Earl started singing at age five and turned professional in his late teens. He won numerous contests including a spot on the Charlie Daniel's Talent Roundup in Nashville. He placed 1st in The Jimmy Dean Country Showdown at the local AND regional competitions and placed 6th at the national show, beating out 10,000 other acts. Earl and his band, Haywire (comprised of the best musicians around: JR Rickard's award winning steel guitar, Jeff Johnson's unbeatable bass, Randy Matthew's spot-on drums, and Mike Evan's perfect pickin') have been playing together for over 12 years and have developed quite a following. In 2001 they released their debut CD "Walking To Wyoming" under their original name "Coltrain". That same year, they were voted "Best Band in the Pacific Northwest". They have worked with over 50 national country recording artists and are now a full time touring group covering some of the biggest country venues in the Midwest, the West and the South.