User:HikingManiac2010/sandbox

= Lynn Sorensen (born December 10, 1956, in Twin Falls, Idaho, United States) =

= Biography = Lynn Sorensen is an American artist, musician, producer and songwriter. He has successfully pursued a musical career for nearly fifty years, including playing bass for Paul Rodgers, Bad Company, Heaven & Earth, as well as numerous other bands. Born Kenneth Lynn Sorensen, at age six he and his family moved from Burley, Idaho, then to Wenatchee, Washington, and eventually moved to Kent, WA, where Sorensen attended Covington Elementary, Sequoia Junior High and Kent-Meridian High School, graduating in 1975. He has traveled to several countries performing with numerous bands.

Genres: Classical, swing, rock, blues rock, hard rock, blues, soul blues, country, rap

Occupation: Artist, musician, producer, songwriter

Instruments: Violin, viola, upright bass, keyboard, bass guitar, guitar, drums, vocals

Years active: 1966-present

Parents:Kenneth and Iona (?) Sorensen. 1 sibling: Nancy

Spouse/Partner: Monica Sorensen (m. 1982)

Children: 2 daughters

= Career = In 1966, after Sorensen scored extremely high for hearing tone differentiation, he began playing the classical violin. At his first lesson at age 9, the original instructor was replaced by Don Weyand, who was a violist for the Seattle Symphony. Sorensen studied weekly with Weyand for nine years, after which he went on to play viola, cello, and upright bass.

In 7th grade he was asked to play Concerto Grosso for Strings “Sarabande” on violin for the school.

Between the ages 15-17, Sorensen played for the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Pacific Northwest under Vilem Sokol; the Allstate Orchestra; and was 2nd Chair in the All Northwest Orchestra for five states playing viola. He also auditioned for the Seattle Symphony and got into the finals for the viola position, all of which were extremely competitive.

While in  high school, Sorensen saw John McLoughlin’s ‘Five Peace Band’, which included Jerry Goodman on an electric violin, it was a pivotal moment. He immediately turned his classical violin into an electric violin, using a pick-up on the bridge of the violin and added an amplifier.

Between 1976-80, Sorensen moved to the San Jose/ San Francisco, CA area, where he worked delivering office copy to various businesses to support himself. He had taken all of his musical instruments, and begun getting into the disco scene, and playing in numerous road bands.

Sorensen returned to Washington in 1980, and headed to Spokane, WA which was at the time the punk band scene. He heard that the road band “Raven” was looking for a bass player/singer. He was hired by the band, which he changed their name to “Dogface”.

In 1987, while playing for the band Blonde Taiwan, he sang the National Anthem in front of an audience of thousands of NHRA fans and drivers at the Pacific Raceways in Kent, WA.

In the mid-1990’s he began working with Major League Baseball players. He wrote, sang and produced the lead cut “Welcome to The Show” on the Capitol-EMI record “Big League Rocks”. He performed this song live for the Players Choice Awards at The Joint in Las Vegas for a national television audience for ESPN in 2000. Member of the Major League Baseball’s All Star Band in 1998, and the Players Choice band in 1998, 1999 and 2000 as a bassist and lead vocalist.

One of the founding members of Spike and the Impalers, he joined creator Seattle radio DJ, Spike O'Neill, Jeff Kathan, on percussion and Sorensen on bass.

In 1999 Sorensen was contacted by Paul Rodgers solo band to play bass. He practiced with a ‘work tape’ for two weeks. Moments before the concert on June 3, 2000, at the former Silver Bowl Park (Sam Boyd Stadium), Las Vegas, NV, he met Rodgers before they played to an audience of roughly 50,000 people. He accepted the job to play for the band full time, which included touring Australia in 2003, where they played at the Superdome Stadium, Sydney, Australia.

Paul Rodgers resurrected the band “Bad Company” in 2008. After bassist/singer Boz Burrell died in 2006, they had been looking for a bassist to replace him. Sorensen joined their tours playing at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FL; Hard Rock, Hyde Park, London; Wembley Stadium, to 100,000 plus fans. They continued to tour the United Kingdom, United States, Japan and Europe, from 2008 to 2012.

= Instruments = Sorensen has been endorsed by both Zon and Spector Bass Guitars, and has played a Zon 5 string bass guitar since ____. His Zon bass(es) of choice: Sonus Special, 5 /fretted, a Sonus Special, 5/fretless. He also plays 4 string Spector bass since ____. He is also endorsed by NS Design electric violins since ____, and plays Fender and Zeta electric violins, as well.

= Current Bands = Heaven and Earth (original), Roni Lee (original), Powercell, Vandalls, Sirens of the Wood, Banshee, Justyn Case, James Howard (original), Rubber Souls, YeeHaw Jihad, Trifecta, Renaissance Rock Orchestra (cover and original)

= Former Bands = Various disco bands (Bay Area) 1976 – 1980; Dogface 1980 – 1986; Exciter 1986

Blonde Taiwan 1986 – 1988; Wild Prodigy (original) 1989 – 1991; Magic Bus 1991 – 2014

Sex for Cigarettes (original) 1995 -1996; Randy Hansen (original) 1999 – 2001

Paul Rogers 1999 – 2011; Spike and the Impalers 2001 – 2020; Clever Bastards (original) 2002 – 2006

Sex and Violins (original) 2006 – 2009; Bad Company 2007 – 2011; Jessica Lynn Witty (original) 2019 – 2022

= Producing = Vampire Luvsongs

= Discography = Big League Rocks, EMI Capital

Randy Hansen, Alter Ego, Filo K Records

Paul Rogers, Live at Glasgow, Eagle Records

Paul Rogers, Live at Udo Music Fest, Woodstock Tapes

Bad Company, Hard Rock Live, Universal Music

Bad Company, Live at Wembley, Eagle Records

Heaven and Earth, Hard to Kill, Quarto Valley Records

Heaven and Earth, V, Frontier Records

Roni Lee, Heroes of Sunset Blvd, Play Like A Girl Records