CURT'S BIO

I moved this info from the
About Curt's List pg.
to It's own page here & changed formats
cmf/120420

Here's A Brief Bio
of some of the more
unusual, yet interesting
events in my life

I am an adopted child

One of four siblings
that I grew up
never knowing about

Everything in my life
has been a true blessing

And, of course, I have
no other place
to leave this stuff

So I'm leaving it here

- - - ---- ---- ---- • ---- ---- ---- - - -

 I threw a runner out at home plate

from deep center field one day

while playing my normal position

in little league baseball

(age 8 - 10 or 11 maybe?)

and because of a very smart

& insightful coach

plus a lot of practice

I went on to become my team's

most reliable pitcher

often pitching shut-outs

& no-hitters from that day forward

I pitched a shut-out one night

striking out 11 batters in a row

Final Score: 21 to 0

I was awarded the game ball from that game

I attended one awesome, grade school

through my entire youth called

Riley Elementary

From Kindergarten through 6th grade

West of downtown Tulsa around

58th W. Ave & Charles Page Blvd.

which most people know as

"The Sand Springs Line"

because of:

1: The Train that ran from Downtown Tulsa to Sand Springs

2: The Trolley that my parents grew up riding to see movies in Tulsa...

The InterUrban Trolley

that utilized

the same train tracks that ran

parallel to Charles Page Blvd.

(When I was of drinking age
& working downtown I used
to frequent a bar/restaurant
called the Interurban w/
a main bar constructed
entirely out of an actual
trolly car and w/ train tracks
throughout the bar
embedded in the floor)

I walked to & from grade school

(Riley) every day, as a latchkey kid 

for at least 5 years

which was only 1/2 mile from the

house I grew up in down 8th Street

Riley Elementary isn't there any more

but I believe it may have been one of

the only grade schools in all of Tulsa,

if not Oklahoma, that had a playground

entirely constructed of concrete.

Yes, concrete.

Surrounded by a 10 ft. chainlink fence,

as it was right next to a busy highway

on one side: Charles Page Blvd.

We had regular recess every day

and played on jungle gyms, and a variety

of bars & goal posts that were anchored

in concrete. We played soccer, tetherball,

and four square too, just as any grade schooler did back in the '60's

except when we fell we knew it!!

...And boy did we keep our school nurse busy with hamburger knees & scrapes!!

I was running into the school building

one afternoon, following a rousing recess, through the double side doors which, on this particular day, was being held open by a cute red haired girl on one side & her equally cute blonde haired best friend on the other

I can't remember which one had my attention that day,

but I ran, forehead first,

into the center vertical bar

that latched & anchored the two doors

I didn't discover that my head was split open until I was in the restroom and swiped away, what I thought was sweat, from all of the previous activities, and saw that my entire hand

was covered in shiny, red blood

The school nurse administered a simple

butterfly band aid until mom arrived

to take me to the hospital

which resulted in 10 stitches

right down the middle of my forehead

During my final, 7th year

at Riley Elementary

(grades 1-6 + kindergarten),

classmate Julie Clemens

& I were voted on

& elected by the entire school

as the annual

"King & Queen of Riley"!!

There was a school crowning

& an annual dance/carnival

that we were honored at

and, I guess, precided over.

I sure miss Riley.

And Those carnivals were amazing

Can you believe I still remember my

First Grade  Teacher?

Pretty, blonde, Miss Edwards

The awesome Mrs Moran taught music

I also remember we had a hot art teacher (a Linda Ronstadt looker)

who we all thought was

knockin' boots with the hunky

Gym teacher!

LOL!! 

What great memories I have

from back then.

I taught myself how to play guitar around the age of 12 or so, & have never had a lesson. I don't know how to read music or even how to make a proper chord. I created my own technique of making the same sounding notes as the proper ones. I taught myself just like Kenny Wayne Shepherd; by playing along to every type/genre of music on vinyl albums that I could find, often practicing for entire weekends.

Rock Music during the 70's & 80's

HAS to represent one of the

Greatest Contributions of

Unbelievable Music

to have ever been created

in a single era

I'm mostly a guitar picker

that plays rhythm parts as well.

When I started playing guitar

I played Jeff Healey style on

my lap, as it was sooo much easier.

I went to Madison Jr. High School

with Tulsa Blues legend

Bill Davis' son; Greg Davis,

a drummer in our school band class

We often jammed together

in his back yard storage shed

and Bill's recording studio,

and every now & then

Bill would come out,

give us a listen and a thumbs up

before continuing on his way.

Those jam sessions

provided a lot of motivation to get

better & better, as well as

basic, practical technique.

I eventually learned to play,

practically every type of music

out there; rock/hard rock, country,

pop, jazz, blues, R&B, & bluegrass, standing up, of course, and have

gone on to host my own jams and perform with many of the

musicians that play around

Tulsa every week within Curt's List.

(There's quite a list below...)

My Guitars

And Especially

MUSIC

Have Been

The Very Best

True Friends

I've Ever Known

I try to play guitar,
for at least an hour,
every single night

I currently enjoy the

guitar styles of

Keith Urban, Mike Zito

Storyville, & Eric Clapton

the most

Mainly because their music is

completely filled with guitar

Followed by
Vince Gill, Stevie Ray Vaughan,

Alison Krauss & Union Station,

Jonny Lang, Buddy Guy

& Joe Bonamassa

I try to mix in jazz, funk & r&b

whenever possible as well.

 
I don't know exactly what

my gift of music is called,

but I'm very fortunate

to be able to receive

a new Cd, of guitar driven music

that I might be interested in,

unwrap it, &/or download it,

& immediately be able

to jam right along with it

as if I helped write the

music myself,

complete with all the

rhythm parts & all the solos

 I'm lucky to be able to say

Because of the way I play

& all of the practice I maintain

with all kinds of music genres,

I can pretty much jam with anyone

at any time whether I know

the music or not

and that is

by far

my favorite thing of all

Jammimg with other

bands & musicians!

- cmf

 
I taught myself
how to play tennis, entirely
by watching Jimmy Connors
win Wimbledon on Tv
in one weekend - so I could
ask a pretty, young lady that I
worked with out on a tennis date
that following Monday as I saw her
carrying a tennis raquet the previous
Fri. morning to work.
I had never played tennis before
but learned everything
I needed to know
by paying close attention to how
the players held the racquet,
moved, kept score, served,
& when to switch sides,
from that one weekend
of watching Wimbledon on Tv

Even though she played tennis
all through college she never
won a game from me and we
played almost every single night
for three months

I also regularly played the
President of Texaco's son
whom took professional,
country club lessons,
and after a few matches
I started to
beat him regularly as well
(He was a very sore loser
& threw horrible fits)

 
I was reunited, through quite unusual circumstances, with a brother (Ed Abrusely of Bristow, Ok) that I never knew about - during my 25th & 26th year. We were written about in all of the papers, on local news programs, & radio which led to another reunion, a year later, with a Sister; Miss Kathy Long
(now Disney) of Garber, Ok
which Ed & I also didn't know existed
which resulted in
National News attention

The three of us were flown
out to Hollywood for a paid week
to do "Hour Magazine"
A very popular Tv Talk Show
at the time
with host: Gary Collins
The three of us did everything
you can think of in Hollywood
on a week's paid vacation!!

The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson
The Comedy Store where
I met Gary Shandling,
Jerry Seinfeld, & Richard Belzer

...Andrew Dice Clay
was actually parking cars
for them then before he hit it big

 

We toured the Hollywood Bowl,
spent a night bar-hopping on
The Sunset Strip, Met Ted Knight,
James Bullock, & Johnny Mathis.
Toured the La Brea Tar Pits,
& Venice Beach...we had a blast
getting to know one another!!
A Year Later the three of us
were, again, reunited with
yet another sister;
Miss Betty Boggs of Haskell, Ok
none of us, again, knew existed
making four reunited
siblings total

There was a lot of stigma back in the 60's concerning single, Hispanic mothers

and having four children eventually must have become too difficult. I have no idea how our mother even supported herself, not to mention - the neighbors HAD to have complained. So human services finally came & took us.

The four of us, only one year apart, were all separated as toddlers & babies, sent to foster homes and, thankfully, all adopted

I was adopted at age 2
and have no memory of
foster homes or anything
like that

I did suffer from recurring
nightmares as a kid though

I don't remember anything up to the point of the ride home with my new adopted parents; Don & Retha Fillmore and my dad's mother Bess (grandma) whom joined them on their trip to Oklahoma City to meet me and bring me home for the first time

We were all, Thankfully  
adopted by different,
awesome parents

 They say our Cherokee father only showed up long enough to get our mother pregnant

What a great human
he seems to have been

Doubtful, as well, The Dick
ever left her with any resources
what-so-ever to get by

The original neighbors where
we lived, remember Kathy;
the oldest, often going
door to door asking neighbors
for food so the four
of us would have
something to eat

And most people only knew of
two little girls; because,
apparently, me & my brother;
being the youngest,
were hidden in a
back room, or closet,
in makeshift cribs, I guess...

Hidden so much from our
mother's friends & close neighbors
Most people that knew our mother
only knew of Two Little Girls
Because they Never saw
the Other Two Baby Boys - EVER

They said they were
Shocked when they
found out there were
actually four little ones
living there that whole time

Now, I don't know about
my brother, or sisters
but I do know that I'm
pretty jak'd up because of it.

How could we not be?
Neglected, abandoned,
and then separated
during our most
informative/growing years
& forced into
unknown environments
with complete strangers

Ed & I were abused babies

Abused by abandonment & neglect

I was abused for the
first two years of my life

So we didn't bond with
our mother like we should have
probably were'nt breast-fed like
we should have been

Probably never got any
exercise or sunlight either

I believe being neglected
so often as a baby
also, obviously, resulted
in jak'd up perceptions
concerning trust issues
within social situations

And the constant lying
in a prone position
during important
growing years
f'd up my feet

I had to have corrective shoes
when my parents adopted me
to straighten my
pigeon-toed feet
so I could walk correctly

And I continue to suffer
from constant foot pain

I'll never know exactly what
I went through, or the trauma
I may have experienced as an
infant, but I choose to believe
our birth mother did the best
she could; given the circumstances

This pic was taken when Ed & I drove out to Garber, Ok to meet the sister we never knew we had - Kathy - for the very first time. (L-R: Me, Kathy Long (Disney), & Ed Abrusely - Around 1986)

Thanks to the wonderful parents who adopted us we've all grown into
well-adjusted adults.

Betty was in the military
for some time

She & Kathy have been
in lasting marriages
for decades

Kathy, Betty, & Ed have
all had one child each & all boys

Betty, has pretty significant
health issues fighting cancer
& can't work

We lost poor Betty during
the 2020 pandemic year
whom succumbed to cancer.
Kathy; unfortunately
after the fact, found
out by sheer coincidence
as we were'nt informed
of her passing

Kathy & Ed both work in the
health industry, I believe

I'm a computer drafter
working in the
Electrical Substation Industry
And an artist, writer
live music blogger
motorcycle rider
& guitar player
living alone since Jan/2014

 Our Birth Parents
have never reached out
to any of us that I know of

 I was adopted at age 2 by the most amazing & loving parents any kid
could ever hope to have

Don & Retha Fillmore

of Tulsa, Oklahoma

I had an amazing childhood as well.

My childhood was so awesome

it seems almost magical

Mom & Dad were always

supportive & loving and

took special care of me

& my adopted younger brother

I found out years later that
my adopted brother was actually

adopted from my
Mom's Sister Living in Texas

We didn't have a wole lot

of money growing up but Mom & Dad never treated me like

I was not their flesh & blood

& I never thought of them differently either and we never had a

"want" for anything. We always

did things, shared things, had fun & loved each other. We went on lots of vacations and I had lots of friends.

Thinking back to my kid years

there was nothing Mom & Dad

wouldn't & couldn't do to

make me & my brother happy

My Dad was a machinist and

spent a lot of time on his feet

Because of an unauthorized

accident in the Army

He suffered from severe

back problems, yet he would

come home every night

and squatt down to catch

for me; when I pitched

in little league baseball,

for hours

He would have done anything

to help me get better

at little league

He always did anything

he could to help me

regardless of what it required

of him and never complained

about it

If I had only known then

how much he & Mom

really loved me...

Things you don't see

or understand

when you're just a kid

They were truly

incredible parents.

Sadly, I lost my Dad to open heart surgery in 1993 and my Mom to heart complications, as well, in 2003

I miss them & think of them

every single day

My dad was a machinist for McDonald Douglas when I was little and I remember them going on strike

& having layoffs in which

my dad would lose his job
from time to time and

we would have to pinch penny's

I remember going to the
McDonald Douglas Christmas

party a couple of Christmases

and how wonderful everyone was

Santa was always there handing out gifts to everyone and there

was always a big amazing meal.

My mom
worked for DVIS which meant

I was what was called

a latch-key kid.

I would get home from grade school

and let myself in and watch Tv or do chores until they got home from work

I remember on several ocassions how my mom & dad would take me shopping with them for several bags of groceries. And then we would deliver them to a family that my mom knew

was struggling.

What a feeling that was

helping people that needed help

but were too proud to ask

for help but received

help anyway because

my mom & dad believed

in helping others.

Those people, usually a

single mom with several kids,

whose husband may have

abanded them
or may have been sent to jail,

were usually black because

my mom's area of work

was on the North side

But ohh how thankful they were,

often crying and
thanking my mom & dad

over & over again.

It always made me cry too

and extremely proud
that my mom & dad did

things like that.

They taught me to always

say thank you for any gift,

regardless how small or trivial.

And to always say you're welcome.
And to hold the door for

ladies or anyone that
needs it.

And to never make fun

of the less fortunate

or those that might

be different than you or me

They taught me to clean up

after myself no matter where

I'm at and to wait my turn,

ask permission for things

that belong to others, be patient,

& to never waste food or litter

As a child I also learned how to

do my own laundry, iron,

& always make my bed.

That's how awesome my

mom & dad were...

they taught me things

that I still rely on & do

THAT, to me, is what sets

kind & caring people apart

from those that haven't

been raised this way.

Hardly anyone says

'Thank You' these days 

especially the younger generation

And instead of 'You're Welcome' everyone now says 'No Problem'

And I absolutely hate it

when people begin a sentence

or answer a question with

'I mean...'

 I urge all of the parents

reading this to start

annual traditions,

and annual movies

like the one my Mom

loved so much:

"The Sound Of Music"

And annual visits to certain areas

that you all love too

Because these are the things

your kids will remember

& cherish when you have

to leave them some day

I learned how to two-step thanks to a cute co-worker, (who drove a vette !!) back during the Duke's Country years; '80-'83 or so, when the 'Urban Cowboy' craze was everywhere. Learned to two step here in Tulsa, while listening to a couple of brand new country music artists at the time:
George Strait & Reba McIntire - Live.
While promoting their very first albums. And only 5 bux cover. 

Man, If I Had Only Known...

 I was a bouncer

at one of Tulsa's greatest

Honky-tonk, Dancehall,

& Concert Venues

Tulsa City Limits

For the entire last year

that they were open.

I got to hear some fantastic concerts, Toby Keith & Shania Twain

were just getting their

start there, as well as Terry Clark, Ricochet, Steve Wariner, David Lee Murphy, Tracy Lawrence

& a long list of others

Charlie Daniels Band packed

the place on several ocassions

I got to party with a lot of

great bands and traded shots with Lone Star, Montgomery Gentry, & Mark Chesnutt whom filmed his famous "Bubba Shot The Jukebox"

video there...

'Red' whom played the

'Bubba' character was

a friend of mine

Ronnie Dunn also got his start there. Ronnie's band was the house band at TCL for many years before he hooked up with Kix Brooks. It's where he got sick of singing "My Maria" every night !!  It's also where 'Brooks & Dunn' filmed the famous video for "Boot Scootin' Boogie"

 The Only existing floor plans for the Pythian Building - 423 S. Boulder - Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma - have my name on them. I was contracted by the new owner of that bldg. at the time - Kent Miller, JD Young's grandson - to measure the entire bldg. and draw it by hand and at home on my own drafting board; Pre-AutoCad, so the plans could be used by contractors to transform the bldg. which had been gutted by fire; taking the original plans with it - into a two million dollar office complex, which it is now. I even discovered a couple of rooms no one knew about !! It was my very first drafting assignment as I was still in drafting school. It's also how I purchased my first 1980 Ovation acoustic/electric guitar - which I still have & still avidly play !!

 I joined The Blues Society of Tulsa around the same time that I started CurtsList.Com which was a few months after I went to the Fur Shop to hear Dustin Pittsley for the first time, because of a girl I was dating at the time; whom was a big Dustin Pittsley fan. Thanks to Debra, I met and chatted with the band & met Dustin's father-in-law Bill Martin; President of The Blues Society of Tulsa.

The air conditioning was broke in that old 3 story train depot and not too many people showed up in the middle of summer, but Dustin, Doug & Donnie played like they were at a packed house in Austin. It was truly amazing!! Dustin Pittsley IS a true Triple Threat - a gifted guitar slinger, singer & songwriter!! So I've been a Dustin Pittsley Fan & have been writing Cd Reviews & the occassional Big Front Page Article On The Current Hot Blues Band in Town contained within their bi-weekly newsletter "Blues News" Ever Since !!

 I've also been invited to Judge 7 or 8 different Tulsa IBC Blues Challenges here in town & one in Oklahoma City for their Blues Society IBC Blues Challenge over the years. I'm also the BST E-mail Newsletter Creator & Distributor.

 I've been trimming my own hair since July 2013, Old school; by feel, w/ barber scissors & a hand held mirror.

Any monkey can shave his head with a trimmer...

I figure I save at least
250 bux a year!!

.I received a great pleasure one afternoon & a cherished compliment....by getting to play lead guitar with a brand new hot rodded Fender Strat that Bill Guinn from Buster's Guitars in Bixby brought by what was The Most Wonderful Jam In Tulsa which used to be held at..."Lori's Par-T Lounge" back in the hey-day when Troll (Lori's husband & co-bartender) would welcome local musicians & bands that played some original music like The Wanda Watson Band, Hurricane Mason, & The Terry Quiett Band from Wichita, as well as the very best orig. artists from other states that you'd ever hear! (Troll had a real knack of snaggin' bands that were passing through, between out of state gigs, to play Lori's for one night who could always use extra gas money!) Local band Ol' School asked me to sit in with them after Big Daddy's mini-set. Big Daddy was an awesome singer and incredible guitar player. Big Daddy, suprisingly, handed me that brand new hot rodded strat - after he was through with it. This was the Orig. Ol' School with Sheri Booth, Wiley Widner, & Bill Guinn, & a couple of other great musicians. When I took the stage in front of a packed house, I was very nervous, not only because I had never performed with this band, & didn't even know what songs they were going to play, AND I was the only electric musician, but also because tonight's packed house included my friend Rocky Frisco whom I had just previously shared a Jager shot with, right there in the front row.

 We performed at least two or three songs, including an Ol' School favorite; Little Feat's 'Dixie Chicken'.  After we were through I took off the guitar to hand back to Bill with many thanks and was about to join the crowd for the next jam set when Rocky came over to me, leaned in close to my ear, & said "That was one of the finest sets I've heard in years."

 I'll cherish that sweet compliment to my grave.

 Thank You Rocky

 HE WAS ALWAYS SUCH A CLASS ACT

 RIP - MY FRIEND

 Check Out Rocky - At The Top Of His Game - In This Beautiful Video:

LINK

 = = = = =

I started this weekly list around April of 2006, by just keeping my closest friends and workmates informed, with e-mail blasts, as the leading source of printed information out there (The Urban Tulsa; Closed late 2013) was both inferior & inaccurate and I intended to create a "better" list that my friends could rely on. 

Plus Curt's List is the ONLY Tulsa source that is continuously updated within a moments notice AND I obtain all of my information from the bands and venues themselves.

.Curt's List became a little more than just a hobby that I enjoy & grew into this website around the first of August, 2009. 

I AM extremely passionate about music and have been playing guitar - both acoustic & electric & ALL types of styles - since age 12. The Blues are definitely my favorite but I also enjoy playing country, rock, bluegrass & jazz as well. I occasionally try to get out and play the jams around Tulsa whenever possible. I especially enjoy the occasional opportunity to sit in & play guitar with some of our local musicians & bands,...like former Tulsan Sherry Booth/Sherry Booth & Ol' School, Monty Postoak & The Monty Postoak Band w/ Johnny Paul, Big Daddy, Scott Walker & Kevin Flint, The Kevin Phariss Blues Band w/ Rocky Frisco, The Wanda Watson Band, Hammer Down, Luke West, Dave Sandkuhl & III'rd Degree, Randy 'Randini' Cook, Hurricane Mason, The Ricky Paul & Lorri Williams Band, The Pat Quinn Band, Danny (Brooks & Dunn) McBride, Queen Bee, Under The Gun's; Pwe - Scotty & Randall, Dane Trout, Adam Lopez, The David Dover Band, Little Joe, Nate Hull & Mark Bormann (Mister Pistol, Madfly), Brian Wallace (Firstryke) & Kent Swepston of the Blues Dogs, The Sellouts - & The Dustin Pittsley Band w/ Saxman; Mike Winebrenner, plus many that I can't remember. It's ALWAYS an

un-be-freakin'-lievable rush !!

  I hosted a couple of Jams during 2010. A Sat. Jam at Blues City for a few months during which I had the pleasure of playing with Monte Postoak and hosted a memorable concert of biblical proportions - when IIIrd Degree decided to kick their rehearsal - up a notch & packed up the trailer and dropped in and played all night for my jam & several big birthdays that happened to be booked that night. One of which was for a young lady that had at least 40 friends & avid fans of Tulsa Speedway drag racing ...I was told Blues City went through 5 gallons of Crown Royal that night!!

Yes, 5 Gallons !!

The other Jam I hosted was at Utopia Club Downtown every Wednesday Night for around 3 months...Oh what a time !!

Phil is the only venue operator that has actually EVER sponsored CurtsList.Com

Phil had an unbelievable soundstage set up w/ everything a musician or band would need - without bringing anything but their instruments...and even that wasn't entirely necessary, as Phil & the attending musicians had drums & guitars available. (I even had an amp and two Fender Strats with me)  ...As well as monitors, lights, mixers & recorders, a massive P.A., mics & mic stands & even cables & picks. 

Sometimes the room was almost a quarter full - w/ guitars & amps lying around - all over the place. I was fortunate to jam with quite a few incredibly talented musicians and also had a hand in the birth of several bands that are doing quite nicely - still.

The new Liquid Static band dropped in from time to time and tore the place UP!! They always had a great time at my Utopia Jams.

The Sellouts were a new band then as well. We knew we were dealing with true talent every single time The Sellouts performed for us,...lead singer; Jacob Dement can make ANY song sound better & Sky's bass playing is like nothing you've ever seen or heard

Throw in Kash's guitar playing & you've got a band like none-other - in Tulsa

Mark Bormann & Nate Hull from Mister Pistol jammed on the Utopia stage from time to time.

Pwe, Randall & Scotty (of the band 'Under The Gun') were with Tex still as 'Hired Guns'and actually got fired one night (By Tex) while playing a gig there. They called themselves 'Fired Guns' for a little while after that...they were a staple at my jams as well, and went on to form the awesome U.T.G. band that packs every venue they play at.

Adam Lopez was always a treat, as was Dane Trout, Jester & the female 'Demon Hammer' bassist Sondra Casey, Mr. Eric Tarr, The Ransom James boys, Brian Wallace (The Blues Dogs, Firstryke) Ryan Ball, Miles Williams & Hammer Down, Kraven Morehead, Flamenco Guitarist; Lon de Ada, James Clem, The Chasers, Jeff Allen & Sybil's Machine

We were once even treated to an icey night of music w/ an extraordinary quintet: Steve Pryor, Kevin Flint, Little Joe, Jimmy Markham & Dustin Pittsley whom just dropped in and asked to perform - all on the same stage - for an amazing set no one there will ever forget

And so many more that

I can no longer remember

but will Live On & Rock On

in my heart.

Phil Hernandez & The Utopia Club.

Lord - the Jager we went through!!



Chuck Norris' Cat ?.

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ORU's PRAYING HANDS

THE GOLDEN DRILLER
Tulsa Fairgrounds

A Tulsa Staple Since 1926

Fender Strat