Musical Gene

   At The ripe old age of 4, I could be found behind the garage with a harmonica in my mouth and a pillow that looked like it had buttons on it.  One day I was found out and on my 5th birthday I got an accordian.  I also was sent for lessons to "Maus ( Mouse ) Music.  It a was natural thing, infact I knew the musical scale before I knew the alphabet.  Lessons went so well that by my 6th birthday I had outgrown the little 12 bass accordian, so on that birthday I got a brand new 120 bass accordian.  The lessons continued until the fifth year when my dad was informed that they could not teach me any more.  I was too advanced.
   This was also about the time that I wanted to get into the school band.  Accordians weren't allowed so I started lessons on the Alto Sax.  Those lessons lasted about 5 years.  During all of this time we would have jam sessions.  My dad played banjo and we would play at home.  Sometimes a neighbor would come over with his mandolin and we would all play for a couple hours.  Then there were jam sessions/parties a an uncle's house.  He played accordian and banjo.  The things I learned from the beginning is how to play with other people and play many different types of songs. 
   When I went to High School I was no longer interested in the school band.  I was in the school choir all four years.  When I was 15 (Freshman) I met a guy who played drums.  He heard I played Sax so he asked me if I wanted to get a band going.  The interesting thing was this fellow was blind.  I was curious and said ok.  He had a friend who was legally blind and played the organ.  He had a Lowery Portable Organ.  One of the first fold ups.  We got together a few times and decided we needed a guitar player.  I had a friend who just got out of the Navy.  He said ok and "The Keystones" were born.  A lady who owned a bowling alley, bar and resturant heard us one night and hired us for three nights per week.  This was pretty good for a freshman.  From there we were hired in other lounges.  We also did weddings, parties and Fireman Picnics.  We were one of the most popular groups around.
   In October of 1968 I went into the Army and when I returned home in 1971 I got back with The Keystones.  At some point in the early 79's Rick joined another group and Kenny became our drummer and lead vocalist.  In 1974 Kenny and I broke away and started our own duo, "The Sound Tradition".  We worked weddings, parties, lounges and a couple of Moose Lodges around south eastern Wisconsin.  After a while we took Kenny's nephew on as our drummer and Kenny was  Lead Singer and Front Man.  It also gave us the ability to have three part harmony.  We started doing a lot of songs with more harmony.  From the Mills Brothers, Four Ladds, Statler Brother, Gatlin Brothers, Peter Mc Cann etc.  The Milwaukee Moose Lodge had a very nice lounge and we were there quite often.  They also used to have bigger name shows in their large hall.  One of those were "The Four Ladds" which they had three times.  As it turned out, we were booked in the lounge all three times that they were there.  The second time they were there, we had a larger croud than they did and by the third time, they were quite angry.  People said we did their songs better than they did.  The Edelweise became our semi permanent home where we were most of the time.
   In 1979 Kenny and Donny moved to Florida and I started workin alone.  I landed at "Dot's Club", and was there for a few years.  In 1982 Donny moved back to Wisconsin and we got back together and reclaimed the name "Sound Tradition".  We were playing a wedding at Wulf's Island in the Mequon/Brown Deer area.  When the owner heard us.  He hired us for four nights per week on the spot.  We were there permanently for
4-1/2 years when I moved to Florida near Kenny.
   I worked alone for a couple or years until Kenny's son and his friend joined me to create "Midnight".  We were popular at places like The American Legion, Moose Lodges, Elks Lodges Manufactured Communities, Weddings and Parties.  One day Kenny's partner decided to quit playing and Kenny and I decided we had to get back together and formed the duo "2nd Chance".  We got together and worked the same type of places until in 2005 I had to retire due to medical conditions.  As it turned out it was 53 years of music for me.  Ken moved to Illlinois and that's the rest of the story until this fall (September 2008).  My medical situation has gotten better and I'm starting to play again.