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Allow me to tell you a little bit about my musical philosophies, about myself and my background. [And show off my family.]
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About Me
Over the years, the one complement that I've received many times is, "You always seem to play exactly what the song needs."
To me, that's the highest praise any musician could ever hope for. My goal is, and always will be, to add what I feel
the music needs, without getting in the way of the singer.
My Background
During the fifteen years or so that I played professionally in nightclubs and such, I was a definite backslider.
My mom raised us Southern Baptist, and I know when I decided to play music for a living it broke her heart, because she knew
the kind of environment I'd be in, and the temptations I'd be subjected to. I'm ashamed to say that I succumbed to many
of those temptations along the way. My mom passed away in 1982. I continued to play music until the local
work started getting sparse.
In 1997, shortly after I got my first "day" job [at the post office,] my sons joined a youth group
at a local A.G. church. After going for a few weeks, one day they told me their guitar player quit, and would I
fill in for a week or two while they found a new one. I did. And I wound up staying almost 9 years at that church.
I discovered the new worship music. I loved it. Still do. I had a great time playing music with my sons,
James and David. I taught them well, but they had tons of natural talent. That made it easy. They rock! I
cherished the great quality time I had with them every Wednesday for 4 or 5 years.
I believe God brought them to that church for many reasons. For their salvation.
To bring us closer as father and sons. To lead me back to church. For David to meet his future wife, Tara,
and for the two of them to have a baby, Cooper. For James to become a Christian, so that he would meet his
future wife, through church friends in Fresno. And, finally, to lead their Mom back to Christ. She was raised
Catholic, but fell away from the Lord. I'm proud to say that she was baptized last year at our little church in
the hills. That church is Cameron Park Christian Center.
Back to the music; my good friend [and our church bass player] Steve Cox loaned me some DVD's
on worship leading that 'flipped a switch' in my brain about worshipping through music. In the secular world,
you end a song and pause for the applause. In worship, the idea is to flow seamlessly from song to song to create
a mood or an atmosphere in which people leave everything else behind, and come into the prescence of the Lord. When
I'm playing secular music, the focus is on me or the band. When I worship through music, the focus is on Him.
I've played before a lot of audiences, but when I play for God, it's moving...life-changing. I hope God has let
my mom look down to Earth at least once, recently. I think she'd be pleased at how things turned out. God bless
you for reading this.
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| Fender Cyber-Twin Amp |
My Philosophy
I believe that every musician develops their own style over time. The best musicians' styles are as personal, as
unique, and as indentifiable as a signature. Everything they play, whether it's original or cover music, will reflect
their style. However, I have always felt that if you're playing cover tunes, you should try to emulate the tone and feel
of the original. I mean, if the song was a hit, then it was popular because of that tone and feel.
I had always dreamed of owning an amp that could produce all of those vintage tones, plus be capable of producing state-of-the-art,
'now', 'happening', cutting-edge tones, as well. Thank you, Fender! About five years ago, I bought the Fender
Cyber-Twin Amp*. It's like owing a magic box containing dozens of amps, but weighing only 55 pounds.
It even has built-in DSP, so my rack stays at home these days. This is an invaluable tool which allows me to faithfully
reproduce vintage tones and 'keep it real.'
* Fender Cyber-Twin Amplifier
| Fender Cyber-Twin Amp |
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O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
For God is the King of all the earth; sing ye praises with understanding. - Psalms 47 : 1&7
KJV
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My sons, recording with me
Click on the link below to hear the three of us. We're doing a song we'd never done before. In fact, James
and I had just heard it for the first time that day, so it's kinda rough. But I like it.
James - Bass, David - Drums and Vocal, Dad - Guitars.
Click to download music
Depending on your connection speed, this may take a few minutes to load.
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James plays bass and drums. He's a paramedic / fireman who lives in Selma, California, with his wife Krissi.
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David sings and also plays drums and keyboards.
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The loves of my life
My wife, Janice and our grandson, Cooper
My beautiful bride, my reason for living, holding the light of our lives; our grandson.
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My pride and joy
My sons, David and James
They were always good boys when they were growing up. And they have grown up
and matured into men of character and honor. Their mother and I are very proud.
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James and Krissi
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My oldest son and his beautiful wife, Krissi. They just bought a new house. Congrats.
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Rick Turnage - <>Friend me on Facebook
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