Artist description RON BUTKO - SOLO ARTIST

Music Style CHRISTIAN POP

Musical Influences BIBLE, BEATLES, EAGLES, PHIL COLLINS

Similar Artists KENNY ROGERS, BEATLES

Artist History R O N A L D J. B U T K O As long as I can remember, I have been playing a variety of musical instruments ~ Bass guitar, Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboard, Piano, Organ, Drums ~ and performing either solo, with a band, in a play, or engineering live sound reinforcement. I was a studio musician in New York for many recording companies, such as Columbia, Electra, and Mercury.... I also studied opera, first tenor, for four years. Of course, being a musician in New York, I was involved with drugs just like any other musician. I mingled with many super-rock-stars that are now gone, due to an overdose. My big break came to fruition in 1974 and I flew to California with my back-up band to record four singles on Polyador. Usually, a record company has the artist signed to a contract by then, but Polyador had not gotten my signature. A few months later, when they requested I sign the bottom line, I refused the secular recording contract. I had accepted Jesus as My Lord & Personal Savior and all my musical talent was then given to HIM. Prior to my salvation, I was privileged to have more than one-person witness to me. On December 27, 1974, a long-time friend and musician, Frank Bissol, stopped by for a holiday visit. He left a New American Standard Bible on my coffee table, trying to conceal the Christmas gift under a candle arrangement. A few years later, Frank became a Baptist Pastor outside Scranton, Pennsylvania. On that December evening, I got deathly ill. I was scared. So scared ~ that if I died that night, I did not know for sure where I was going to spend my eternal life. I asked my wife, Donna, though she was my girlfriend at that time, to find the Bible Frank left (NAS). I wanted to know if it had any answers to my questions. Then ~ Donna dug out another Bible from the closet that her grandparents had given her, when she was younger (KJV). We were curious to see if both bibles had the same scriptures. We stayed up until 3:00 in the morning asking a Bible numerous questions and the Holy Spirit answered them miraculously, as we flipped through the pages. We were astounded! We even came across the word "SAVED" which Frank mentioned and others tried to tell us about. When were ready to go to bed, I said, "we did not do what the Bible told us to do…. We did not ask Jesus to become Our Lord & Personal Savior." In the early morning hours of December 28, 1974, Romans 10:9,10,11 were the scriptures that changed Donna and me, transforming us into new creations in Christ: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." (KJV) Immediately, we got down on our knees and prayed the Prayer of Salvation. All of a sudden, I realized I did not have that deathly ill feeling. As I had read the scriptures, it slowly disappeared. I WAS HEALED! When I woke up, I gazed in the mirror and did not see the same expression in my eyes that had always been there. It had vanished. I definitely had become a new creation in Christ. II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. A couple weeks before Christmas, I asked Donna to marry me on January 10, 1975. It was a date I randomly picked and I thought after being together for three years, it was time to get married. We kept that date to exchange our vows at the United Methodist Church, Bristol, Pennsylvania. I decided to be a witness for God and start my own carpentry business, "Christian Construction." I hired a friend to help me, though he was not a Christian, he needed the work. I continued to witness to him and finally one day he came to work telling me he accepted Jesus as his Lord & Personal Savior. "And" he said, "I flushed my dope down the toilet!" Many years later, Chuck Brush became a pastor of a large Baptist Church in Corpis Christi, Texas. In obedience to God, Donna and I were baptized at Davisville Baptist Church, South Hampton, Pennsylvania, on March 16, 1975. I produced and engineered an album for Pastor Daniel James Bartkow, "The Shepard's Love," the following year. Our son Daniel John was born on October 27, 1975 and accepted Jesus as his Lord & Personal Savior, a few months after his second birthday. No doubt in our pastor's mind ~ Dan was saved. When he was baptized and asked if he accepted Jesus, Dan shouted out, "I know Jesus!" Our second son, Peter James, was born premature on January 8, 1977. Both named after Pastor Daniel James Bartkow. By God's grace, Peter is with our loved ones. For five years, I managed a retail store in a New Jersey mall. Because I was a finished carpenter and a general contractor, this enabled me to build the interior of the mall business and design and build a total of four recording studios: 2 in New Jersey, 1 in Pennsylvania, and eventually my own in Florida (1997). In 1981, I engineered the sound for the "Full Gospel Businessmen's Convention" at the Philadelphia Civic Center, with guest speakers such as Pat Robertson, Rosie Grier, and singer Andre Crouch. I became a member of a local band, "Cornerstone", which I played bass and sang. We performed for numerous churches and opened for Christian artists, such as Debbie Boone. Another album came to fruition, which I produced and engineered. "Spiritual World" & "Where is Your Faith" were two of my originals on the album. At the same time I was part of the church Praise Team at Glouster County Community Church, singing and playing bass guitar. The 700 Club visited my home in October 1982 and video taped my testimony for airplay. Debbie Witson was the host and labeled the segment, in her own words, a sparkling testimony. Praise Him was the first song I wrote, when I became a Christian, and I performed that song as they video taped that portion of the show at Camp Halawassa’s Recording Studio. The testimony aired in November 1982, January 1983, and May 1983. After many trips to Florida, we decided to make the move. We have been Florida residents since August 10, 1989. I continued with carpentry and contracting, then a few years later I started my own Design & Installation Company: Sound Systems / Home Theaters / Phone Systems / Intercoms. When we relocated to Vero Beach in 1991, I volunteered as Church Sound Engineer for First Church of God for a couple of years. After becoming a member of Glendale Baptist Church in Vero Beach, I led worship for Glendale Youth Ministries, "The Lord’s GYM", and was the Church Sound Engineer. Over the years, I was involved with the local church: Live Sound Reinforcement; Church Sound Engineer; Worship Team / singer / bass musician; Youth Contemporary Worship Leader / singer / bass musician; Live Performances / Special Music or Concerts, either solo or with a band; Opening Act or Live Sound Engineer for various Christian artists or speakers. My employment with IATSE (stagehand union) gave me many new undertakings on the sound crew in Palm Beach for various shows or performances at the Kravis Center / Palm Beach Auditorium / Royal Poinciana Theater / Breakers Hotel / South Florida Fair Grounds. To name a few: Perry Como, Palm Beach Orchestra, and Palm Beach Ballet’s Nutcracker Suite. Plus, I have been able to Free Lance in Live Sound Reinforcement for many local events for the Chamber of Commerce / St. Lucie County Civic Center / Port St. Lucie Community Center / Port St. Lucie Ravenwood Community Center / Port St. Lucie Club Med / Ft. Pierce Yacht Club / Stuart Lyric Theater. I began designing and building a recording studio for the Kingdom of God (Port St. Lucie, Florida) in November 1997. It was a dream I had for many years. After nine months of labor, Millennium Productions of Florida finally opened the doors, to its first session, on September 5, 1998. Our cliental consisted of 90% local Christian Artists, within a 100 mile radius. I was able to express my talents as Engineer / Producer / Live Recording & Mastering / Live Sound Reinforcement / Singer / Arranger / Composer / Studio Musician, various instruments. I continued my Design & Installation Company. Our slogan: Experience is the Difference you can Hear. Even though Millennium Productions had an extensive list of cliental and I was well respected, lack of capital forced me to sell the 3-year-old business to a Christian brother. The new owner intended to employ my wife and me, Donna would continue CD design & layout, along with her photography, and I would continue as engineer, producer, arranger, studio musician, etc. Tragically, September 11th occurred and our buyer backed-out the next day. He was fearful of the economy. We never expected the repercussions of "9/11" to affect us, in the sale of our business. Everything , we invested into Millennium, was gone. Then on November 4th, as Donna and I were moving back to Vero Beach, I had a stroke. I am recovering and maintain my outpatient therapy. BY JESUS' STRIPES, I AM HEALED! GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH ME............

Group Members RON BUTKO

Instruments GUITARS, BASS. DRUMS, KEYBOARDS

Albums OUR GOD REIGNS, JESUS AND THE 12, AND MILLENNIUM SESSIONS

Location VERO BEACH, FLORIDA - USA

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