Growing up, my dad delivered BlueBell Ice Cream all
week long and played music on Saturday nights and often on
Sunday afternoons as well. My mom would go along when the dance
was close to home and there were many times when my night would
end with me asleep before the dance was even over. As I got
older, I began to pay more attention to my dad and the guys on
stage rather than running around the SPJST and VFW halls. I knew
then that I wanted to be on stage as well.
In 7th Grade, my dad and I joined a band
called The Westernaires. I played the drums and he played rhythm
guitar. We spent lots of weekends together on the road going to
play music. In 1991, I left the band to join the Texas National
Guard which meant boot camp in Ft. Dix, New Jersey and 16 weeks
of training in Newport News Virginia to be an aircraft engine
mechanic. With a few weeks of training left I received a letter
from a family friend and guitar player, Randy Bishop, saying
that there was a new band forming and it was going to be called
“Lost Wolf.” I became the drummer in that band. In July of 1997,
I started playing bass guitar in the band. After eight years of
helping make this band a success, I had to move on.
I then joined up with Mark
Winston Kirk and spent nearly 3 years in his band. Sometime in
June 2003, I moved on to become part of Ricky Calmbach’s band
and stayed with him until July 2006.
Something in my heart said it was time to try things on
my own. In September 2006, I recorded my first CD at Bismeaux
Studios in Austin, TX. The project consisted of seven original
songs and four of my all-time favorite cover songs. I have begun
playing live shows as Kenny Orts and the Fender Benders and I
still gig with Mark and Ricky from time to time. I now call Taylor Texas my home.
There are no guarantees of what the future holds for me as
a solo artist but music has taught me how to have fun and has
allowed me to meet and become friends with some of the greatest
people in the world. If that’s all I accomplish out of all my
years as a musician then I will have been a success.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to
learn a little something about myself and my love for music.
