----- BASIC DATA -----
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Name
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John L. Fordham, a.k.a. stage-name "Scruffy Eagle"
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Address
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Available on request.
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Phone #
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Available on request.
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Email
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contact@scruffyeagle.com
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Age
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52 yrs. old
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Gender
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Male
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Marital
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Divorced
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Location
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North Land O' Lakes, MI
(This is at the bottom edge of the middle of the
Upper Peninsula, in Michigan.)
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Travel
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As required, using my personal automobile
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----- INSTRUMENTS -----
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Primary
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Hand-drumming (Djembe, Bongos, & Drum Tambourine).
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Secondary
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Rhythm guitar (both acoustic and electric) &/or vocals.
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Also practice
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4-string electric Bass Guitar, 6-string electric Bass Guitar, 4-string acoustic Viola,
5-string electric Violin, and Flute.
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----- MUSICAL ASSOCIATES -----
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This is a list of individual musicians I've had the privilege of practicing with, in private settings,
in alphabetical order as per last names:
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Garrett Derner
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Dennis Goodrode
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Tom Markoff
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Michael McDermott
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Dan Meier
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Jim Short
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Rich Simmel
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This is a list of bands I've had the privilege of sitting in with, in alphabetical order, during a total of
43 sessions on stage:
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"Bear Creek" - 14 sessions
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"Bellinia" - 1 session
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"Broadband" - 1 session
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"Center Stage" - 1 session
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"Cold Hard Cash" - 1 session
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"The Jacob Rice Band" - 1 session
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"Jerry Allen and the Knife River Band" - 1 session
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"Johnny Green and the Green Men" - 6 sessions
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""Luther Lewis and White Lightning"" - 1 session
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"The Maxx Band" - 2 sessions
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"The Michael Scott Band" - 1 session
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"Mozart's Cadillac" - 1 session
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"Quest" - 1 session
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"Robby Vee and the V-Rockits" - 3 sessions
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""The Rock-A-Billy Revue"" - 1 session
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"Vinny D. Valentine and the Royal Flush Players" - 1 session
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"The Westside Band" - 4 sessions
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"White Rhino" - 2 sessions
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----- HISTORY SKETCH -----
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My earliest training was in the choir of St. Gregory's Episcopal Church,
in Deerfield, IL. I was in the choir for several years.
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I had clarinet lessons for about 1 year, at approx. age 10. (This didn't last,
because I never actually liked the clarinet - I was just doing it to please
my mother.)
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I purchased a cheap pair of bongos at approx. age 18, and played them till they
wore out about 3 years later.
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I began writing poetry at approx. age 18, encouraged by the presence of and praise
from a young, very pretty English teacher I knew as "Miss Bay". The
practice of writing poetry became a discipline which I've continued ever since.
After a couple of years of playing rhythm guitar, it was extended to include the
writing of song lyrics.
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At approx. age 19, I purchased a very old Cornet at a garage sale. I took
approx. 5 formal lessons at Faller Music in Lake Forest, IL, before losing
interest in the instrument. At approx. the same time, I purchased a very old,
very beat up Trombone from a music store near Western Illinois University.
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I had an approx. 3-month stint of practicing flute, using a wonderful silver
instrument borrowed from Andrea Ratzer. That ended, when she requested the
flute back. A couple of years later, I purchased a very old, beat up flute
from Barbie Ball. It needed repairs which I couldn't afford at the time. It
got stuck in a closet and subsequently hauled (unused) from home to home until
it was finally repaired about 20 years later. It has a very nice sound.
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I began learning to play rhythm guitar at approx. age 20, spurred by the need to rehabilitate damage in my wrists.
I took approx. 3 formal lessons, then switched tactics to learn from my guitar virtuoso friend, Garrett Derner.
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I spent many years practicing strumming & singing, with Garrett Derner and
another friend, Rich Simmel (a drummer). We had an informal trio,
usually in the company of several 6-packs of beer. Garrett & I probably
practiced together about 5 years. Richie & I practiced together on a
regular basis for approx. 12 (?) years. (That overlapped the time involving
Garrett.)
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I experimented with many different instrument through the years,
never becoming very good on any of them. The list included: Hawiian Guitar,
Ukelele, Trombone, Cornet, Flute, French Horn, Viola, Bass Guitar, Piano,
Electric Keyboard, Harmonicas, Jaw Harps, Alto Recorder, Tenor Recorder,
Soprano Recorder, Mandolin, and Banjo. Throughout it all, I continued to
practice rhythm guitar on a continuing basis.
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My primary instrument for approx. 10 years, was a beautiful Hohner 12-string
guitar. I gave many impromptu (free) performances for handicapped people, using
that instrument & my voice. During that same time period, my secondary
instrument was a Gibson Les Paul which I built from a kit I purchased at the
Highwood Music Gallery.
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I practiced guitar with Jim Short for several years. It was during that time,
when I purchased a good bass guitar for the sake of our plans to form a band.
The band flopped, and the guitar ended up being dragged from home to home for
the next 10 years, unused but well cared for.
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There was an approx. 15 year period, of using drum machines to create rhythmic
sequences to accompany lyrics I'd written. My first drum machine was a Yamaha
DD-5 (I think, 5...) It was later replaced with a Yamaha DD-7, which I still
have and use. I consider the material I created in that manner, to be in the
"Beatnik" genre.
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In the last quarter of 2005, I concluded that musically, I was in a rut and
needed to make some changes. I developed a 3-pronged approach to fixing what
I perceived to be a problem, and enhance my musicianship:
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1)
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I had my old viola repaired & strung with new strings. Since the
instrument lacks frets, the musician must better develop the sense of pitch,
harmony, chord, and scale, in order to play it. About a year later, I acquired
a 5-string electric violin. I continue to practice fiddle, approx. one hour per
day.
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2)
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I began practicing my electric Bass Guitar on a regular basis; at minimum,
every other day. This discipline improves my dexterity doing flat-picking.
It also improves my ability to rapidly find the notes I need to do melodies
within given chords and scales. About a year and a half after setting a bass
guitar practice initiative, I felt I'd made enough progress to justify the
acquisition of a 6-string electric bass guitar. I now use it more often than
the 4-string.
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3)
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I purchased a new set of Bongos; a quality set, this time. Practicing
percussion improves my sense of tempo, pause, and beat. Since then, I've
added mini-bongos, mini-djembe, tunable drum tambourine, and egg-shakers to my
percussive arsenal. I continue to practice hand-drumming on an almost-daily
basis, using a collection of challenging music as my practice material to play
along with.
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Soon after obtaining the Bongos, I realized that I had a genuine knack for hand-drumming. I began seeking out
opportunities to sit in with professional music groups; mainly, at the Lac Vieux Desert Casino. (That's the only
place within 50 miles or more, that I can find free live music up here in the U.P.) At the time of this writing,
I've had the privilege of sitting in with 17 different bands for a total of 38 sessions (some of the bands have had
me sit in on multiple occasions). I enjoy it immensely, and intend to continue doing it. Since I began that activity,
I've extended my hand-drumming into usage of both Drum Tambourine and Djembe.
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----- WHERE I'M AT NOW -----
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HAND-DRUMMING:
My current focus for participation in a band, is to seek a position as a
hand-drummer. My preferred instruments would be the drums I already own (Djembe, Bongos,
Mini-bongos, Mini-djembe, & Drum Tambourine). Please note: If absolutely necessary,
I am capable of purchasing Congas - but, transportation of the drums to gigs, and
storage of the drums between gigs would present major difficulties due to space
constraints in my car and in my apartment. My preferred genres are Funk, Rock, Smooth
Jazz, Blues, Soul, Hip-hop, and Country Rock, in that order. The only genres I don't
like, and consequentially would avoid doing, are rap and heavy metal. The only
genre I've had difficulties fitting the hand-drumming into, is Folk. I can learn new
material fairly quickly, when it comes to hand-drumming; and, can frequently
accompany material I've never heard before in a satisfactory manner without any
difficulty. My current method of using the hand-drums on stage, involves sitting in a
chair with the Bongos drum tray across my lap, or Djembe between my legs, and a microphone pointed at the drum(s) for
amplification. At the current time, I don't mix singing with hand-drumming; I do one
or the other, but not both during the same song. (That's a goal of mine, that I'm working on...)
RHYTHM GUITAR & VOCALS:
I possess 5 guitars suitable for stage performances; 6-string electric, 6-string
acoustic, 12-string acoustic, 4-string electric bass, and 6-string electric bass.
My guitar playing is primarily rhythm guitar work. Although I'm a fairly good
rhythm guitar player, I don't learn new material on it quickly. My current repertoire
list (available via a dedicated page on this website) should be viewed as being the
current range of my potential contribution as a rhythm guitar player. As a general
rule, any song which I've listed as having been memorized for rhythm guitar, is
a song for which I've also memorized the lyrics and can sing while playing. I have
a good singing voice, best suited for choral and crooning styles. I can sing &
play rhythm guitar together, or do either task independantly of the other.
ELECTRONICS, (ETC.) EQUIPMENT:
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A 4-channel KPM-4080 P.A. system, with two 10-inch speaker cabinets;
loud enough for most small-to-mid sized venues.
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3 lo-z mics that have mic stands with boom arms and cables for
each - and, a LP mic claw for mounting a mic onto the Bongos lap tray or Djembe rim.
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A Fostex MR-mkII multitrack digital recorder, that is
sufficiently high quality to produce good demos.
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A "Cry Baby" pedal, and a multi-effects pedal unit.
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A Yamaha DD-7 digital drums machine.
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SONGWRITING:
I still write lyrics on a regular basis, although with the change of focus in my
musicianship (and the loss of recording capability), it's been a while since I've
composed chord sequences to accompany the lyrics I write. By change of focus, I'm
referring to the shift to focus on hand-drumming, and single-note compositions
for lead lines, bass lines, fiddle, & flute.
LIMITATIONS:
Although I do practice lead guitar and bass guitar, I don't have any repertoire of
standard bar songs material memorized for those tasks, in order to be able to do them
on stage. The same applies to the current status of my fiddle playing, and flute
playing.
An item that might be considered an issue by some bands, is a physical limitation of
mine. My stage work is limited to performing from a seated position. This applies to
all of the musical tasks I might be engaged in, with a limited exception regarding
singing; if I'm only singing, I can usually stand through one standard song's
duration - but, can't do that repeatedly throughout an evening's performance. The
reason I have this limitation is problems with back, hips, ankles, feet, and
arthritis.
An item that would be considered a major advantage by some bands, and a major issue
by others, is the fact that I never consume any intoxicants on the job (no
drinking alcohol, no smoking pot, etc.) - and, I'm critical of anyone who does.
I consider it to be unprofessional conduct, and a sign of someone who's incapable
of placing their musicianship as their top priority. I believe that any use of
intoxicants before or on the job, will guarantee failure - will guarantee that
whatever level of success the people involved might have otherwise achieved, will
never be attained.
GOALS:
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I intend to acquire a position as a hand-drummer in a working band, and (sooner
or later) be linked up with a group of sufficiently professional musicians.
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I intend to attain a situation where I'll have the opportunity to perform the
songs I author, in front of audiences.
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I intend to continue working to continuously improve the quality of my hand-drumming.
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I intend to continue working to master the technique
of singing while hand-drumming.
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I intend to continue working to master the techniques
of single-note picking in lead playing and bass playing.
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I intend to continue working to master fiddle and flute playing.
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I intend to maintain my current level of expertise as a rhythm guitar player
and as a vocalist.
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