Dan Pettis
Family History	I grew up in North Portland as a poor child with young parents that kept close ties with my grandparents on both sides of the family. My dad is the youngest of 13 children. My grandpa worked for the Great Northern Railroad and several of his offspring followed in his footsteps. As far as I know, musical ties are minimal on both sides of my family, although one of my great grandfathers played the fiddle. I knew him well but never heard him play. My dad is a good singer but has intense stage freight. My mom has a tin ear, but can recite the lyrics to hundreds of songs. My only sibling, Laura, has a natural musical gift, but never pursued it seriously.
Record Breakers	At age 3, I busted up a bunch of 78 rpm records while playing in the attic. The ones that were salvaged, I played over and over through my childhood. Oldies like: Heartbreak Hotel, Harry James playing The Flight Of The Bumblebee, and Annie’s Aunt Fanny by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. This collection also included: Homer and Jethro, Spike Jones, Fats Domino, The Platters and Glen Miller. I loved them all and played them constantly until the grooves wore out. The first LP that knocked me out was The Buddy Holly Story, my dad’s favorite. I used to sneak it into my bedroom and play it when he was at work. Bobby Darin’s Greatest Hits also had its moments. I’ve spent my whole life imitating Darin’s Beyond The Sea. I’m really quite a lounge lizard at heart yet I never was a huge Sinatra fan.
Pitchin’ A Fit	As a little kid, I screamed when I heard high pitches. After the hard measles and many ear infections, I acquired some significant hearing loss. The doctor claimed this wouldn’t affect me unless I chose to become a serious musician.
I Wish My Brother George ...	I adored Liberace and was blown away by his arpeggios. When I started piano lessons, I was thinking about Liberace, and I soon became obsessed with learning arpeggios. Another strong influence was Floyd Cramer, who had a distinctive country sound. It’s ironic that I never joined a country band, because I have a real flair for it.
Shut Him Up!	By age 13, I was arranging my own versions of pop tunes. My version of Mancini’s Baby Elephant Walk was quite tasty. Sometimes I fought becoming a piano player because guitarists always claimed the spotlight. I formed rock bands with neighborhood kids, playing Beatles, Monkees and Creedence songs. I played rhythm guitar and sang in a puberty shifting voice, Down on the Corner, Out in the Street, yodeling all the way. Around this time my "soon to be" college buddies were doing something similar back in The Dalles as Cock and Bull.
Holy Improvisation, Batman!	During early high school, I was a music/drama geek. At church, I took part in the folk choir, filling in on guitar and banjo. But it became apparent that we didn’t need three rhythm guitars. When I switched to the ivories, I found release by improvising freely around everyone else's parts.
Getting Organized	By junior year I joined a real rock band. Windfall practiced 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. At 16, I was playing bars and school dances, singing Won’t Get Fooled Again with youthful angst. Windfall had a large original repetoire, but also covered Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Yes and Elton John. I managed to scream my lungs out at every performance. During this period I discovered the power of the Hammond Organ. Thank God, my grandma let me borrow the money to buy one. At 18, I took a choir directing job at the same church that Windfall rehearsed at. In this era, I remember trying to emulate the keyboard stylings of Jon Lord and Rick Wakeman and studio musicians, Nikky Hopkins and Larry Knechtel.
Prolificality	I have logged in approximately 400 original songs since age 14. About 1/3 of these are collaborations. Frequently I compose in the outdoors and prefer to write on guitar. For me, the best songs happen when the melodies and lyrics come together simultaneously.
Link to Bullness	At Mt. Hood Community College I sat in with a barbershop quartet practicing in the music room. I filled in on first tenor for a missing member. These folks turned out to be three gifted vocal jazz students that had sung together since childhood. A few weeks later I heard their live show. Filled with clever medleys originals and tight 3 parts, I eventually fell in love with these musicians who could easily cover Crosby, Stills and Nash and Spike Jones at the same time. This was my first introduction to Cock and Bull.
The Road out of Dodge	I didn’t officially join Cock and Bull until I quit school, traveled and learned the ropes, playing with an Elvis impersonator and a hot Las Vegas funk band, Santa Fe.
The Real Bull	The fast life didn’t agree with me, so I came back to Portland, joined Cock and Bull and moved into the band house. We sat around the piano and practiced harmonies like a choir. This paid off if you ever heard our Beach Boys and Manhattan Transfer covers. Novelty originals were composed with titles like Bellyrub Tango and California Fell Into the Ocean. We gigged, partied and lived together along with a few extra strays that came along for the ride.
Money and Ambition	Through the 80s I played with money-making cover bands and traveled to Asia and Australia as part of a USO tour. Back at home, I continued my education, produced jingles, honed my chops and eventually landed a music teaching gig at Portland Community College.
Blues and Gospel	In the 90s, I branched out as an electronic composer and tackled the Portland blues clubs. For nine years, I played keyboards with the Lucky Dawgs (a distant cousin to Cock and Bull). As I grew tired of the smoky bars, I found myself back at my old church reclaiming the piano stool for the Sunday Services.
Rejuvenation	At the beginning of the new century, the vibe was right to get back and jam with my old college buddies. The Jones Brothers came over and shared recent original output. Dale found his muse and started writing prolifically. I finished up some of my best half baked ideas and Lonnie spit out a new solo album.
Bull Dozing	The three of us got together once a week and recorded for a couple of years. A nucleus of a group album was starting to take form. Luckily, we talked Jeff into making a few sessions, and that’s when everything got magical. (Jeff has that quality.) Did I mention the California Raisins project?