The last biographical post I made took you through my experiences moving around (the Reader's Digest version).

Let's pick up where I left home, in 1984.

I went to college. Mom and Dad said they would pay for it all, but I had to go to a school that was sponsored by the church we went to. I grew up Church of Christ, so that limited my options a bit. I looked around, and the one with the best program in what I wanted to study was Abilene Christian University, in Abilene, TX.

I was there for 5 years, eventually, earning my Bachelor's of Music in Music Education. I, also, earned a K-12 teaching certification in Instrumental Music that I still hold in the state of Texas.

I love teaching music, but I love performing even more. And on the instrument that I majored in, there just weren't that many full-time performing jobs available. Okay, at the time, there weren't any ... in the civilian world.

The military, however, had a bunch. Over 70 in the Army alone, in fact.

I auditioned, qualified and signed a contract to become a euphonium (or baritone horn) player for the Army over Christmas break before I graduated from college.



I went to basic training in September of '89, at Fort Dix, NJ. Then, spent 4 months at the Armed Forces School of Music at Little Creek Naval Base in Virginia Beach, VA. After graduating from there, I went to my first duty station.




I served with the 62nd Army Band at Fort Bliss, TX for 5 years. While I was there, I performed on euphonium, trombone, tuba, trumpet, bass guitar, and did some singing, arranging, and conducting. I spent time as the music librarian, as well.



In 1995, I went on my first overseas tour. I served with the 79th Army Band in Panama for 3 years. Once again, I served in a variety of musical capacities, as well as military. Got to travel all over Central America.



In 1998, I returned to the States. I served with the 77th Army Band, at Fort Sill, OK. I performed on multiple instruments. I spent a lot of time on the road with the rock band as rhythm guitarist, and road manager. We performed for recruiting command all over the central part of the US. Pretty much everywhere from Wisconsin to Colorado. I, also, became the primary announcer for the band.




In 2002, I was sent to Korea. I was part of the 8th Army Band in Seoul. There, I was primarily, the tuba section leader, and the band's announcer. The rest of my time was spent as the head of the operations office for that band. (The ops shop is the one that coordinates all of a band's performances.)



In August of 2003, I reported into the First Infantry Division Band in Bamberg, Germany.

Which is where things began to get REAL interesting.

More on that later.