BIOGRAPHY MY RESUME WHO I PLAY MUSIC WITH THESE DAYS MARK SPEAKS CURRENT DAY JOB BIOGRAPHY Both my parents were musicians, they actually met while both were members of the University of Arizona marching band, and my father's first good job was as national secretary of the Kappa Kappa Psi Marching Band honorary fraternity. His office was on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater, and he soon became the announcer of the Cowboy Marching band, hauling me along in tow on away games. (At the game I got to march into the stadium and then sit in the last row with the sousaphone players who I grew to idolize.) My dad always had music on in the house,  I remember Coupland's American suite, Joplin's Red Back Book and his beloved German oom-pah music on the big Magnavox hi-fi. (Mom was more of a Limelighters/Peter Paul and Mary fan herself) We even had a rebuilt Wurlitzer 78 rpm Juke box, the kind with the bubbles going up the sides like in "Happy Days," loaded with an odd mix of Elvis, the Coasters and Danny Kaye. Some of my happiest childhood memories are sitting on the floor, with my back pressed up against these huge machines, my eyes closed tight, soaking up every nuance of the sound rattling my whole body. Much to my chagrin, the decent middle class American Jewish parents they were, my folks decided I was going to be a violinist and signed me up for one of the first ever Suzuki Method courses in Oklahoma when I was only 6. I only remember a few things: that my private instructor was a former Miss Oklahoma (and runner up in the Miss America Pagent, 1974.) And that at an important  teachers demonstration conference on the Suzuki Method I was asked by the professor in front of the assembled string players why I had chosen the violin. I replied confidently I had no intention of ever playing the violin at all, I actually wanted to play trombone but my arms were too short. Humiliated publicly, my parents dropped the violin classes. MY RESUME Performance Chronology Discography Records and Soundtracks Published Writings String Bass Instructor / Clinician WHO I PLAY MUSIC WITH THESE DAYS Ridgetop Syncopators - hot western swing band Rubinchik's Yiddish Ensemble - acoustic Jewish music ensemble Alice Spencer & her Monkey Butlers - low down Jazz and Blues The Youngers of Zion - America's finest Jewish old time string band Shorty Long - cures depression. Like jazz, only fun Panorama Jazz Band - New Orleans jazz and world music pirate ship. George Carver & the Modern Agriculture - blues singer songwriter The Big Bang Boys - all star old-time/hokum string band project Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars - the name says it all And…… Ojala 1001 Nights Orchestra Kevin Russell's Junker Mark Halata's Texavia Brian Marshall's Tex-Slavic Playbooys George Carver & The Modern Agriculture Erik Hokkanen Jose Moreno Santiago Jimenez, Jr. …and quite a few others who don't have websites yet. CURRENT DAY JOB   Part time sales staff at Violins, Etc.