circa: 70's.

After a year or so, Dick Dodd decided to call it quits I was sorry to see him leave. Richard and Danny would take over the vocals and we brought my brother Dan in as a second guitar and we continued to rock. We played up in L.A. for record people and did some recording but nothing came of it. This lasted almost a year and then we split up on good terms. Richard and Danny (bass) would continue playing and the Blitz Bros are still performing today.

Blitz Bros playing an outdoor concert in San Diego.

SHAKE:

Dan and I decided to put another band together and started having auditions. Dan would do vocals, guitar and keys. We found a great bass player, Ray Rosales, and then a great guitarist, Ron Enos. Terry Wright was to be our manager again and he thought this girl singer, "Sue Hart", that he knew of might work out for us as a singer, we had her come in for an audition. She was an awesome singer and what a voice. We got busy putting songs together with Sue as our lead singer. We started out doing about half original songs.Terry (Mgr) would start booking us right away in local clubs so we could start getting tight.

Sue, our new singer, was in her twenties, divorced with 2 kids. She shared equal custody with her ex. We started writing music together bringing the songs to the band to start playing live while we were playing local clubs. Sue and I eventually fell in love and we're still together now after 41 years! Terry, our manager, started to get us booked up in SLO, (San Luis Obispo) Central California once a month for a week and then on to Mammoth Lakes for a week or two, then home.

We started building quite a following. But It was really hard on Sue leaving the kids so we started bringing them on the road with us whenever we could. They loved going to Mammoth where we would take them skiing. After a few months our manager worked out a deal for us to go into Curt Lyons studio in Newport Beach to record a couple of our most popular original songs that we had been playing live for a 45 single.

Dan & Sue in Shake at Beach Bum Burts in Redondo Beach, Ca. circa: 1980's.

"Life in the City" written by Dan and "Stop Breaking My Heart" by me and Sue. Terry, a real hustler, got us on a bunch of radio stations, mostly in Central California and our record started to take off. You could hear us on the radio while driving around SLO. Really exciting!! "Shake" played a concert at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, that was awesome! The band started packing clubs in the Central California area. Around that time, we also played a concert opening for Ian Hunter's band, Mott the Hoople - October 20, 1981 at the University of San Diego, La Jolla, CA. To be honest, I didn't know who the guy was until later. But it was a lot of fun.

Dan and James were fired from the Blitz Bros and started Shake… Funny they were on the same bill... they’re still very good friends.

NOTE: "All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records.

In early '82 our manager got us into IAM studios in Irvine to record all of our originals (about 30 songs) live. Along with Jerry Shire the owner of the studio (I understood he had worked with Stevie Wonder on one of his albums) He would produce us, so we all went through and picked the best songs to put on the album and started to record the first batch of songs and got about halfway through the production and then things fell apart with our deal. Long story...but we did end up with a cassette of 30+ songs recorded live in a great studio. We ended up breaking up with our manager, Terry, and he would take Ron Enos: guitar, and Ray Rosales: bass, and they would join another band he was working with and we all parted ways.

We would add a great bass player, from London, England, "Stuart Brooks". We got some funding to go back into IAM studio and finished a 6-song EP (album) called "Swept Away" with 3 of Dan's songs and the other 3 written by me and Sue. The EP got a little airplay on local stations and we got some interest from record companies but nothing came of it. We played for a couple years with Stuart on Bass as a 4 piece. It was getting really hard to keep playing clubs and eventually we took a break. Dan would start up a recording studio and Sue I started a website business.

JIM QUEALY:

I got a call from a friend, Greg Morgan, who I worked with in an earlier band (Stage Coach) he asked if I wanted to be a part of the Jim Quealy band. I didn't know of Jim Quealy but he was a singer/songwriter out of New York and starting a new band here on the west coast. Quealy had done several albums and had been writing a lot of new material. We were going to play local clubs in Laguna Beach and Orange County area. I really found a new home and got into Quealy's music and ended up doing 2 albums with him. The funny thing is, I was reunited with our old bass player from Shake, Ray Rosales. We had a blast playing!!

Our last gig was in 2008 and again 2014 at Galaxy Concert Hall in Costa Mesa for our reunion concert. There are some great videos on Youtube. In the late 90's Sue and I bought a 36' RV motor home with slides and took off to travel as far we could around the country. We put our furniture in storage) I put my studio (cubase at the time under the bed that would lift up). We asked Jim Quealy if we could record some of his songs to put on our CD. Quealy gave us 10-song demos recorded with acoustic guitar that he thought would work for Sue to sing. We were originally going to do some of our songs also but we fell in love with Quealy's songs.

Drum solo - Quealy Band (Greg Morgan on left).

So I got busy and put together the basic tracks and then we went on the road to record vocals in different states across the country. After about 6 months on the road we came home and had a great pianist, Karen Hammack, play on top of the basic tracks with vocals and eventually went into a studio owned by Richard Bredice and he finished adding guitar tracks and vocal touch ups and we mixed and mastered the CD. It turned out great. The CD is called "Private Book" by Sue Hart. It's more of a jazzy-pop style and really features Sue's smooth jazzy voice more than some of our other recordings. I love it!

I'm now living in Santa fe, New Mexico with my wife, Sue, and daughter, Lucy, who is going to Denver University at this time. I'm still writing and recording music in my home studio (pro-tools). Still working our business as little as possible. Sue and I do some jamming in our studio and when our daughter is home on break from college she jams with us on drums, me on bass and Sue on guitar and vocals. Great fun!!

Playing at a party in Costa Mesa, Ca with The Sharks 2001.

When you reflect back on your early career in music, what are you most fond of? What are you most proud of?

What I'm most proud of is having the opportunity to play with some of the greatest musicians, and really feeling inspired and being part of a team, all striving for excellence. There were so many amazing times that I would never trade for anything! There is nothing like it, that magical feeling of creating together and moving people. It's all about those emotions I felt when my mother played her violin.

Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?

That's It!

Dakota Brown

James Shattuck - SupaChief (part 1)

The Frank Casanova Interview

Phil Klitgaard - Grand Theft/Bluebird