I was born in Lafayette, LA. at an early age I remember the silky sounds of Dean Martin and the Glen Miller orchestra on the console hi-fi. On the schoolbus, it was Motown and the British Invasion on the radio. On sunday mornings, "The Happy Fats Show" ruled the t.v. this local program featured a live band playing a blend of cajun and country and western music. I loved it!

In the fifth grade I began playing clarinet but quit after two years of bus-stop taunting. at fifteen I joined the school orchestra and began playing the string bass. In high school, band, orchestra, and chorus filled my days. on weekends I'd borrow the electric bass from school to "practice" at home but instead used it to play gigs at parties and bars (sorry Mr Kenney).

A huge musical influence at the time was going out dancing to zydeco and R&B bands with my sisters at local honkey tonks. it was in these days that I realized live music was my calling. from 1980-1988 I attended the university of Southwestern Louisiana. there I learned a degree in procrastination with minors in English and Music. for part of that time I played with a new-wave/punk band called The Rocking Shapes. we released an EP, "shout".

In 1987 I hooked up with the Bluerunners, a rockabilly band. in time we fused the roots sounds of Zydeco with the Rock'n'Roll we knew. This blend helped us gain popularity with dance crowds across the U.S. and Canada. a self-titled CD was released by Island Records in 1991. a New Orleans label, Monkey Hill, released "Chateau Chuck" in 1993.

By then I was hungry for more musical expansion and growth and moved to the crescent city. I left the Bluerunners in '94 to try my hand at freelance bass playing. I was fortunate to work and record with The Peter Holsapple Band (DB's, REM, Hootie), John Sinclair's Blues Scholars (beat poet, counter culture icon), and thousand dollar car (Soul/Country). in May of 1995 I signed on as a member of the mouth and the rest as they say...