When I was twelve years old I bought a drum set for sixty bucks and started playing in a neighborhood band. A year later, our guitar player moved to Florida, so I moved over to guitar. Still play the drums whenever I can, but the guitar has been my main instrument ever since.
In high school the band was “RAGE” with Mike Powers and Paul Filinovich. We were covering some Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Rush and a few others. One day drummer, Paul, said, “Why don’t you start writing your own songs?” And so that began. They followed that up telling me they didn’t want to be as serious about music as I was.
I met Rich Mezger around October of my senior year. We did a gig together and then Winterhawk was born. The “core” of Winterhawk: Doug Brown, Steve Tsokatos and myself were together from August 1977 to around Spring of ‘80. Steve Brown and Dan Searight were the most notable fourth members during that period.
To summarize: Winterhawk developed during those 3 years, recorded “Revival” in late ‘81, then Doug and I parted ways for the last time in October of ’82. With Maze’s help (Chris Mazur), I tried to rebuild the band, but finally gave up and felt like a complete failure.
RESURRECTION:
Exhausted and depressed, I took a train ride to visit an old friend in Colorado and solo in the mountains. Surviving a night alone in the wilderness, with sixty mile an hour winds blowing the fly off my borrowed tent was just what I needed to feel alive again. It scared the crap out of me…. During the night I tore off pieces of my shirt and stuffed em in my ears to reduce nature’s ambience. It was like sleeping on a runway. Everytime the wind would start picking up, I’d wonder if it was a 747 or just a 727 that was coming in for a landing. Between gusts, imaginary bears and mountain lions rustled just outside the thin blue nylon…. But in the morning it was the most beautiful place on Earth.
SO BEGAN THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS NON-LINEAR PATH OF SELF-EXPLORATION
From 1986 – 1999 I raised and was raised again by a coyote. My son, Zachary, was born in 1991. I tried to give up music several times, but it always drove me crazy. I took a nine month job at a government lab in New York, interviewed twice with the CIA (concluded that the US policy of intervening everywhere was insane), put together a few bands, met a lot of incredible people, got a physics degree and made my living teaching physics, concert security and crowd management. There are many life stories embedded there, the essential was my growing affinity for Native American life.
In 1987 I conceived of a water-based economy and schools for planetary maintenance, but didn’t know where to take those ideas. Like a water molecule in a river, the flow took me from place to place. I wasn’t focused on getting anywhere in particular, just dealing with things as they came up. Didn’t want to wear a tie to work and didn’t really want to try to be a rock star (stars are made of gas), but I still needed to write and perform to stay sane.
It’s now years later and many of the things I thought would happen in this country, and in the world of men, have. The time I spent as a passive observer flying under the radar has enriched my perspective. Now it’s time to come out of the shadows and make some noise. The creatures of this Earth need the voices and the actions of Peaceful Warriors. Who we are doesn’t matter, but what we do matters.
Music for This World
The songs I’ve been a part of that speak loudest to this moment are: Hammer and the Axe, Altered Landscapes, Fire on the Runway, Pointless War, Frequency, Hercules Dances on the Jagged Edge, Balancing Act, Hole in the Sky, Ahab’s Vengeance, Day Two in Paradise, Y2K, Day of the Machine, Chaos Wind, Maturity Heights, The Baker, Wish I Could, Face in the Mirror, and Coyote.
In the words of Frank Zappa, “Music is the Best”. It’s always been a window to the soul for me, and an essential part of the search for truth.
I have another website, SustainableUSA.PlanetJordan.com. That’s where you’ll find a proposal to amend the US constitution. To get us off our archaic energy “addiction” and shift us over to a real valued, water-based economy.
If you’ve read this far, you have my gratitude.
In addition to CFM and Winterhawk, I do studio and live work for other bands and artists. Some of their links are listed below.
Peace,
- Also see:
- The Radio Hour, an artist I collaborate with.