This page is dedicated to my grandfather, Janko (Ivan) Horvat.
The Janko Horvat Croatian Artists Coalitian
The JHCAC is a unique group of artists who can trace their lineage and creativity back to Janko (Ivan) Horvat. They are and were the ones responsible for PURE ART. Their art derives from their inner souls and minds and they dare to express and expose their emotions, feelings and struggles, be they good or bad, through their creations. They roam the unmapped lands of the subconscious, seeking answers to questions which no one, but themselves, can provide. DISCIPLINED ART forms, such as,film, drama, dance, music, architecture and modern computer assisted applications all have limiting guidelines and rules to keep the creativity reined in, but some defy those rules and go to their inner souls. One is required to draw within the lines and be the ideal citizen and suppress his/her true selfhood, yet some want to just be themselves and totally experience who they are and what they feel. Being a PURE ARTIST can often be a lonely and frustrating road to travel. One noted Italian artist expressed his feelings about what art is and should be. He simply said, You don't do it for money or fame. You do it simply because you love doing it. It allows you to be just yourself and to love being just yourself. The JHCAC has grown slowly over the years. However, the art that has been created hopefully will continue to inspire others to become a part of the coalition.
Janko Horvat immigrated from Kunic, Croatia to the USA in 1898. He walked from his village to the Adriatic Coast, about 250 miles, carrying only his few pieces of clothing, and more importantly, his carpenter's tool box to make his mark on the new homeland. He was one of 27 children sired by his father, and not confirmed, how many ladies/wives. His cousins across the road were 38 strong and other homes in the village of Horvatcia, had similar numbers. It took him and his brother Niko several months to complete the journey from Kunic to Ellis Island in NYC. Most Croats migrated after arriving in the US to industrial cities along the Great Lakes. Janko boarded one of many cattle cars shipping human cargo/laborers to work in the fledging meat packing plants in the lower bottoms in KCK. It is still not clear where he met his wife Kata Horvat. However, because of his carpentry skills, he rose to a craftsman position at the Armour Packing Plant and didn't have to slog through its bloody floors each day, as most of those who had shared his cattle car. His earnings afforded him to buy two adjacent residential lots on 3rd Street in KCK, on the West bluff adjacent to the Kaw River. This area would later be known as Strawberry Hill. One lot would serve as a huge garden embellished with fruit trees, similar to most homes in Croatia today. On the other lot, he would amass and assemble a family home from the boxcar siding lumber, thrown out after the grains had been unloaded and left for the takings by those that found any use for them. Not only would that boxcar siding be used for his home, but for helping others build their homes and more importantly to construct the barrels and wine presses highly desired by the Croatian community, which all on the "Hill" came to him for.
From that simple home, Janko and Kata began raising their family. It was the only home not torn down, but moved to Nebraska Ave., between 6th and 7th, when the Kansas Turnpike came through in the 1950s and decimated the community. Unfortunately in the late 90s, No One, protested it being demolished for low income housing or tried to preserve it for family or community heritage. They lost two children who didn't get to enjoy this Earth. They however, managed to put Barbara, John Thomas (Jim), Joseph, Katherine, Anne, Rose, George (Who died in WWII) and Frances on Earth to carry on their hopes and dreams. They were the first new generation and today there is a fourth generation making their marks. Janko and Kata would be proud to know that their values of hard work, honesty, respect for others, family and self-respect continue to be passed down still today and hopefully into the future.
One may not perceive a simple carpenter as being an artist. However, working with your hands and heart to provide unique beauty in the eyes of a given beholder is a rare talent. Most will see a log as being only a source of heat. An artist will look at it a becoming an heirloom to teach others in the future and provide a warmth of another nature. Most will look at a simple wine press as being a necessity for processing grapes. An artist looks at it as being the foundation which will bring joy and happiness to many down the road as they share its products at daily family meals, with friends and neighbors on holidays and on special celebrations. Most look at a table, chair or bed as being only a utilitarian necessity. An artist looks at them as rewards for one's labor and efforts of the day. The aching body can finally relax and the family can gather together and enjoy the blessings of the day and unite in their hopes and dreams for the future. A very wise gentleman once said, There are only two kinds of truths on this Earth, real truth and perceived truth. As an artist, your job is to discover which one is which. Being judgmental of others and their actions is less important in life than each being judgmental and honest with oneself. No man can be an asset to another, unless he is an asset unto himself. They say that when one departs this Earth, that they can count their TRUE friends on one hand. Janko may not have been the ideal role model to some, but he definitely was a PURE ARTIST in his own rights. All should be happy and honored to have some of his DNA in them.
THE JHCAC MEMBERS NO LONGER WITH US
Joseph Horvat - He bore many monikers. Among them, Brother Joe, Little Joe, Pappy Joe, Cane Pole Joe and late in life, as an artist, Ham Bone Joe. He was the highest educated in his family and am happy to say that he passed on the importance of education, in all aspects, to his children. He probably dreamt of being a tenor like Caruso, for he sang solos in the church choir, conducted all the sing-alongs on Saturday fishing trips and was always belting out gala songs over the din of family gatherings and events. He kept cadence of the music, not by tapping his toe, but by shuffling his feet as a drummer does with brushes on a snare drum. He was also an exceptional cook, wordsmith and Tony Roberts of his day. In his earlier years, he was a painter, not just an individual applying whitewash. He did a lot of the scroll work and ornamental details in SJB church, and in its other facilities. He also did similar work in some of the finer homes in Kansas City. In those early years of his marriage, he did double time, doing painting during the day and being a night watchman at one of the facilities for the city of KCK. Like Janko Horvat he purchased two lots in the Quindaro area to make his family home. That would be the hub for most family events when all assembled. As young children most of the family kids were impressed by the playground equipment and open space to run afforded when Pappy Joe held an event. Also, as Aunt Christine was one of the best pastry chefs, all knew it would be a most wonderful event and day. Through his dedication and commitment to the local Democratic party, he became County Investigator. Pappy Joe served his position well for numerous years. One thing that the younger question about him was his love for ham fat sandwiches. When there is all that great tasting meat, why would one choose the fat? After his retirement, perhaps the answer came out. He was perhaps in the process of collecting ham bones to do his "ham bone surrealistic art". Two members of the JHCAC tried to attain a few pieces of his art, but he refused to relinquish any of them at any price. They were very exceptional and defined what PURE ART was all about. There is a great hope out there that his Ham Bone Art has been preserved unlike Janko Horvat's home on Nebraska Avenue. No one will ever know or totally understand what goes on inside of an artist's mind. Ham Bone Joe still leaves many questioning and pondering, but we all thank him for it.
Kathleen Dodig-Baska - Cass had a God-given talent that few are fortunate to receive in life. From a young age she would depict unexplainable images and also eerie portraits of those in her life with a simple pencil in the blank pages of school books left behind at her grandmother's home by here aunts and uncles when their limited education ended. An art sketch book or a newsprint pad was far down on the necessity list compared to shoes and socks. She often did her creations in seclusion and would seldom show them, except to a few chosen few, as not to be chided for wasting her time or having to explain their meanings. One she shared it with was an elderly gentleman who frequented the soda fountain counter at a drugs store where she worked part-time on the Plaza. A kind hearted neighbor, who was its manager would pick her up after school and take her there and back home each night so she could have a few things for herself in life without having to beg or justify her desires. The elderly gentleman she shared her art with was a major benefactor to the Nelson Art Gallery , The Kansas City Art Institute and The UMKC Musical Conservatory. He wanted to sponsor and pay for her education at The Chicago Art Institute. All that knew him, knew there were no strings attached and the gentleman had no devious intents. He just wanted to enable a talented individual to develop her full potential. In an old world community there is and was always high suspicions of outsiders coming into their community. She got no support from family or the community. She quit her job, as to not have to face this gentleman's insistence to be an artist and be herself. Over the years, she continued to do her art IN SECRET and shared it even less with others. Most of it, she would destroy, as not having to explain what influenced it. The sad thing to see was that over her life, was when an event or situation arose where her intensity and creativity could arise, she would fade into the background and deny all of what she really had to offer. All have been fleeced by her not being supported and encouraged to put her art and creativity out there. Most never recognized the extra touches she added on to a povitica, loaf of bread or setting a table for a holiday feast. One thing is sure, she continued to express her thoughts and emotions in a dimly lit room until she finally collapsed on her kitchen floor making bread for her family and friends. What a few of us were privileged to see of her art was truly uplifting and posing. Unfortunately, most of it didn't get out there for many more to view and relate to.
THE LIVING MEMBERS
Richard Gillespie - The Doctor, also better known as Giz, is and has been the purist of artists in the JHCAC. He was always a good looking and happy child and had a warped sense of humor, which caused most to question how normal he really was. He was a pure eccentric from day one and carries that badge of honor to this day. No drum was ever made that he would march to other than the one he made for himself out of an old coffee can. He never was an actor in someone else's play, but wrote his own scripts and chose who could play what roles. Most were shocked when he joined the Marine Corpse, for they didn't really see that he was more disciplined and committed than the Corpse. The mix of his warped sense of humor, his demanding discipline of others and constantly questioning supposed values and opinions of others caused most to run away from him as soon as possible. That was probably his planned intent. He has never been demeaning to another, but , so to speak, put them on the spot so that they could see if they were being demeaning and not truthful to themselves. When he got out of the Marines, he enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute, studying sculpture. To pay for his tuition, he became an assistant to a noted sculptor and millionaire in KC. Richard Hollinger and his wife, Gert, adopted Giz, mentally, as their third child and their two children accepted him like he was blood. Over the next 30+ years there would be a bond that couldn't be broken. The common link was the Pure Art that both Richards strove for and were committed to. Unless one was fortunate to personally experience the interactions of these two, they couldn't phantom it or what it was about. After Giz graduated from KCAI, he continued to assist Hollinger, did welding jobs for Al & Harry's Surplus and mold making for Bowie's Foundry, each located on both sides of Hollinger's studio on Campbell in KCMO. With Hollinger's prodding and backing, he applied for and received a Fulbright Award/Scholarship and with his wife and kids, headed off to Stanford University to work on his Masters degree. Upon completion, he taught there for two years. When he refused to give only A's to graduate student's, in order to keep up Stanford's high grade point average, they did not renew his contact. He returned to KC and continued working with Hollinger, this time not as an assistant, but also a peer. John Morgan, who had been the Dean at KCAI for years, moved on to taking over a similar position at the University of Miami in Florida. Their art department didn't include sculpture. He hired Giz to fill that void. That disciplined and warped minded Marine got them on the map and his persona didn't change, just because the venue had. After 4-5 years the gentleman who had directed the Sculpture Department for over 40 years at KU, Poco Frazier, died and the position opened up, Giz was more noted in academia for his unconventional education methods and a little less nationally for his art, but KU bet on a homegrown son. They eventually tenured him and for over twenty years he expanded his students minds and forced them to look honestly into a mirror each morning when they awoke. He suffered a stroke several years back and today lives in Lawrence, KS. Though somewhat physically limited, his mind is still as warped and demanding as ever. One of two his sons, Ian, often drives up to Lawrence and takes him to KC to his acquired studio where Bowie's was on Campbell back in KC. It is next door to Richard Senior's studio, today the studio of Richard Hollinger Jr., who followed in his father's footsteps. Am sure a lot of wonderful memories pass back and forth through the common wall. Though he is physically limited in what he can do, he continues on. The most uncomfortable thing for most to have to deal with when in his presence is that after you make a prophetic statement, you hope for a chuckle and not an eye to eye questioning non response.
John Michael Dodig - After replacing his mentor ,The Doctor , as a bartender at Sammy's on 6th Street in KCK, he became known as Crazy Ralph. That name stuck with him over many years until he walked away the DISCIPLINED ART of architecture. For the past 30 years most simply refer to him as The Crazy Croatian. Growing up on Strawberry Hill, he was known to most as Johnnie or Little Janko. Always was somewhat of a loner and still is today. He hung out with mostly older kids, almost as their mascot. Most of his evenings were spent with his guardian, Uncle Jim, in bowling alleys, local bars or in the park at the KCK Library, where the old-timers gathered until curfew. Most other interactions with others outside of his grandmother's home were the Saturday hunting of fishing trips with Cane Pole Joe or a weekend with Spotty Pavlic and his sons at their lake and cabin in Kickapoo, KS. Giz, his sister Maggie and his brother-in-law Bill Baska, all made sure to he had the time, voice, ear, guidance and life alternatives they felt he wasn't receiving. He developed into a quite good athlete, both as a baseball player and as a football player and was offered numerous scholarships upon graduation from Maur Hill in Atchison, KS. It was in those four years at boarding school that he blossomed. Athletically he had no peers at Maur Hill or even back in KCK. Scholastically he became a National Merit Finalist. In each of his first three years he was a class officer and in his last became Student Body President. It was during that period that his rebellious tendencies started surfacing. When home for Summer breaks or vacations, or in Atchison, he was admired and respected by friends, classmates, teachers and many well positioned adults for his accomplishments. However, back in KCK, those that he hoped would admire and acknowledge his accomplishments, his family and the Croatian community, more or less just blew him off. After four years of this, he began severing ties with the family and community. He felt as though he had no place to call home and could only count on Giz, Maggie and Bill Baska. Only Uncle Jim, Spotty and his son Michael attended his graduation from Maur Hill. There was no party nor any cards of congratulations, except from outsiders. When he was severely injured at K-State, no one showed up to visit him at KU Med Center or later back in the hospital in Manhattan. To him that was the final straw that broke the camel's back. He gave up his scholarship, enlisted in the Air Force, but unfortunately flunked the physical examination and was rejected from service. This led to his heavy use of alcohol and new moniker Crazy Ralph. Thankfully there was Giz, Maggie, Bill Baska and two new life allies, Sammy Fabac and the Verbanic Family, to reel him in, stabilize him and provide alternatives so that he could have a happy and rewarding life, not an angry and vengeful one. Having been an insomniac from an early age, he became the lead character in his own TV series version of I Led Two Lives, for he could get by with only 2-3 hours of sleep each night. By day he would work his way up from being an errand boy in one architectural office to being a tutored, non-degreed award winning designer in another. At night he would turn into Crazy Ralph, leading hysteria along 6th Street. After about 6 years of this almost self-inflicted insanity, with the aid, assistance and encouragement of those few really close to him, he returned back to the educational arena and completed a BS in Environmental Sciences and a Masters Degree in Architecture. To support his education, taking 21 credit hours per semester and 10 in Summer sessions, and also his wife, he took on many part-time jobs. He also started a small furniture company designing and building affordable furniture and furnishings for students. The University had a tough time knowing what to do with him, as he had more professional experience than most of on their staff, so they hired him as a Graduate Assistant. He would later be called upon by faculty members who went on to become Deans at other Architectural Schools to become a member of their staffs. He graduated with high honors and many awards, but as in the past, no one was in attendance, nor did he receive any recognition except from his loyal few back in KCK and several outsiders. Because of his more mature perspective of life, his professional experience and his visionary astuteness, he was offered employment by many top US architectural firms. His real desire was to practice in Japan, Unfortunately, there were few US firms doing business there and the language barrier was too difficult to overcome. He rapidly climbed his way up the ladder and in a few years became Manager of Architectural Design for one of the largest A&E firms in the US and directed their 135 designers in their 11 national offices. There, on the management side and also as Head Designer, he helped produce award winning projects and works on 4 continents. He always gave the credits to his various staffs and teams, saying he was only a placebo who inspired them to do their best. He later, after a few years, moved on to Los Angeles where he became a Head Designer for two of the most prestigious design firms. The long hours, stressfulness of the positions, constant expectations, the bleeding from his ulcers, the peter principle/ burn out and above all, the reality that he had no personal life, but only his recognition as a top designer, caused him to contemplate leaving the profession. He started doing simple 2-demensional art at night's to help relieve his mind and abate his alcoholic tendencies. Later he transitioned into doing 3-demensional assemblages. Finally he realized the only way he had a chance to really be himself, was to get out of the architectural profession. Few understood his reasoning or logics. He just wanted to be himself. It was okay in his mind to simply be a Starving Artist. First he moved to NYC, then back to Beverly Hills, then opened up a studio in LA and later also a studio, gallery and restaurant in Playas de Tijuana, Mexico. During that time he started doing ”veristic surrealism". He came out of the gates, after creating over 125 pieces of art in one year and had 14 shows, 8 of which were one-man, over the following 12 months. The perceived truth was that he was hottest new artist out there, the real truth, was that few wanted to join him on his "psychiatrist couch" and invest in his art. His drinking became more excessive. One night he passed out with a lit cigarette in his bed. Had his greatest antagonist not forgotten his wallet, he would not be with us today. He has often repeated the statement, The worse thing that can happen to you, is having to be thankful to someone you really hate. No alcohol passed his lips for the next 14 years, doing it cold-turkey. Combining his architectural talent, his craftsmanship abilities and his PURE ART intuitions, he became a recluse. He abandoned old associates, possible negative friends, family and anyone he felt could not be beneficial or supportive to only being himself. When one finally wipes the blackboard clean, it is difficult for others to believe how wonderful life can be. Over the next 16 years he would work out of his North Hollywood, CA studio, doing not only PURE ART, but also designing/building furniture, designing/building small residential and commercial projects for select clientele and also did property management and maintenance for most of that select clientele. After his studio was sold after the death of his long time confidant and landlord, he relocated to Las Vegas, NV. He continues to do those special projects for a select few and from the resources derived, climbs back up on the "psychiatrist couch" and re-evaluates his selfhood. Often people have asked him what his greatest accomplishment has been. He always responds the same, saying Discovering my grandfather's home and birthplace in Kunic, as well as, working in the same vineyards he did as a boy and young man and reconnecting with family that had lost contact with those in the US in the 1950s. Most of all, wading and sitting in the Kupa River, as Janko had done as a boy, and thanking him for his long journey which allowed me to have so many wonderful opportunities in the USA. In a way I took him back home and completed the highway in both directions, so that others, if they chose, could discover who they are and where they came from.
Kate Horvat - As of yet she has no known moniker. Little is known of her with the exception of what is presented on her website or has been minimally provided by relatives back in Kansas. Viewing her art to date, she can easily qualify to be listed as a JHCAC member, should she choose to accept such an acknowledgment. Apparently she has been given the encouragement and support needed to do PURE ART. Hope that those around her will always realize that an artist is like everyone else in their day to day life and enjoy the pleasures of life just like any other human being. However, when they walk through the door into their studio, they can be a totally different individual. The studio is their sanctuary of their self-hood and should always be respected. What comes out of it most will not identify with or understand, but that too should be respected. Here's hoping Kate Horvat decides to become a lifelong member of the JHCAC.
My work is influenced by my experience with intense dreams known as night terrors – a sleep disorder where I wake up screaming with my eyes already open. It is alarming how violently my body reacts to these tricks of my mind. My night terrors take place regularly, but I can never be sure when or how often they will occur. Because they are a constant in my life, I strive to discover their basis and have found that they provide subjects for my art.
Using night terrors as subject matter is not so much an attempt to realize why they occur, but rather an acknowledgment of their existence. They are physical manifestations of the anxiety, tension, and fears that I hold in my otherwise normal life. It is my belief that fear is rooted in the unknown, and that once we name that unknown, the situation becomes less fearful.
My work is an attempt to confront and accept what we cannot know.
The creative process is a way for me to positively channel the nervous energy that is a natural part of my personality. The interactions I have with the materials I use is a means to acknowledge the interconnectedness of the physical with the intellectual.
Ken Paulakovich, Jr. - Though he was basically a participant in the DISCIPLINE ART of music as a recording engineer, he has moved away from the music business and into doing audio for film and TV productions as an independent. He bravely accepted support and assistance from a "black sheep" family member living in LA and rose to accept the challenges of his inner dreams. Engineering in any facet is considered being an almost manipulative Science. However, any musician, entertainer or actor realizes the importance of an audio man that can connect with them so their weaknesses are not exposed and their assets are elevated. It is an intimate relationship by which they share each others minds and souls. A blind individual only experiences the words or musical quality of any performance. His greatest appreciation is when sound man hones them into an inspirational or emotional experience and in a way turns it into a piece of PURE ART. Like other pure artists when they enter their studios and head off into their own realms, am sure that he does the same thing when he puts on the headphones and turns on the mics. The JHCAC is seeking more information about him and have discovered that as he has aged and entered fatherhood, that he strives to get closer to his inner self and produce PURE ART.
The following response was received from Ken when asked to join the JHCAC:
Seems to me that when some artists are young and overly ambitious they possibly don't understand PURE ART. They want to achieve this position or that award and on the road to learning PURE ART they realize that those things don't really matter or end up just collecting dust. Possibly only real experiences and situations can lead one to being able to produce this so called PURE ART.
PURE ART, hmmmm, it can possibly only be when it turns out how it was envisioned plus a few enhancements, which seems to be most of the time a rarity. Ask the cook who does the same dish many times, only he knows when it is all it can be and is perfect when everything lines up, even the elements that are out of his control. When it happens, he knows it and feels it and a part of him is satisfied. Those are the times he is more personally inspired to continue to do what he does. Like a live performance, a custom designed house or any piece of art, each type of artist who creates it, builds it, paints it, cooks it or performs it, what ever his specific field, knows and experiences each step of the process and every tiny detail of it. Sometimes, due to restrictions, a project or piece must be completed and considered done, regardless of the ability to go forward and do something better. The viewer/ recipient may see the finished product such as a house, a piece of music, a painting, a plate of food or a piece of art and assume it is complete and the best, but only the artist knows where the one ingredient wasn't the freshest or the two boards in the upper corner didn't join perfectly or the color wasn't as vibrant as he wished. He knows what wasn't just perfect and the few touches that would have made it better. Then there are the times when it all comes together and nothing needs to be added or taken away. He is self satisfied and content knowing he has just created a PURE ART piece. Everything creative is considered as being art and all can be a critic, for as they say, art is in the eye of the beholder. Just look around, all you see is supposed art, but at what level, how much is PURE ART? It can only be achieved, in my opinion, when an atmosphere of total freedom is afforded the artist. Ask any artist how many times they are afforded that luxury. Not always, but more often than not, business dictates art and PURE ART. In my opinion it can only be achieved when there are no restrictions. I truly believe many artists could go much further with their hopes and dreams, but never get to experience that luxury or are able to create in a no boundaries environment. True freedom to create is rare and so in my opinion is true PURE ART. Any artist that has had that pleasure understands that it requires such a realm for PURE ART to be created in. Creative mental places can only be visited when there are no time or resource limitations. Most find it difficult to understand or deal with an infinite realm. Most desiring to do PURE ART crave it and refer to it as going to another level. In my experiences operating in those places, the art itself, then begins to dictate what it will or will not allow or be. It's almost as if it accepts or rejects the next part of the process of creation. This in my opinion only happens in PURE ART. Just some of my thoughts about the process that takes place in creating PURE ART.
Born in KC, KS 1-28-60 to Donna and Kenneth Paulakovich Sr. I never thought much about creating anything but did become curious about that creation panel known as a mixing console when I attended my first concert at Memorial Hall in KCK. That curiosity did lead me down the road to learn about the process of creating something, in my case it was a recording. I tried to explore that curiosity in Kansas City and was able to a limited degree at a local recording studio Chapman Recording Studio, but was told that to truly pursue my curiosity I needed to go to one of the centers of that business either NY, NY , Nashville or LA. Ironically years later I would return to that same studio. That became a reality with the help of my uncle John Dodig at that time known as John Michael who lived in LA, CA. He extended a helping hand when he learned of my dream and I took him up on his offer. With John's help, I attended the University of Sound Arts in Hollywood CA. After a short course there in basic recording techniques was hired by one of my instructors, Tom Murphy, who had been one of the Beach Boys engineers and now owned his own recording studio, Track Record. Pretty much started out at the bottom as an assistant at a B level studio that recorded independent label records and songwriter publishing demos. Track Record would go on to grow into a multi room facility located in North Hollywood, CA over the next few years. It was the late 80's and after the move to North Hollywood, Track began to attract major label artists and producers. It was no longer a B level facility, but had grown to become a world class facility attracting top clientele. Through the growth of Track Record, as a staff engineer, I was able to learn from and have the opportunity to work with some of the engineers and producers that not too many years earlier, I had read about on the backs of some of my favorite albums as a teenager. I couldn't have planned the timing any better. Looking back, as the technology has evolved to a digital world from what was only an analog world at that time, made those years and experiences, at that time even more rare. I am very fortunate and thankful to have had those opportunities and wouldn't trade what I learned then for anything. Over the next several years, I would leave the security of a staff position at Track Record and venture out on my own with connections and relationships built there as a freelance recording engineer, but always using Track Record as my home base. I was fortunate enough to work on many many recordings that millions and millions of people would be able to enjoy. During the decade of making records in LA, I married Teresa Barnhill after living together for 6 years. The marriage lasted 7 years, but slowly dissolved under the pressures of opposite schedules and the time demands of the life of a recording engineer. I made the mistake of chasing my dreams and curiosities building a career as a recording engineer. Was living the life of rock stars while working but neglecting my marriage when at home and was not able to find a balance between the two. Like the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too. But I've always was one to think I could. As a result of not being able to balance my personal and professional life, I would spend the next 10 years single. In 1994 on a trip from LA to KC, to visit family and friends, I was offered a job at the studio that years earlier told me I needed to travel to one of the major recording markets to realize my dream to become a recording engineer, Chapman Recording Studio. I would soon have gone full circle. It was on that trip that I was offered a chief music engineer position along with the promise of a new studio that was to be built within a year of my taking the position and a partnership in a record label with the owner Chuck. I was given 3 months to make a decision. Having been away from my siblings and nieces and nephews, that were growing up not really knowing me and my mother being in ill health, I decided to take the position and returned to KC. At first it was as if I had landed on Mars. After 10 years of building a career in LA, the transition to the Midwest and the vast differences between the music industry in LA and the music scene in KC, was dramatic, to say the least. As time went by, I adjusted and the local artist I worked with put their trust in me. I learned that there are very very talented people everywhere. I coined the phrase, people are the same everywhere, it's the trees that are different. I still stand by that. Although my time recording music in KC lasted about 6 years, I went on to help design and build one of the first home based non linear recording facilities in the KC area. In 2000 I was offered a position at a video production facility as a sound designer, one who adds sounds to pictures. That positioned opened my eyes to a whole new realm of sound, which supports not only what is seen but also heard. After about 4 years of that, I once again found myself freelancing. This time staying in the vein of sound for TV and video productions by capturing the sound live along side the camera. It is what I continue to do today and sometimes mix music for live events and occasionally return to the recording studio. Along the way I have been very thankful for the opportunity I was given by my uncle which allowed me to go places, meet people and see things I never would have and realize my dream. The best part was having a great time and being able to make a living at the same time. In 2004, I was married a second time. That marriage lasted 7 years. I've been blessed with 2 kids, Drew and Madison. The more they begin to understand what it is I do and hear about the people and places I get to experience, I hear comments from them sometimes that they want to do what dad does and that is rewarding.
There is another possible member out there to be a part of the coalition, Abby Scott. Hopefully she will accept the invitation to be included the JHCAC.
This page will continued be updated when a new possible member decides to participate or other possible individuals are discovered and possibly qualify.