In a “nutshell”:
I’ve been playing bass since 1985, guitar since 1986, and drums since 1990. Since 1994 music has been my full time occupation… playing, teaching, and recording.
Guitar is my primary instrument, followed by bass. Although I love playing drums, I’m only really comfortable playing them in a studio setting with a click track.
I enjoy listening to and playing all styles of music.
Extended AutoBio:
I became interested in music at a very young age. My dad used to buy whatever 8-track tapes were on sale, which meant that I listened to a wide range of music from the 60’s and early 70’s. I remember really liking Bobby Goldsboro! We didn’t have cable, so listening to music was my biggest source of entertainment.
My mom was a classical pianist, so I was also exposed to a lot of classical music as well. This of course also meant that when I expressed an interest in wanting to learn to play drums I was told that I had to learn piano first. I didn’t know any better, so I went along with the idea. Well, I never did learn to play piano very well but I think trying to learn it was invaluable ear training for me.
In junior high I played clarinet…..badly. Of course I never practiced. I chose that instrument solely because I liked the black & silver color scheme better than the brass instruments. I don’t think playing clarinet had any positive effect on my musical ability. If anything, I think it caused me to become disinterested in playing any instrument.
In 9th grade I joined the school’s polyphonic choir because they were planning to go to England that spring and that sounded like it would be fun. Actually, it was my friend Phillip Fortin’s idea that we join the choir so we could go to England, and in retrospect I’m glad he thought of it because England was a blast!
I had never really done much singing before joining the choir, but for the most part I enjoyed the experience although not enough to want to sing in choirs after that year. I’m a baritone, by the way.
The summer after 10th grade was when the idea of being a musician really took hold. I started playing electric bass after being encouraged by an amazing keyboard player, friend, and fellow Rush fanatic named Jay Frigoletto. From that point on, music became the focus of my life.
I started playing bass in punk, metal, and rock bands and also bought a guitar and started teaching myself how to play it. One of these bands I played in during this era featured guitarist Mac Ritchey whose highly technical playing was quite inspirational.
After graduating high school, I went to a small liberal arts college in Wisconsin called Beloit College. I majored in music there, but unfortunately their music program was not their strong point although the individual professors were excellent. Of course, I wasn’t the most dedicated student either in terms of classroom studies…all my focus was on playing in bands. During this time I also started taking guitar lessons from John Ross, drum lessons from Jack Brand, and piano and composition lessons from Max Yount.
More to come later…