Houston-born singer/songwriter/guitarist Vince Converse began his musical career while still a sophomore in high school. He and his band, Sunset Heights, played blues-inflected rock in venues that he was still too young to patronize, appeared on international TV, and toured with acts like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Johnny Winter, Peter Green, and Fats Domino. After playing with the group for seven years, Converse struck out on his own, moved to South Dakota, and released a solo album, 1999's Nineteen Fifteen, named after the birth year of Muddy Waters.