2017 MAN OF THE YEAR: Once in a dark place, Amarillo has become Chuck Alexander's stage

To better understand where Chuck Alexander is now, it's important to know where he once was. Twenty-five years ago, it was a very dark place, a dead-end road too often littered with the shells of hard-playing, hard-drinking musicians.

"He said that if he kept going like he was, he would end up in a place he did not want to be, a place he may not be able to get out of," said Melody Alexander, his wife of 23 years.

A quarter-century later, Chuck Alexander is a testimony to redemption, to turning around a life and not looking back, to what can happen when inhaling the fresh air of a second chance. For all of that and more, and with a gaze that always seems to be looking to others, Alexander is the Amarillo Globe-News 2017 Man of the Year.

"He has this energy to all things in his life," said Mary Lyn Halley, vocalist/rhythm guitar for Insufficient Funds, the long-running band the two have been part of for 25 years. "He opens himself up to many different worlds, and he has this attitude of, 'How can I help you?'"

Alexander, 57, may be best known to local music lovers as the bass guitar for Insufficient Funds, an area musical institution that's also opened for big-name acts. Theater-goers recognize him for his lead and supporting roles at Amarillo Little Theatre in "Les Miserables," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Jesus Christ, Superstar" and "Smokey Joe's Cafe."

But that speaks to only a facet of him. Audiences do not see his work on behalf of Amarillo Recovery From Alcohol and Drugs (ARAD), of which he has a personal stake, to longtime fundraising for the Eveline Rivers Christmas Project, co-directing for 17 years the fundraising show for Opportunity School, to his work with Olivia's Angels - which works with hospice patients - and to co-founding and co-leading First Presbyterian Church's gospel service.

"This man is just a Godsend to everybody," said Eveline Rivers-McCoy. "He's one of those individuals who never wants the credit, never wants a pat on the back. He just wants to sit back and smile and be pleased that he was a helping hand with no recognition in return."

As a young boy, Alexander was focused on being a musician. He went to elementary school in Gruver and later moved to Guymon, Okla., where he played the tuba. Though talented on tuba, that kind of instrument was not in a rock band, and Alexander wanted to be a rock star.

He also began playing bass guitar in a band in Guymon before heading off to Oklahoma State and later West Texas State. Music has always been at Alexander's fingertips. Before Insufficient Funds, there were at least five bands that he contributed to with his rich tenor voice and skilled fingers on guitar.

"Music is his passion, his love and his gift," Melody said.

A life on the edge

But the lifestyle can be a temptation, and Alexander succumbed to it in the early 1990s. Family members had battled alcoholism, and he was on a spiral to that same life-controlling abuse. Maybe his only saving grace was he was not in denial. He knew he was in trouble.

"He saw himself in a place he didn't like," his wife said. "He knew the signs. He saw how it would ruin lives, how it could ruin his."

Alexander scouted around for help, specifically a place to rehabilitate from alcohol and substance abuse. The cost shocked him. But he elicited the help of others and finally found a semi-affordable place, Valley Hope, in Atcheson, Kan. He wrote a check and was there for a life-changing 30 days.

While there, there were shouting matches with God and what Melody described as a "huge, huge spiritual awakening." He left determined to leave parts of the old Chuck Alexander behind. Not all, but parts.

"Counselors asked him what he did, and he said that he was a musician and he played in bars and clubs," Melody said. "They told him that, 'Sorry, but you can't do that again.'

"He said that 'I'm going to be a witness that you can do things you love and be clean and sober.' He's never taken another drink again. But he will tell you he gives God all the glory and He walked with him through all of this, and opened his eyes to what life can be without alcohol."

It wasn't long after returning to Amarillo from Kansas that the band Insufficient Funds was formed in 1993. Some of it morphed from a previous group, Thirtysomething. Dean Yates (lead guitar), Halley (rhythm guitar) and Alexander (bass guitar) were original members. Drummer Vic Richardson joined a short time later.

Melody had an aha moment with the name of the group. They were all sort of broke musicians, and anyone in need of money is familiar with - hey, Insufficient Funds. So there you have it. They have played at events, concerts, openings, wedding receptions, dances of any stripe, and clubs.

Alexander led a stance that Insufficient Funds would avoid the smokey-type bar and if a place didn't have the best of a reputation, they would take a pass. They can afford to, as Insufficient Funds has opened for such artists as Steve Warner, Johnny Rivers, Jerry Jeff Walker, Beach Boys, Robert Earl Keen and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

"He's got such focus and dedication and fun all wrapped up into one," Halley said. "He lives in the experience of life. He's such a life-giver and makes the hard stuff look easy.

"There's just so much joy in him. He's the first guy to say that I messed up. He's so free of spirit and I don't think he's a person who stews in his own problems. He works through that and always comes back to a place of joy."

He derives that, Melody says, from the audience, from the pleasure of giving back to them. But that's just an audience, a group of people to see a performance.

More than an audience

What about other ways to give back - to those battling substance abuse, to raising money for those needing winter coats or the low-income folks needing a better education, to making the local theater a better experience, to leading worshippers on Sunday mornings, to playing to raise money for prostate cancer awareness?

"Chuck truly believes Amarillo is one of the greatest places in the world to live," Melody said. "He's proud of Amarillo. He loves living here and he wants to do whatever he can to make Amarillo a better place for all of us. He believes in our city."

His work with ARAD is personal. He serves on the board as the group closes in on opening a 30-day residential treatment program the area has historically lacked.

"I can always count on him when we need something done," said Perry Gilmore, ARAD board chairman. "Chuck is a wonderful example of how people can change their lives. He's a role model and an inspiration to a lot of people."

With the Eveline Rivers Christmas project, Alexander used his music to make a fundraising Christmas CD for several years and then worked to get youth and church choirs to do the same after that.

"It was just one more thing coming from that creative man to help our community and bless people all at the same time," Rivers-McCoy said. "He has just given to us, and, boy, do we appreciate it."

When David McCoy proposed to Rivers in 2013 four years after the death of her husband Wayne, the first call she made wasn't to family, but to Alexander to see if he could play at their wedding. He did.

When First Presbyterian pastor Dr. Howard Griffin asked if Alexander would lead the way to starting a gospel service each Sunday three years ago, the elder in the church did. From the seemingly small to the big, all you have to do is ask.

If not working with his wife at Alexander and Associates - a legal video production service - playing for one of three bands, most notably Insufficient Funds, he can be found giving his time to something or to someone.

"Chuck had a minor heart attack in 2006, and that opened his eyes even more that none of us have more than today," Melody said. "He lives life on a day-by-day basis in everything he does.

"What you see is what you get. He's transparent and honest as anyone I've ever known. He loves people. He loves God. He's just a happy guy."

Hey, strike up the band.