Patrick von Wiegandt picked up an ukulele when he was 6 months old. He then learned to play and sing the great folk song, Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, thrilling his family. At a concert he performed, in Carnegie Hall, on his first birthday, he played Beethoven’s 5th symphony. In the 3rd movement, he fell down and broke the uke into 100 pieces. He was cut by the sharp wood and needed 145 stitches. He vowed to never play Beethoven’s music again….especially on an ukulele. His parents would have none of that and his mom tied him to a piano bench a few years later, beat him and made him play the bass part on corny old Irish songs that she would sing to the family He also learned to play Dark Town Strutter’s ball. Meanwhile, his father would walk around the house, in his underwear, whistling Mozart arias, Bing Crosby and Johnny Cash songs. His father forced him to accompany him on the ukulele and guitar…. so poor little Patrick was forced to not only listen to this corn - but to play it also. Not long after that, the Beatles appeared on tv and changed the world. Patrick soon got a guitar and bass (it was those rotten parents again who bought it for him) - and had dreams of joining the Beatles onstage for a few numbers. His mother bought the Sgt. Pepper album and made him lift the needle of the record player over and over so she could learn the piano solo to Lovley Rita the Meter Maid. More pure hell to suffer through.... but he also learned the song. This was all good training for the thrill and monotony of being a recording engineer many years later. But first, there were the phone calls from John, George and Ringo (yes, those ones) when they were considering dumping their bass player. Patrick considered, but decided to stay in high skool. He only had 2 more years to go to get his diploma, so he turned them down and asked if he could call when he graduated. They were heartbroken, but had to accept that he was not about to make another Pete Best situation for their band. After graduation, he began touring the world for many years, writing, singing and playing for the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Frank Sin atra, Doris Day, The Grateful Dead, Perry Como, Muddy Waters, Benny Goodman, The New York Philharmonic, Elton, The Jackson 5, Tiffany, Justin Timberlake, Kayne West, Christina Aguilera, Jim Nabors, Miley Cyrus, 50 cent and thousands of other top acts. The Beatles never called again and decided to keep their bass player. After making a few hundred million, Patrick decided to retire, join a church choir and play bass. He has been lurking in a bunker in El Segundo, California , for the past year, going over some of the songs that he wouldn’t release to the Beatles or any of the other acts mentioned. He got them into shape to record his new CD. He assembled a wonderful cast of musicians and singers in California, Hawaii, Gig Harbor, Washington and New Rochelle, New York to complete this project. You can hear it all on the new CD called “NEVER MEANT TO BE THIS HAPPY” by PATRICK VON. (available on ITUNES and other digital stores around the world.) More fluff and lies can be found on the websites www.vwtapes.com and www.patrickvon.com