Mike LaPlante

I currently live in Windsor, ON and I work at FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) as a Team Leader. I play in a band called Tres Cajones and we are an acoustic rock trio. We play everything from Muddy Waters to Oasis and Bruce Springsteen to Imagine Dragons.

I play guitar first and foremost and have been playing since I was 13 years old. There was a good five year period though, when I rarely picked the thing up. But once I got into my 20's and my best friend Dan started seriously playing guitar, we never stopped playing the six-string toy that brings us so much happiness.

Since then I have picked up the harmonica as well and learned from, none other than Kelly "Mr. Chill" Hoppe of Big Sugar fame. I felt very blessed to have been able to meet Kelly and feel privledged to call him my friend. A few years ago I was given a ukelele for Christmas after picking one up while on vacation in Californian wine country. What a great little instrument and very handy whenever you want to just "pluck and strum around."

One of my other passions is the golf courses that are within driving distance of my home in Windsor, ON. Not that I'm very good at it, but I enjoy the whole outdoor experience and the fun had with friends. Through an organization known as the Bogey Golf Tour (bogeygolftour.com), I've been able to meet other golfers from the area and it has been a great experience.

Then there's wine. The nectar of the gods. As I've gotten older I've developed a true appreciation for good wines. After many trips to B.C.'s wine country in the Okanagan Valley and also the Russian River, Napa and Sonoma valley's of NorCal, I've been able to bone up on some knowledge of wine that I wouldn't have gotten to know any other way. A big thanks goes to Laurie Soda-Alb for being so hospitable on my last and absolute best wine excursion into California wine country.