Background
Six years old in northern Indiana and jealous of my mother's classical piano lessons, I complained enough until I was taking lessons soon after. I had a few teachers, then settled in with mom's private instructor, Nancy Hall, who made a huge impression on me. A few years later, I joined the 5th grade orchestra and 6th grade band playing the violin and trombone respectively. Also in middle school, I won a state title for solo piano performance and was paid for my first gig... stringed quartet for hire. Vocally, I sang a little in both the church choir with my parents as well as the high school choir. Tending to my Midwestern needs, I purchased my first banjo senior year of high school.
Furthered my studies at Indiana University where I majored in English and enjoyed a few minors: History, Philosophy & Music. Post college, I thought I'd be penning fiction... still have plans to publish in the near future. My musical studies were focused on classical theory & history, jazz theory & 1st person history with mogul David Baker, rock history, and private jazz piano lessons with pianist/arranger J. Michael Lucas (accompanist/conductor for Johnny Mathis & Andy Williams). There I continued to refine my chops as I performed with different blues/pop/rock/funk bands around central Indiana and the Bloomington Campus.
After college, I moved to New Jersey in 1999 where I managed a music store and taught private & class lessons. Two years later, I met my bride-to-be in Asbury Park & started playing keyboards and singing backups for the latin rock band deSoL which has consumed a large chunk of my time since. This was that fated moment when I started growing the beard which has allowed me to 1.) magically harness the rather untapped zen energy of the bustling Jersey suburbia and 2.) keep a mental chronolgy of events over the years.
Taking advantage of the band's radio charting, we toured the U.S. heavily between 2004-2009 (as well as trips to Mexico, Africa, and the Persian Gulf). We've performed for both intimate audiences as well as larger scale shows such as a Miami stadium of 65,000, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo... The band has played over 1,700 shows. We missed our women back home and have taken an indefinite hiatus to remember who we are as individuals, though I was psyched to hang with the boys during my bachelor party!
Current
Nearly 10 years later, Dori & I finally married September 25, 2010 at the Strand Theatre in Lakewood, NJ! Dori and I are looking forward to a month-long writing session in New Orleans. Intending on finishing a first draft of a story we've been structuring.
Check out Musical Project "4"
I enjoy doing scattered recording sessions as well as some performance. Recently have been playing drums with friends Chris & Jessie Apple and the Little Rockers Band.
I currently teach both private music lessons and publicly at the School of Rock, sharing any expertise I've picked up along the way.
A lifelong fascination with the piano combined with the love of hefty detail-oriented projects, I've apprenticed privately with tuning guru Rob Gardner (Cherry Hill, NJ) studying the ins-and-outs of piano tuning, repair, & appraisal.
Enjoying creating this website, I've been studying web design...send me an email if you are in need of a website, I'll make one for you.
I'm lucky to continue to write (stories & music), perform, teach, and tune pianos while residing in Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Though I haven't shared much, I love writing; whether it's working on fictional stories, music (pop, rock, Latin, classical, holiday, jingles) scripts, musical syllibi...I wish I had more time for each, though I do have the rest of my life. I love practicing instruments, though I never feel like I make enough time for it. I love thinking about the future, utilizing technology & learning new things. I feel lucky to be alive in this amazing time; though I appreciate studying the beginnings of any subject as well as trying to understand the simplicity of life from which we've blossomed over the past few thousand years.
