L.A.W. (1986-1987)

My father had a guitar that I had always been messing around with as a kid but didn't really play until 1984.  It was a nice Martin guitar from the late 1950's.  My grandfather played guitar, my father still plays today and my mother has played piano since I was born and is a teacher.  I started seriously playing when I saw some of my friends playing together in band and wanted to be part of it.

I asked my Dad for $130 to buy a guitar and ended up with a Memphis.  It was pretty cheap, but I didn't want to spend too much on my first guitar, just in case it didn't work out.  Luckily, my friend Shane Holton had an extra Peavey amp that he could lend me for some weeks until I saved enough to buy my own amp.  I bought a Randall RG-120 (considered a vintage amp today) from a pawn shop in Mineral Wells a few months later.  At that point I was equipped to be in my first band, called Assault and Battery.  I don't have any pictures of us in this band, but it consisted of Shane Holton (Lead Guitar), Todd Hopkins (Drums), Clint Long (Bass) and myself (Guitar and Vocals).  Since we were all beginners we weren't able to play any songs we just jammed hard and loud partially through some.  Loud enough to make the neighbors angry.

After about 4-5 years of practicing, taking lessons, jamming, forming and playing in a few bands I was finally able to write a few songs and play some covers through to the end.  The bands I played in were L.A.W. (Love and War) consisting of Steven Owens (Bass), Steve Duncan (Drums and Vocals), Shane Holton (Lead Guitar) and myself (Guitar and Songwriter) which played 80's pop music.  Then Bludgeon consisting of Steven Owens (Bass), Reece Prey (Guitar), Michael Weights (Drums), Mark Spoon (Vocals) and myself (Lead Guitar and Songwriter) which played late 80's heavy metal.

Some of the songs I wrote were: Poor Little Rich Girl, Silent Storm, Merciless Onslaught and Erased from Existence.

From 1984-86 I was influenced by these bands:  Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, Van Halen, Stryper and Dokken.  I also took classical guitar lessons from Tim Kobza in Ft. Worth, TX for the 4 years I was in high school from 1984-1989.

From 1986-1989 I was influenced by these bands: Metallica, Pantera, Danzig, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, Exodus and Helmet.

From 1989-1991 I was in the US Army and did not play much.

My favorite guitarists are:  Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Stevie Ray Vaughn, George Lynch, Kirk Hammet, Robert Cray, Randy Rhodes, Joe Walsh, Stanley Jordan and Eric Johnson.

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