As a young musician, Sherm found himself playing bass guitar for the band Manna alongside other career musicians with decorated careers: Merrill Clark, Bruce Fowler, Alan Weight, and Tim May (the actual guitar player on Michael J. Fox's guitar solo in Back to the Future). He has had various gigs as a session bassist and has casually played with some major performing artists. For the past 25 years, Sherm has been associated with a few groups of working musicians. He did a four-year engagement with a church music team, including some of the finest musicians in the local gospel music genre. Sherm called it the "University of Gospel Music." The challenge here was not written music; it required him to quickly develop an impeccable ear for lines and harmonies. After his four-year graduation, he focused on upright jazz bass and found some success as a soloing jazz bass player. In his move to Texas, he changed his style to accommodate more amplified string bass, attempting to emulate more prominent bass artists.