He is not above using electric instruments, however. His use of the electric-acoustic guitar must be heard to be believed .... and his use of the sythesized guitar is simply amazing!

Some call him a seminal influence on the acoustic music scene in Phoenix, crediting him for much of their style and technique.

He plays no less than 65 different instruments; from his beloved banjos (yes. plural! He has one of the finest collections of antique banjos in the Southwestern United States, and uses them on stage!) to 12-string guitar, all the way to more exotic things like Mando-Cello, Celtic Harp, Lute, Harp-Guitar, and Ozark Mouthbow!

The songs range from old ballads and "party" songs that he learned from his family to modern pieces and original compositions.

It becomes obvious that this is a consummate entertainer when you hear him shift from a "murder ballad" of the 1870's, played on a 100 year old banjo with gut strings, to a version of the Bill Monroe classic "Uncle Pen" that will bring you right out of your chair with the speed of his Gatling-gun flatpicking on the guitar.

The dry delivery of stories of mountain life, his famous "blank look" of astonishment at the punchlines, and his infamous left hand going totally out of control on the banjo will leave you helpless with laughter.

And then he picks up the Celtic Harp .... and the world goes away! Due to his love of Irish and Scottish music, he has developed a repetoire of Celtic music, both ancient and modern.

He has been called in as a consultant on a book about the history of the banjo in America that is being written on behalf of a major American historical foundation, and is getting some attention on a national level for his songs about space exploration. He was also Toastmaster at the 1992 ConChord musician's convention in L.A., and is in great demand at similar conventions.

He was also nominated for the (Arizona) Governor's Arts Award, and his recordings are now on file at the University of East Tennessee's Appalachian Archives Folklore collection.

He is now recording under his own label, White Tree Productions, distributed by WailSongs of Oakland, California (1-800-TON-WAIL) and also recording both solo and with another noted songwriter, Leslie Fish, for Random Factors of Los Angeles.

For an acoustic musician to use a double set of stereo MIDI processors, a guitar synthesizer -and- several other "black boxes" in his shows, and use them expertly and well without compromising the acoustic nature of his performances is something interesting indeed.