BAND BIOGRAPHIES

Mike Upchurch   

Mike is the band’s songwriter, singer, and guitarist. Mike was born in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. As the son of an Air Force pilot, he got moved around quite a bit. His father retired, the family moved to Orlando, and fifteen year old Mike learned to play “House of the Rising Sun” from a girlfriend. He was hooked, bought his first (Sears Silvertone) guitar in 1965 and later a Harmony, which he still uses for song composition.  Mike graduated from F.S.U. in 1971. He taught English and coached football and track for two years, then he and his new bride moved to the mountains of southwestern Virginia where Mike taught reading for 10 years and English for 19 years. During this time frame he fathered a son, Michael John (M.J.) and a daughter, Diane.

 A divorce ensued after ten years of marriage, Mike maintained 50% custody of his two children, and a couple years later Mike met Debbie, his current wife of the past 28 years. Mike had been a guitarist and singer in a few party bands, but Debbie’s love of music meant he had a music partner motivated enough to put together more professional shows. They started off just doing simple duets, 2 vocals and a guitar, but soon added a (Yamaha) keyboard for Debbie, then a bass player and a drummer. They called themselves Fourplay for 8 or 10 years, doing river parties, wedding receptions, country club gigs, and Elks Lodge shows on weekends. Then they changed the name to Déjà Vu and did shows for another 8 to 10 years. During these years, Mike was “married to the briefcase,” teaching English and grading essays, research papers, poems, always something every night. But he did some songwriting on weekends and soon had a small collection of decent material.

Then came retirement. Mike had been carrying a list in his wallet of things he could do to earn income during retirement: various “retirement careers.” But upon actually leaving the field of education after 31 years, he decided on songwriting, a skill he had honed both at home and during his years teaching creative writing classes. Mike points out that his best songs have flowed since retirement, “But you’ve got to write the bad ones to get the good ones,” he said. 

The biggest musical change in the past five years (two as The Final Fling) has been a shift from doing covers of others’ songs with a few of his originals thrown in, to mostly Mike’s originals with a few covers thrown in.

Right now Mike plays a Fender Stratocaster (or a Gibson Les Paul Heritage Elite) into a Messa Boogie DC-3 amplifier, or he plugs his acoustic-electric Martins  into a Fender Acoustisonic Pro amp.

After a five year stint teaching for a private tutoring company in New Bern, Mike currently teaches guitar in his home studio. He and Debbie live on Brices Creek and like to cruise the local waters in their aging 27 foot Albin aft-cabin cruiser.

Debbie Upchurch 

Deb is the Wavemakers’ keyboard player and backup singer. Debbie was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, “a long time ago!” but was moved to Grayson County, VA, before the age of three. Music has always been an interest of hers (dancing was her first love) and entered a talent contest (singing with three pals) at her school when she was ten. They won third place and shared the prize of $1.00! The music bug had bitten.

Debbie met Mike at a cast party back in 1982 after a play, and they have been together ever since. She was always supportive of Mike’s music and Mike was very encouraging for Debbie’s lack of confidence at singing. They started singing together while still “courting.” They purchased a Yamaha DX keyboard with their first income tax reimbursement and started gigging within their first couple of years together. The partnership has continued for 28 years in various band incarnations, as mentioned in Mike’s biography.

Debbie now plays a Korg 01W fd keyboard, known for its rich analog sound, sings backup vocals into a Crown headset microphone (actually designed by an old friend of Mike’s and used by Garth Brooks,) and helps co-write with Mike on a few songs.

Randy Moore

Randy is The Wavemakers bass player. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in '57. His uncle played Hank Williams and Hank Snow songs all the time. His uncle gave Randy his first guitar (a 1950 Harmony Jazzman) at age seven. He played it awhile, then learned how to play the piano, but went back to guitar. At age 11 his guitar teacher said he needed something easier to play, as that Jazzman was a beast! Randy's grandmother saw he had a passion for music and gave him a 1942 Martin D-18. Randy recounts how his guitar teacher almost fell off his stool when Randy walked in with that Martin!

Randy found himself doing a four year tour with the U.S. Marine Corps. Next he spent time traveling on field teams working on Marine helicopters. During this time he met and married his soulmate, Kim. They settled down in New Bern, NC, and had two kids, Zach and Elizabeth.

Randy has a deep love of guitar and has played it all along. He has played in church, parties, whenever he could. He still plays guitar in his church band each Saturday night at their Contemporary Service.

Playing bass guitar was a natural evolution for Randy. He had fiddled with bass off and on over the years, but never seriously. Then one night at a small show in New Bern he was playing guitar with a drummer and with Mike on bass. Randy finished his set of songs and Mike asked if he could play Randy's guitar. Randy agreed and moved to the bass. The sound was immediately recognized as tight and focused. (The establishment's owner offered them a job right on the spot.)  Mike, realizing an opportunity he didn't want to pass up, asked Randy right then and there if he would play bass in a band he was forming. Randy agreed, and the rest is history in the making.

Randy plays various basses: a Hofner "Beatle" bass for softer musical material, a 1966 Fender Jazz, and a JP-90 Fender all played through a Yamaha B-200 combo-amplifier with a Mesa Boogie extension cabinet .

Frank Howell

Frank is the drummer for The Wavemakers.  Frank was born in New Bern, NC. He got his start on drums when but a wee lad of 12 when he got his first snare drum and ten free lessons on a set of Ludwig drums. Just six months later he owned that set! Young Frank played with The Crystal Blues Band in Norfolk, VA, where he played beach music and classic rock.

When he turned 17 he joined the USMC (Marines) and pulled a 4 year hitch. Frank moved back to North Carolina and attended Lenoir Community College on the GI Bill. He has two teenage boys still at home with his lovely wife, Shelly, and three adult progeny already moved out and on with their lives.

Frank plays a set of Tama Super Stars on any gigs, but also owns a vintage 11 piece  set of Staccatos from the ‘70’s. Frank has been playing locally in the New Bern area for the last ten years (The Retro Rockets, etc.) His favorite song with The Wavemakers is “Brices Creek Blues” because that is where he lives!