UPDATE:
 Marks additional notes .....continued and updated.....

I  moved to L.A. from South Dakota in December of 1975. I’d been staying all over the country, playing in various bands that I quit whenever I felt like it. I’d just pack up the dog and the stereo and split. My first real band was Jean Luc Ponte’s in January of 76. I recorded on my first album, "Imaginary Voyage" and also toured the world. I was with Jean Luc for 9 months and it was a challenge. It took everything I had to keep up with them. I was used to playing with bands in the Midwest that took a break after every song to open beers and play pool When Jean Luc started to rehearse it was O.K. Polyrhythms in 19/8…… bang we’d do that O.K.. Here’s another in 5/4, we’d do that O.K..  I loved it. It was good being 23 and playing all over the world with a premier jazz artist. It was what I had been waiting for. I used a set of clear Fibes Plexiglas, double bass, two racks and two floor toms. I quit because Tommy Bolin offered me more money.

I was with Tommy from Oct. to Dec. of 76’.He was very gifted and innately talented. He didn’t really know what he was playing, but he could play. As he would say, he didn’t know sixteen bars but he knew sixteen bars. That band included Jimmy Haslip and Max Gronenthaw who became singer in 38 Special and the original singer for Jack Mac and the Heart Attack. It was a fun band. We were all good friends and I had worked with a lot of those guys before. At the time I was a hard core veggie. You know, mucousless, ginseng, stand on my head kind of hippie. Tommy wanted to eat what I ate, but eventually he went to Miami by himself, and Miami being the drug capital of the world…off he went and died. That exact night I had started a tour with Jeff Beck which could have been fun. After Tommy’s death, it was a mess. Everyone passed the buck and lost a lot of money. It wasn’t a very healthy scene. In 1977 I played and recorded with The Mark Allman band, nice English gents who let me take my afghan Richard on the bus. We toured the U.S. for a couple of months.

In May of 78 I got the gig with Gino Vanelli.  It came about when I decided that maybe I could get back with Jean Luc Ponte. I called Pontes manager who he said he had just hired the drummer from Gino Vanelli, Casey Sherrell. I knew that Gino was on A & M Records, so I called my friend at A & M and a half hour later I was talking to Gino.  The next day I went out to his house and he put me under a microscope playing drums in a bedroom with his mother, father, two brothers and their wives. I got the gig. I also brought in a few friends, Jimmy Haslip played on a few tracks. That was the Brother to Brother record.  I did that tour in 79 and some gravy train gigs, retainer type, nothing to really mention. I was also teaching and recording with who ever I could. Working with Gino was the most high pressure, demanding , precise drum gig I ever had and I loved it because Gino’s a drummer,  I pretty much got to play whatever I wanted, and the drums were always the second thing in the mix, after the vocals. Everyone else was on their own.  Gino was a fun guy to be around. A nice guy, I love them all, the whole family.  A great bunch. They really know what their doing.

In May of 1980 I got the call from Jethro Tull.  I had been doing Eddie Jobson’s demo in New York City, cursing him the whole way because I had to take the subway carrying my cymbals. It turned out Eddie was doing Ian Andersons solo album and the drummer didn’t work out. They called me and I was there the next day. The album turned out so good that Chrysalis wanted to make it the next Tull Album.

Ian Anderson was cool to work with. The first time I heard his voice coming through the monitor in rehearsal, It was like, "WOW" there’s that voice.  Ian’s a very good guy who always made sure his lads were happy, which we were.  I was happy strictly with the money alone. We’d take a break and drink tea and ride motor cross bikes on his 400 acres, which is now probably 1200 acres. He also had a proper rifle range on his property where we’d go down whenever we wanted with our twelve gages and shoot clay pigeons. It was definitely a different thing.

We toured the States and England in 80 and Europe in 81.  Then Ian wanted to give it a break for a year or two. One of my best friends, Doane Perry, who co-produced the Pulse C.D has been playing with him for fifteen years. I first met Doane in New York when he called Jean Luc’s management to see what was up. They told him Jean Luc just heard a drummer from South Dakota that he likes, so when we came to New York, Doane said I’m gonna see what this guy from South Dakota is like. He was told he had the Jean Luc Ponte gig. Later he called me just to see what was happening when he was auditioning in L.A. Then he went home to New York and called me. We’ve been good friends ever since. We seem to interchange gigs.

After Jethro Tull I bought a house in Sioux Falls with my wife and step daughter and settled in, but I was up a creek.  I had to sell that place and move to L.A.  Back here in 83, I went back to Gino Vannelli and we recorded about two albums worth of material over the next couple years. It was never released but it still paid.

I played with Tower of Power in 1984.  I had heard about the gig, called them, and got the audition.  I’ve always  loved David Garibaldi so I knew most of the tunes which was a very good thing because I only had one audition/rehearsal at S.I.R. before the first gig. We talked over a few melody arrangements and that was it. No problem.  It’s a great band, my favorite kind of music.  Syncopated funk. Lots of fun, I played with them again in 86 and that’s when my kidneys failed. What happened was I had an ear infection. In Chinese medicine the ear is called "The Flower of the Kidney". I was up in a small private plane and it was the worst pain I’ve ever felt. We played a few more gigs but I finally had to go into a San Francisco hospital. My kidneys had shut down.  So… then ….my life became challenging.

I tried to fight off the infection and get into this hippie natural place in San Diego but I couldn’t because the infection had made me too toxic. I went on dialyses.  Ironically, when they put in the shunt they were playing a Gino Vanelli track. I was laying there hallucinating and I thought "should I say anything to them?" "Na, Just forget it’.  So I dialyze for a year and a half and they took off my left big toe. I had a lot of complications, numerous surgeries and finally a transplant in March of 88. During the transplant they let my blood sugar get too low and I had a stroke. Again, that made life challenging. I was in the hospital for three months. Sometime in April 89, I started to crawl back and rehabilitate myself. Greg Bissonette had a gig in a local club and hauled my drums out and set them up and we both played. I thought I’d play one or two songs but I played all night. That night, along with everyone’s support, is what got me up and running again.

In 93 I went to Europe with Randy Myers of the Eagles and Allan Rich. The same year I also went to the 25th Tull reunion in London which was a lot of fun. Then I recorded a Dweezil Zappa album and started playing with Eric Burdon. I did one of his records and then we toured the world in 94 to 96 but I had to stop. I went back on dialyses.  I gave it all up because it was just too much. Going into foreign  countries for dialyses was scary. Especially Brazil. I thought "If my mom could see this, she would freak". It was like being in a Fellini movie compared to the treatment centers here. They’re like visiting Beverly Hills. But it worked and I felt victorious. Every night when I flopped into bed dead tired, it was a good feeling.

There was a point after the kidney transplant that UCLA had written me off. I was in a coma that lasted a couple of months. It was very hard on my mom because she’d say good-bye to me every night and not know if I’d be there in the morning. Yea, I showed them.  It’s not like I’m going to rely on them for anything except a little slicing and dicing every now and then.  It’s a self service world, I’ve discovered that, and I’ve also discovered what the word empowerment means. I have the rest of my life to enjoy.  To find your source within for everything you want to do.  If other people are going to help, great, but don’t count on it. Just decide on what you’re going to do and do it.

The two high points in my life were my auditions with Stevie Wonder and James Taylor.  Stevie was going to change drummers, had some personality problems with his current drummer and things went real well. When we started playing Sunshine of My Life, I knew  we were progressing pretty good. Then Stevie decided to keep his old drummer. Next I auditioned for James Taylor, and I got a call back when it was down to two drummers. Carlos Vega, who has been doing it for 10 years and doing a perfect job got the gig and I was really glad for him. Anyway, those are two of my favorite artists.  James Taylor being my very favorite artist.  His lyrics his music, the periods in my life, the memories, my very favorite.

Lately, I’ve always wanted to take up the piano, so I did, and it’s going very well. I’ve always loved the logic, the mathematics of the piano,.  I want to know what the conversation is about when writing and rehearsing.  I’m studying a little bit about Phil Collins.  I figured he’s a drummer that’s gotten into piano and he’s doing a wonderful job.  I would never flatter myself as being as prolific as Phil Collins, but I’d like to travel some of the roads he has traveled.

I’ve left no stone unturned as far as the natural healing angle. Diet has always been a big thing to me because I enjoy eating the right foods or, as nearly right as I could find. Brown rice was a big part of my coming back to health, still is.  I’ve been to acupuncturist, kanesiologists, lots of chiropractics, herbalists, just about anything you can think of. Any type of healing, Korean psychic healers, you name it. I don’t want to rule anything out but I really discovered that just choosing happiness is the healthiest thing I’ve ever done. I feel as good today as I ever have, so it must be the right track.

I never got into drugs, never thought about it.  Never smoked pot. Had a few too many drinks a couple times in my life, but always just kinda enjoyed what was going on at the present time unless it was a kidney transplant, stroke or some kind of surgery.  It’s still learning process and I’m learning more and more how to keep it simple. I’d still love  to play with James Taylor.   I’d like to be playing again, traveling, making a living and saying something to people.  My biggest dream is just to be useful to people  We do benefits here in the valley at Mancini’s , great people.  It’s usually one guitar one bass and twenty five drummers to raise money for people who needed it. I also volunteer at the hospital with my dog Sandy. We’re in a pet therapy program which is very rewarding.  Sandy wears her little scarf and knows just what to do.  We go into all the rooms once a week. Lately I haven’t had quite the energy to do it, but we’ll get back to it.

I’m currently working on bringing the healing in or the transplant, whichever comes first., I want to get back to what I love doing.  Travel, write music, record, teach and be happy.  I read a lot of books which have been helpful.  Bernie  Segal’s has helped with my attitude and my learning to choose happiness.  Thomas Moore's books, Care of the Soul and Re-enchantment of Everyday Life have helped me to appreciate small things.  My dog Sandy helps keep me happy on a daily basis and I’ve got great people in my life, my family and friends. It’s a very good life.