For those who don't know, I am a bass player and singer-songwriter who has made a bit of a mark as a Contemporary Blues artist. I've released a half a dozen albums under my own label, a few of those hitting national and international charts. I differ from many of my Blues musician friends in that I didn't spend my teenage years haunting record stores looking for rare Muddy Waters discs, instead I was collecting Heavy Metal records and raising hell in mosh pits.

 

One of the bands I enjoyed seeing live was Flotsam and Jetsam. These road dogs from Phoenix, AZ came to Portland often, either as headliners or opening for bands such as Megadeth and King Diamond. Their seminal 1986 debut album "Doomsday for the Deceiver" featured bassist Jason Newsted, who soon went on to replace Metallica's bass player, Cliff Burton, after he tragically died in a bus accident.  After Jason left, the band carried on and still tours to this day.

 

Although I continue to work as a Blues artist and deeply love the genre, I never lost my love for Metal. In 2017 I started writing my debut Heavy Metal album "The Poisoner," released in 2020 under the pseudonym White Crone. During that time, I started attending more Metal shows, and luckily had a friend (also named Lisa) who liked to go as well. Together we have seen many classic bands, as well as great local talent. One of those local bands was Splintered Throne. We first caught them in 2018 when they opened for a Dio tribute band at Dante's Inferno in downtown Portland. They sounded like the 80's Metal bands I loved as a kid, with Iron Maiden style dual lead guitars, a heavy duty rhythm section, and soaring vocals a la Judas Priest. I was very impressed and bought a CD from the singer, Brian Garrison, insisting he sign it.

 

In the summer of 2019 I was happy to see that Flotsam and Jetsam was coming to Portland, so Lisa and I got tickets. Once the show started, I was happy to see that Splintered Throne was opening. We were in the front row, and I was singing along with songs from the CD I had gotten from the vocalist the year before. I was all smiles, but toward the end of their blistering set, the band made a sad announcement- their phenomenal lead singer was leaving the band and this would be his last show. I expressed dismay to my friend, but she just elbowed me in the ribs and said "you should go talk to them- YOU should be their lead singer." Joining a band was not something I had remotely considered, but at her insistence, I spoke to some of the members in the bar after their set.

 

The bass player, Brian Bailey, was seated in a booth, so naturally I spoke to him and complimented him on his bass playing. I asked him if they had a new vocalist lined up. He said no, but that they would be scheduling auditions soon. He said I need to speak to the, guitarist Jason "Jmo" Moser, who wasn't there at the time. We exchanged cards and I went back to catch Flotsam's set.

 

In the following days I contacted Jmo to set up an audition. He told me he knew who I was and that he saw me singing along in the front row. It had been a bittersweet night saying goodbye to their singer while worried about finding a new one, but he told me that seeing me singing along that night lifted his spirits.

 

Auditions were set for Aug 4th at a house surprisingly near my own.  When I arrived, a guy with a Thor shirt was just leaving. I was determined to kick his ass. The band had sent me a list of songs to know, and I nailed them. Soon after, they told me I was in. We discussed my music career and that our schedules might not always line up, but they were happy to work around that. Despite major setbacks through the pandemic, since then we have released a full length album, "The Greater Good of Man" and have performed a passel of shows throughout the Pacific Northwest. We even toured the west coast with Thrash Metal legends Blind Illusion.  

 

Now we have a very special show coming up that brings this story full circle. On April 11th, Splintered Throne will be opening for - you guessed it - Flotsam and Jetsam. And this time it will be ME singing with the band. Hopefully Brian Garrison and former guitarist Fred Osborn can be in attendance. I have had the pleasure of putting my own spin on the songs that Garrison sang, at times in his very presence. When he is in the audience, I feel a duty to take good care of those songs. When he left the band, he told Jason Moser that he would be "handing over the keys to the Corvette" to whoever took over vocal duties. It's my intention to drive the Corvette well.

 

I thoroughly enjoy every performance with Jmo, Brian Bailey, drummer Kris Holboke and most recent addition, guitarist Matt Dorado. I get to channel my favorite vocalists of my youth, like Bruce Dickinson, Ronnie James Dio and Rob Halford, all while jumping around a stage with no bass hanging around my neck. It really is a dream come true, and an unexpected dream at that.