Pete Ford and Texas Hold'em

PETE FORD was born in Portland, Oregon on March 26, 1967. After attending several sporting events at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon, he became fascinated with the sound of the organ and was playing by the age of 7. He began studying with an organist and by age 16 was filling in for staff organists on a regular basis at events for Portland’s Winterhawks, Beavers, Timbers, and Trailblazers, just to name a few. Pete has also been a regular staff organist on theatre pipe organs at The Organ Grinder restaurant in Portland and Uncle Milt’s Pizza in Vancouver, Washington. Pete attended Marshall High School in Portland and received a full music and vocal scholarship to study under Hal Malcom, highly regarded as a music genius and a long time fixture at Mt. Hood Community College. Growing up in a home where country music the only acceptable option, he was engrained with a love for the sounds of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, and many of country music’s other legends. It’s from this background that it is no surprise that after college Pete returned to his love and organized a country band. All it took was six months and his first band, “Chinook,” went from rehearsing in a garage to playing the legendary Ponderosa Lounge at Jubitz’s in Portland, Oregon on New Years Eve. He continued working with the band until he was offered a job in 1990 with an up and coming trio named “Andi & the Browns”, with whom he played keyboard, along with doing lead and backup vocals. He toured with the group until 1992, when he took a house job at a night club in Albany, Oregon and he performed with the group “Thoroughbred”. He has been performing under this name now for 12 years and has opened for such artists as: Michelle Wright, Joe Diffie, Dan Seals, Hank Thompson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, T.G. Sheppard and Johnny Counterfeit. With a jazz influence from college, he offers a unique and refreshing sound, performing a wide range of selections and styles of material and his high energy and powerful stage presence lends to entertain audiences and reach a broad array of listeners and followers from all demographics. Pete changed the band name to "Pete Ford & Texas Hold 'Em in November of 1995.