Music has always been more than just a career for JD; it’s in his blood. Back in the 1960s, he pounded out rhythms behind a Ludwig Black Oyster Pearl drum kit, the exact setup made famous by Ringo Starr in a local garage band. Over the decades, he has written a vault of catchy, classic 3½-minute pop tunes and accumulated a couple of prized treasures: a Fender Stratocaster and an old, soul-filled Martin acoustic. Despite his collection and songwriting chops, JD remains humbly self-aware, always careful never to claim the title of “guitar player formally.”
His athletic side runs just as deep. A former collegiate baseball player, JD spent many years giving back to the game by coaching youth sports, passing on his love for teamwork and competition to the next generation. Today, he still stays active in recreational sports, proving you’re never too old to stay in the game.
Yet of all his adventures from international boardrooms and rock-and-roll drum risers to baseball diamonds, JD’s ultimate pride and greatest joy in life is his family, marked by the unforgettable milestone of watching his two sons, Michael Dion and James David, graduate from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
Brooklyn, Nebraska is his debut novel.
