P A U L--A L T H O U S E Birthplace: Los Angeles, California Instruments: electric guitar, electric bass, (sequencing computer based instruments) Background: Started playing electric guitar at age 14. Styles: Familiar with many........master of none.

QUESTION: How did you get your start in the music business?

PAUL: I've been playing guitar since I was 14 years old. In 1965, some friends and I decided to start a band. We bought pretty primitive instruments from Radio Shack mail order and local pawn shops and learned a few songs. We had two guitars, bass, and drums and were read to conquer the world. "Little Black Egg" was the first song we learned. We were "The Chapparelles".

During this time, garage bands were popping up everywhere and there were many opportunities for beginners to play actual gigs at dances put on by local organizations like The YMCA, and other neighborhood recreation sponsors. We got a job playing the local Exchange Club teen dance on a Saturday night. We each made $8 and thought we were really on our way. I was fortunate to have been able to learn in a performance setting right from the start.


QUESTION: Where was this?

PAUL: Isle of Palms, South Carolina (the "Carolina Lowcountry"), just outside of Charleston. In those days, Isle of Palms was a very middle class residential beach community. Since (hurricane) Hugo, it has really developed into an upscale tourist and resort area. Sad, in some ways. It was a great place to grow up both personally and musically.


QUESTION: What musical influences were you exposed to?

PAUL: Quite unique influences, really. The deep South was a conservative place to grow up in during the 60's. Madras pants, button down shirts, and "Beach" music ruled.


QUESTION: Beach music? Like the "Beach Boys,"?

PAUL: Oh no, although that kind of music was available on the radio, the "Beach" music I am referring to were the sounds of black artists like "The Drifters", "Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs", and "Willie Tee". They would all tour throughout the south playing at clubs like Art's Seaside on the Isle of Palms. The place would be jammed with conservative white kids digging these R&B sounds and dancing the "Shag". The shag was like a slow R&B paced jitterbug (same moves but at a slower, almost graceful tempo).

On Saturday nights my friend, Marcus (our bass player), and I would walk down the beach on Isle of Palms to Art's Seaside and watch these great bands from the back screened wall of the club. (You had to be 18 to get in). Summer evenings on a South Carolina beach were always warm and these clubs were built with entirely open side walls facing the ocean. These open walls were covered with chicken wire to keep people from entering without paying admission. That really wasn't a problem for us, anyway. We would just walk up to the back screened wall and watch and listen to the bands performing. That's where I got hooked on wanting to play live music and starting a band. Within a few years, my skills and experience led me to the other side of that chicken wire, playing for the same audience.


QUESTION: So these early experiences had quite an influence on you. How long did you continue playing "Beach" music?

PAUL: Well, it was now the late 60's and the Beatles were in full swing. Beginning in 1968, I attended the College of Charleston in Charleston South Carolina. Suddenly, my generation was becoming the "flower folks", the hippie generation and I was no exception. I found myself absorbing all the music of the day. I was particularly influenced by Eric Clapton. I'm talking the "Cream" era Clapton, I consider this period of his music to be his most free form and creative and it had a tremendous influence on my playing style. My first hippie era band was "Talysan Cathederal". Later I had another band, "Vertigo". We played alot of extended jams in the british rock vein and were very popular. We even opened for a few big name acts, like "Cactus".


QUESTION: What kind of music were you playing during this time?

PAUL: A pretty wide range, actually. This was the golden age of improvisational rock. 20 minutes of improvisation on some songs. We covered The Allman Brothers, Cream, and played tons of tunes like The Stones and Spooky Tooth. A great training ground for improvisation. Ever since that time, I have been able to play with just about anyone and follow what's going on musically.

I'm a listener as well as a player. I played some pretty great gigs. On occasion, our group "Free Mountain Standstill" would find itself booked as the opening act for various major groups like "The Allman Brothers", "Cactus", "Delaney and Bonnie", "The Marshall Tucker Band", and "The Dixie Dregs".


My work with "Free Mountain Standstill" led me and the other members of "Free Mountain Standstill" to be inducted into the "Lowcountry Music Hall of Fame" in 2019. A great honor for which I am humbly grateful. When I started out playing music more than 50 years ago, I never thought my path would include this.

Being in "Free Mountain..." and later, "High Steaks", also gave me a vehicle for the performance of the original music I had been composing. Some of my songs on this web site were performed by "High Steaks".


QUESTION: What came next?

PAUL: Wanting to progress further in music, I accepted an invitation from my long time friend, (Glen) Roger Davis to move to Ohio. We had played music together in Charleston in the early seventies, and he left to study music seriously, eventually earning his doctorate in music and having a long teaching career at a university in Ohio. He has written a number of "classical" pieces and achieved much noteriety for his works. Later, meeting and marrying Terry added another dimension to my musical journey. Her vocal and creative talents brought a new level of quality to the music we wanted to create.


QUESTION: And them came computers?

PAUL: YES!!! Finally the tools were available to compose AND perform the music the way Terry and I wanted to hear it; from the drums to the keyboards, to a complete orchestra. Any way we want it. Computer software allowed me to build musical parts in numerous ways and with the adding of synthesized instruments, it allowed me to play any parts I wanted to make a song work. No more endless searching for just the right musicians to complement our music. Terry contributes most of the lyrics, and with her dynamic vocal abilities, she is able to over-dub any vocal parts she desires for any song.


QUESTION: So all of your music is produced in the studio?

PAUL: Yes, I have a computer based DAW (digital audio workstation) in part of my home office. That is where Terry and I produce all our music


QUESTION: What do you see in the future for your music?

PAUL: Well, to tell you the truth, we are just getting started. We have gotten used to our studio environment and now just want to continue creating music for others to enjoy. We still love the "live" venues. "The roar of the crowd", ya know; but live performing is a rarer occurence as retirement shapes our later years. "Steel Pearl" is the moniker for our collaborative efforts. We have a number of self produced videos accompanying some of our music, and you can find them among the songs on this web site.


QUESTION: Thanks for spending this time sharing your musical viewpoint.

PAUL: Thanks for the opportunity to talk about what we are doing!











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