Biography

I'll never forget our first paid gig. I was twelve years old and we performed at a "Swim 'n' Dance" party at the city pool sponsored by the local radio station. I impressed my friends, had fun, and made twenty dollars in the process. Pretty big dough for a little kid! After that experience, I was hooked on music forever.

(Photo: Speer and Lanz in a 1985 publicity photo. Photo credit: Lynn DeBon )

By the time high school rolled around, we had expanded the group and were called Stone Garden. We traveled all over the Pacific Northwest playing teen dances, frat parties, and proms. We also started recording and released a single called "Oceans Inside Me." Ironically, that record ended up in the hands of Rockadelic Records a few years ago and they released a limited vinyl pressing of a whole album's worth of material from Stone Garden.

Graduations forced the demise of the band and I went on to music school at the University of Idaho. Leading a weekend funk/horn band of other music students, the legacy of teen dances, frat parties, and proms continued. Upon leaving school, I moved to Seattle and began many years of touring North America with several groups, mostly playing in nightclubs.

I eventually ended up in Los Angeles where I immersed myself in the recording scene. I love to perform but recording became my foremost passion and to make records my goal. I started hanging around LA studios, playing on sessions, and learning production and engineering.

After leaving LA to take a touring gig, I found myself back in Seattle and decided to move there permanently. In 1980, David Lanz and I met at a local studio and quickly became close friends, sharing much in our musical philosophies and tastes in music.

Soon after our first meeting, I purchased some decent recording equipment and David and I went to work exploring musical ideas. It was during this period that the tone was set for our directions as solo artists and David's first album, "Heartsounds" came into being as well as my first solo outing, "Collection 983: Spectral Voyages."

In 1983, I met Jan Nickman, who was putting together a music video series called "REV" for the local NBC affiliate, KING-TV. I joined his team as audio producer and my work on the show garnered an Emmy award. Jan is a real visionary and when the series ended, he, David, and I began work on what was later to become "Natural States."

The success of Natural States spawned Miramar Productions and, as partners in the company, we embarked on more projects together, most notably "Desert Vision" and "Third Stone from the Sun." We all started moving in different directions by the mid 1990's and eventually sold Miramar to Unapix Entertainment. All in all, it was a good ride and we did work to be proud of.

Shortly before David and I recorded "Bridge of Dreams" in 1993, a friend introduced me to Scott Rockenfield, drummer for the metal band, Queensryche. It turned out we were fans of each other's music and a friendship soon developed. After Scott's guest appearance on "Bridge of Dreams," we began hanging out a lot and kicking around ideas about doing something together.

Those discussions turned into reality when we teamed up with director Mike Boydstun for "TeleVoid." Creating the soundtrack for this computer animation thrill ride was the perfect thing for us to sink our teeth into. We worked very hard on it and were delighted when it received a Grammy nomination for Long Form Music Video in the 1998 eligibility year.

Scott and I returned to the studio in 1999 to create what became "Hells Canyon." The canyon is near where I grew up in Idaho and, with its rich history and intriguing places, was very inspirational to compose music about.

Since 1980, in addition to my work as a recording artist, I have been fortunate to keep very busy as a record producer. I am comfortable working in many different genres and have over 250 albums to my credit.

In the fall of 2007, I sold my studio operation in Seattle and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee. The reasons for the move are unrelated to the music business but I am enjoying living in the “Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll” and the “Home of the Blues.”

Who knows what lies ahead? Life is quite a journey of discovery, isn't it? I appreciate your interest and support of my work very much. It is truly a blessing to do something I love and I hope to continue creating music that brings enjoyment and inspiration.