Randy grew up in a very musical family. His Grandpa Emil played the baritone in a polka band and taught him how to write music at a very early age, teaching him all about treble & bass clefts, beats,and measures. His father Louis also played drums in a country-western band, and Randy remembers watching with great interest as they practiced every week. When Randy reached high school he knew that music was in his blood and decided that it was time for him to start a band as well.
So, with lots of determination, (but absolutely no idea of how to play anything) he co-founded a band called T n T with his cousin Tom. Randy started out playing an old organ, but when the volume of the organ could not keep up with the rest of the band, he decided to move up to something "louder". Since the immediate need of the band was for a bass guitarist, this is what Randy decided to learn. He headed home with an old, very cheap Kay bass guitar and began the process of teaching himself how to play. The very first song that he learned was an Elvis Presley song called "I Was The One", which happened to be on the flip side of "Little Sister" on an old 45 record. Once he mastered that song he went on to learn many Beatles songs and other classic rock songs as well. These songs gave him the opprortunity to learn the basic bass runs in a rock and roll song in order to become a competent bass guitarist.
Randy's band's first gig was for a dance marathon held in Belle Plaine, Iowa in 1977, and he remembers looking on in awe at the band that proceeded them that night. He hoped that someday he could become as great a musician as he saw in them. However, because it was a dance marathon, his band had a captive audience that night, and somehow they made it through. From that point forward Randy played in many bands throughout Iowa and Nebraska, playing all kinds of music from Country to Rock to even Celtic. Often times bands would call him on the spur of the moment and ask if he could fill in for them for the night. This gave Randy the opportunity to learn many different music styles.
As Randy entered his 20's and 30's "real life" took over and he found it necessary to put music on hold for awhile to advance his career and to care for his family. Randy moved to Preston, Idaho in 1988 and eventually found a "fixer upper" in the tiny town of Clifton. It took four and a half years and all of the energy he could muster to finish this project, but he learned a "whole lot" in the process and gained a very nice house as well. However, the desire to play music again at some point in his life never left him.
The opportunity to do just that came Randy's way in 2007 when the previous bass player in 4th Ryte decided to move on to other things. Steve, (Randy's brother) who previously played the drums in the band convinced the other members to give him a try and the rest is history. It took a couple of months to get back in the groove of things, but eventually Randy was able to learn all of the material. He is greatly enjoying his opportunity to play in a band again and often refers to this as his chance to "relive his youth" again. Music truly is part of Randy, and he is making the most of this opportunity in the 4th Ryte brotherhood.
Randy was married in September, 2006 to Penny his lovely wife. They have two teenage boys who keep them very busy Scott (age 17) and Alex (age 14).
For his day time job Randy sells gourmet nuts (of all things). He started Nuts For You in January, 1997 and his business has spread out all over the United States with several hundred locations currently carrying his product. You can check out the Nuts For You website at www.nutsforyou.net