I'm called Beowulf Kingsley for reasons I can't reveal to you right now...but it's a long story that will eventually be told. I'm also sometimes called Todd Antony Perkins, The Professor, Dr. Toddzilla and The Reverend. I've been called many other things too, but those people don't count.
I was born on a dark and stormy night to the sounds of cannon fire and angels singing Christmas carols...well not really, actually it was an hour after Halloween in 1952, and my mother was probably well fed up with me as I was rather reluctant to come out and greet the day. Sorry Ma.
As a kid I was intrigued by music, and would go to the India Import Shop where they would very kindly let me play a bit on the samisens and occasionally the sitar. I grew up around many Indonesians (my Dad taught English As A Second Language at University of Michigan) and I always loved the Gamelan, and my parents record collection of Classical, Folk and World Music, really a pretty eclectic bunch of LP's looking back on it.
In the 60's I stumbled out to Kalamazoo (we were all stumbling a bit then) and into my first band, the Shultz Food Band. They were a great bunch, and we lived together for the most part in a commune-like house near the University. At one point I understand the band actually had instruments made of food, but when I joined it was more of a Free Jazz / Dadaist / Surrealist thing with occasional moments of Guerilla Theatre. Just the thing for the time...I started out writing poetry for the band and somehow wound up playing the bass. I also did all the things you might imagine I did in the 60s, probably a bit too much really. I also made many good friends at the White Panther Party's house in Ann Arbor around that time, and for a while was doing the light show for the MC5, I'm not sure how or why.
Later I got more curious about musical structure and wound up going to Washtenaw Community College and studying with the great Morris Lawrence, which was an amazing stroke of luck on my part. Later I'd go to Wayne State and U of M, but Morris gave me the grounding in theory and the love of Jazz that really got me started. During this time I hooked up with a band called The Blue Front Persuaders, one of the first Swing revivalist groups in the 70s. It was perfect timing for me. We played a lot all over Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, and had some wild times doing it!
In the late 80s I helped get Big Dave & The Ultrasonics started, a Jump Blues 6 piece unit that played for over 10 years and made a pile of albums. I toured with them for 5 of those years, all over stages in Canada and the U.S., which was exhausting but great. I don't remember ever really getting off the road and unpacking my suitcase! The level of musicianship was really high in that group. We had a lot of amazing experiences and I learned a lot in my stint with them.
I left Big Dave in the late 90s and almost immediately was recruited by Guitarist Michael Katon for his touring band. I had met Mike before but never played with him. Going from a 6 piece Jump Swing unit to a Blues Rock power trio took some internal gearshifting for sure! Mike is an FANTASTIC guitarist with a huge fan base in Europe, which is where I worked with him for the next 8 tours and 5 years. He was a great bandleader and a good friend, and occasionally calls me up to check and see if I can do a tour or a gig. And if my time permits I will.
After many other bands ( Billy Mack, the Pratt Brothers, the Witch Doctors, Jesse Richards, and T.H.E. Modfather just to name a few) and many other stages, I'm still playing, writing, recording and teaching. I do a lot of studio engineering and production for people, have just finished my own 3rd CD and am readying a 4th, and I'm working on various original musical projects. I have some dates scheduled with my own band this Summer, but as I'm taking care of my aging parents I'm pulling back on any intensive touring schedule for a little while. Instead I'm spending much more time in the studio, and with my fabulous fiance, and our menagerie of cats out here at our farmhouse. And what's next? I have no idea...but I'm gonna do my best to make it fun.
