ACOUSTIC SOUND HOUNDS

“Bluegrass Music with a Twist”

About Us

My name is Mitzi.  I am Phil’s wife and I set up this website.  I told you how the group was formed now let me tell you about the members of the group.

 

PHIL

This year was a big birthday year.  Phil turned 61 but that didn’t keep him from having rhythm in his music and song in his heart.  I should also tell you that we will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary.

Phil has been playing guitar for most of his life.  He has only been in one band and that was in high school.  Time was sparse after high school.  He married and a lovely daughter was born into his life.  Needless to say he had to have a real paying job.  He worked for the City of Dallas for 30 years and retired.  Retirement didn’t last long.  He went to work for the City of Lewisville and after 3 years he retired again.  Now he works for himself.  Working for himself allows him to budget his time with the band and work.  Not many people get to have their cake and ……

Bluegrass was not his first choice in music.  He was a rocker.  Do you remember Hendrix, Canned Heat, Beatles?  That was his style and then came Pam with her mandolin.

PAM

Pam is the daughter every parent wants.  She is thoughtful, loving, beautiful, a wife, a mother, an elementary school teacher and a Christian .  She has a natural talent for music and a great voice.  Do I sound like a proud parent? 

Pam really didn’t take music serious until the mandolin came into her life.  When she realized what she could do with the mandolin was when our lives changed.  She would come to visit and pull out the mandolin so she could show us what she had learned.  She would ask her dad to play with her so she could hear it with other instruments.  She was really getting good, so good her husband Jeff bought her a new mandolin.  Christmas, a year ago, she got her Gibson.  He really loves her!

The feedback we get on her playing are statements like, “That young lady is an awesome player”, or you might hear, “Are you serious?  She has been playing for a little over a year!”  Pam’s talent is God given.  She has put a new spark into all our lives with her mandolin and we are so glad she did.

JEFF

My son-in-law!  Once again Pam made a great choice.  He is a wonderful father, husband, son-in-law.  He is one of the finest people a person could meet.  I am proud and love him too.

Jeff, like Pam, has stayed with the same job since they were married.  He is a Lieutenant for a fire department in a major city in Ellis County, Texas.  Being a fireman enables him to practice and perform.  You know 2 days off and 1 day on.

He is an important part of the group because of his ability to sing, play, and his  personality.  When he plays he gets so involved with what he is doing that he starts bouncing.  Pam calls him the “Bouncing Baptist”.  That is a compliment!  He is not a shy person so when we are all together it is a blast.  People are attracted to him because he shows how much he loves what his life is all about.

WALLACE

Wallace is a great person also.  He is a loving father, husband, and Mason.  He is so kind and understanding that he built his mother-in-law a home in his back yard. 

He works for the City of Dallas, but retirement is coming soon.  Claudia, his wife will be retiring this year.  They are planning to make their retirement home in Oklahoma.  I am not sure what this will do to the group.

Wallace has been playing music for many years but he slowed down after he was diagnosed with Lupus. Sometimes it is hard to make the fingers work.  It is amazing how he can improvise.  He surprised us one day at practice.  Pam was singing a song with a soft quiet melody.  He pulled out a harmonica from his case and played it with Pam singing this soft melody.  When the song was finished we all had goose bumps.  The two of them sounded awesome!

CRAIG

Craig joined the band in early 2009.  Craig owned a banjo since childhood, but began playing it seriously sometime in December 2008.  You would not know it by listening to him.  Although he is not a family member, he plays like one.  Craig is an accomplished, multi-instrument musician, playing guitar, bass, mandolin and drums since childhood.  In the past, he played as a professional musician in the Dallas area.  In addition to his work with the Acoustic Sound Hounds, Craig plays drums for his church band.  Pam calls Craig the band’s “grand slam,” because of his versatility and multiple musical talents.

Craig works for Dallas ISD and is married to Betsy, who has served on the City Council for several years.  Both Craig and Betsy are well known and liked within the community.

 

Photo by Jason Sherman

Photo by Jason Sherman

Photo by Jason Sherman

Photo by Jason Sherman

Photo by Jason Sherman