Sax & Keys

Following brief flirtations with both the recorder and the suzuki violin, Justin found his musical raison d'etre at age 10 watching Lisa Simpson tearing it up on the baritone saxophone. After five years of toiling away on the alto sax, Justin finally got his hands on the bari sax in early high school and, as they say, the rest is the stuff of legends (at least in his own mind). Justin spent three years anchoring the sax section of his high school jazz band, a period which included selection to the Missouri All-State Jazz Band. During this time, Justin also played for a short period of time with Help Wanted, a rock band of no consequence, and was one of the founding members of and song writers for Sipping Guacamole, an ska band of no repute best known for its limited edition (4 copies) cassette release, "Live From Dan's Basement", and its only performance at the Senior Lock-In.

After high school, Justin moved to Tulsa, Ok. to pursue a degrees in music and political science at the University of Tulsa. While at TU, Justin added classical music to his repertoire, serving as featured soloist on alto sax, a member of the TU Wind Ensemble on bari sax, and as the soprano sax player for the TU Sax Quartet. He also spent four years as the bari player in the TU Jazz Band, touring the midwest with several nationally known jazz artists. Justin spent one year conducting the Sound of the Golden Hurricane Marching Band, the highlight of which was his "brawl" with the TCU Horned Frog during a home football game. During his time at TU, Justin also branched out from the sax, picking up the clarinet, the bass clarinet, both contra bass clarinets, and the flute, thus becoming the all purpose woodwind player he is today.

After graduating from college, Justin packed up his horns and returned to St. Louis to attend law school (so much for that music degree...). After a four year hiatus, and with a little coaxing by fellow band member Steve Daiker, Justin brushed the cobwebs off of his horns and came out of retirement to sit in with 3rd Story for their one-year anniversary show on March 17, 2006. He's been droppin' by to play a song or two ever since.

Back to Members Page / Back to Biography Page