Music has always been a central part of Wayne’s life. Before he could walk, his mother would seat him on the floor in front of the family’s single-speaker Philco to listen. To this day, the console’s speaker cloth has a six-inch bowl, resulting from Wayne’s forehead pressing against it when he fell asleep listening.
At every opportunity, Wayne was involved in school music. Choirs and plays were just as formative as sports. As a high-school freshman, Wayne put together a six-piece rock & roll band and he was off! He worked in bands for ten years, never giving up choirs, small vocal ensembles or school musicals. He also values his time working as a studio singer and voice-over artist when 16-track tape was the height of recording technology. Wayne began writing songs in the late 1960s.
Two Tone at Sixth Avenue Wine & Ale
He signed up for voice classes as an undergrad, then later taught voice after earning his MFA in theatre. With that second degree, he began a career directing and performing in musicals of all kinds while serving on the theatre or music faculties of colleges in Virginia, Maryland and Minnesota.
Over the years, Wayne has received recognition and honors from a wide variety of arts-related organizations, including the American Theatre Association, Sing Out! magazine, Folk Alley, Just Plain Folks (where he was Minnesota’s Chapter Director), the New Folk Collective (where he served on the board) and UNISONG. For nine years, from 2007-2015, he served as President of the Minnesota Association of Songwriters (MAS), and for seven years, from 2011 to though 2018, he served on the board of St. Paul’s History Theatre.
Wayne is currently a member of MAS, the Minnesota Blues Society, ASCAP, the Minnesota Music Coalition, Songwriters of Wisconsin and Minnesota Bluegrass, and serves on the board of Minnesota Bluegrass. He is a lifetime member of MAS and the Minnesota Blues Society.
For more information, please visit Wayne’s web site.
Two Tone at Flat Earth Brewing
Photo: Dave Birk
