The most significant
events since playing in the band(s)
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After graduating from MHS in 1967, and being voted "the guy least likely to make a living in the Music Business", I entered GA TECH. After going to school for 4 years and working in the Co Op program at General Motors,in Doraville and playing in some crummy original bands that couldn't get arrested and hating "corporate life",I did the only thig I could do, I dropped out to go on the road with a string of bands that were booked by the Earl Good Agency.(Katharsis, Six Fold, The Joe Savage Band, the guy with the snakes!) .
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I came back to Atlanta and played in bands in the original Underground for a year with out ever taking my drums out of Underground.I was in the house band at Scarlet O'Hara's (Sun Shower with Vinnie O'Neil) alternating 6 weeks at a time with Jerome Old's Band, where I had my "Brush with Greatness"! James Brown had moved to Atlanta,and he "liked" our female singer and he would come to Scarlets and sit in with our band and sing 4 or 5 songs every Wednesday night! He even paid for a demo recording session at the Old Sound Pit Studios! .
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After going back out on the road with Hack Bartly (one of The Swinging Medallions), and playing eleven, 7 night gigs in a row in Texas (77 days), I headed back to Atlanta!
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I went back to Ga Tech, took my last two quarters, and graduated in 1977 with a BS in Industrial Management and I put together a 4 piece band (Plus).that played either a 6 or 7 night gig for three years with only 12 weeks off (they wanted Thanksgiving and Christmas off each year!)
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Now things get interestig! My old MHS buddy and fellow drummer Joe Castanuela comes back to Atlanta fresh out of the Army band and wants me to start a Drum Shop. I said "Sure if we can find anybody dumb enough to loan us a little money!" We did! And it was very little money! Luckily I had my bucks from the band! We opened on April 1, 1978! What other day but April Fools day woul be the right day to start a Drum Shop? I would tear down my kit at the gig every night and set it up at the store the next morning, and put a "Sold" sign on it, so it looked like we had some inventory! We both taught lessons to keep the store afloat! A couple of years later I bought my old buddy out and he went on to bigger and better things! And as they say, the rest is history!
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On August 26, 1983, my son Brad was born! He got his first little Drum Set three. A started sitting in with my corporate/wedding band, The Bill Patton Band when he was 5 playing tambourine! After six years of instruction from one of my teachers at the store he turned out to be a great drummer. He is now 24 years old! Wow! He has two semesters to go at Ga State to get his Business Management degree and he a little time off to go out on the road with his Punk Rock band"The Heart Attacks". they have two CD's out and recently opened for "Social Distortion" on their last tour.! Sound familiar? I guess "the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree"! He is working at the store and helping his old man out!
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Somewhere in there I went to Ga State and got a Commercial Music degree!
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