Without question for me, percussion instruments are the most spiritual and satisfying to play. The allure of primal rhythm that is deep rooted in our human history is too hard to resist. Gigging at all my favorite clubs in Chicago, and performing at venues all over the United States is a tremendous honor for me. Besides my long tenure as a Blues drummer here in Chicago, I drum in different music genres including Tiki, Country, Rock, R&B, and Persian Pop along with playing some ukulele as well!
Back in the day, after playing clarinet and coronet in gradeschool, I devoted myself to artistic studies in high school. Then, away at college in Indiana, I picked up guitar while majoring in Industrial Design at Purdue University. My Kappa Delta Rho fraternity roommate, Ken Guidotti, was the son of a drummer, and a drummer himself. "Guido" let me play his drums, and I fell in love with percussion instruments bigtime! Jamming on his kit planted the seed that made drums an obsession for me! Little did I know that only a few years later I would be bitten by the "blues bug" so hard it would change my life forever...
After graduation from Purdue in 1983, I worked as an Industrial & Graphic Designer for design consulting firms and product manufacturers by day. I hung out at all the legendary blues clubs in Chicago and I listened hard to the playing of the working musicians in the Chicago-based bands including: Junior Wells, Big Time Sara, Lonnie Brooks, Koko Taylor, Willie Kent, Glenn Davis, Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Tommy McCracken, Sugar Blue, Son Seals, George Baze, Billy Branch, and Buddy Guy. I played at all the jams I could, learning the "chops" necessary to be a better musician, along with getting the necessary criticism to be a better bluesman. As I played drums I also invented products that I wanted to manufacture and sell. Playing in the clubs gave me a realistic perspective on what was needed to make good drum products for working musicians. I started my drum accessory company Slug Percussion Products in 1995. I have been playing drums and percussion professionally in Chicago since 1987.
In 2005 my career changed drastically when my wife Sheila lost her battle with cancer. Now faced with raising a child alone, I looked for new opportunities because I felt a tremendous need to change my musical direction. I had a great desire to play more hand percussion and I became more interested in Exotica and Surf music. I also was listening to way more country music on the radio. I auditioned and got new gigs with a Hawaiian-surf ukulele band, the Windy City Islanders and a country band, Janesville, which got me into "Island-Country" music now. I also teach drums and percussion. And I have been playing ukulele, my new found instrument! I started a solo project which I call the Tiki Cowboys. It is percussion and ukulele music best described as Great Lakes Tiki-twang! The debut recording is an all original four song EP-CD titled "A Taste Of Tiki". My record label, Blue Baron is a collection of recordings that I have produced and played on since 2002.
Hope to see you soon!
Baron