I got my first taste of the music biz when my band of fellow 9th-graders scored a gig playing at a GoodYear Auto Service Center for a crew of beer-drinking mechanics at the end of their shift. As the first song concluded… silence. Until a guy named Roger hollered, “Tune yer #@$& guitar!” After that humble (and humbling) beginning, and lots more after-school rehearsal, our band THE RITZ eventually forged an identity as one of the region’s top acts. Our first single, “Face to Face”, released when we were still in high school, scored airplay on 4 radio stations (hey, it was a start) and became a jukebox favorite in pizza parlors and teen centers. Years of touring eventually followed, entailing thousands of shows all over the US and Canada (I got stories!). I have also appeared as a vocalist on several other artists’ recording projects, various specialty CD’s, and have even sung on a few advertising jingles. My songs were featured in the films Staring at Headlights and Sarah’s Smile, I’ve written music scores for Chicago’s Second City Theater, and my music has been featured on NBC-TV. I appeared as a lead vocalist on the 2002 Target Corporation CD Praise & Worship Christmas (32,000 copies sold) and am the recipient of a Billboard Musical Achievement Award.
Still, my greatest achievement is simply having been able to entertain, encourage and enrich other people by sharing the musical gifts with which I’ve been blessed. I recorded my first album, ‘Everybody & Their Brother’ in 2002. My sophomore set, ‘Then Went the Demons’ was released in 2006. In 2014, my band FROM ORDINARY debuted the album ‘211 Degrees’, which was largely funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign (our fans are the BEST). After years of people asking me to record a Holiday album, in 2015 I released ‘Christmas Peace’. My latest album is a best-of collection entitled ‘The Road So Far’ which brings together 18 favorite selections spanning my 20-year recording career. I have also released several singles, including the titles “Waiting For You”, “Generous”, “Music That Is”, “Spirit’s Grand Design”, “(I Wanna Be A) Kid Again at Christmas” and “Early on One Christmas Morn”. My music is available at select music stores, iTunes and most other major online music retailers. My songs have gotten airplay on radio stations across the US and around the world… Pretty cool, but it hasn’t changed my life all that much… I still do my own laundry:)
You can catch me performing in solo shows, or my music duo COSTELLO & HIPPS, or in my Spirit-fueled rock band FROM ORDINARY, depending on the venue and type of event. I take great pleasure in occasionally serving as a guest music worship leader at various churches, and my associations with the MN Assistance Council for Veterans, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Crossroads Chapel at the MN State Fair, North Memorial Hospital/The Humphrey Cancer Center and other charitable causes and ministries. One of the major turning points in my life & career: I underwent a kidney transplant 22 years ago. After being diagnosed with chronic kidney failure, I lost my health, my singing voice, and my hope for a future. My sister donated a kidney and God performed a miracle (that’s what he does). I got a second chance, and I’m trying to make the most of it. In fact, I wrote a song about the experience entitled, “Second Chance”, which the MN Kidney Foundation used as their official theme song. Not long after, I was asked to perform that song (and a few others) and tell my story in the rotunda at the Mall of America, and I happily obliged.
