Born in Anaheim, California, but I spent my adolescent years in the southwest town of Las Vegas, Nevada. Now in my adult years, I reside just outside of Seattle in Bellevue, Washington.
At sixteen years of age a guitar playing high school friend urged me into buying a bass guitar so we could start a band! Shortly thereafter, receiving a check for $300 from my first job, I made my way down to the local music shop. Easily persuade at that very moment, I bought a Washburn Lyon Series bass guitar with a sunburst finished. To that sixteen year old kid it was beautiful!
Afterward, for 2 hours a day, everyday, after school, I played that thing as if I was doing homework. It seemed to have consume my every thought. Weather I was in class, at work or with friends, all I could think about was playing bass guitar.
Graduating to other instruments and recording programs, I still have that same musical addiction. It seems I can't go a day without playing a single note on any instrument.
Yes
Anywhere
Yes and No. Depends on the circumstances.
Handshakes
Over time my influences have changed tremendously. Some days I want to play surf guitar like Dick Dale as I did in my teens, others days, I want to play a crunchy rhythmic repetitious guitar like Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone age, Them Crooked Vultures), but currently, I gravitate to a softer more relaxing sound like José González.
So you could see how my influences are pretty broad.
When writing songs for my solo project my influences are Nick Drake and Elliott Smith.
Martin