It was given to me at birth (along with my middle name, Jay).

I rarely play live outside of my house. The few times I have it's been ok, but not thrilling as I've only played out solo and I prefer the interaction of playing as part of a band.

It expands the options for how how music is distributed and may allow artists to bypass record companies totally in the future. It certainly enables many people, who without it have been or would be completely ignored, to let others hear their songs on a potentially huge scale.

Sure, depending on the terms.

Took some piano lessons at ages 8 & 12, and guitar lessons from 15-17. Wrote first full song at 15 and have now (1/2005) an original song catalogue of approximately 180 songs. Started multitrack recording in 1988, progressing from 4- and 8-track cassette to computer multitracking.

I play guitars (including bass), keys, and drums/percussion, and sing, and occasionally try to play harmonica too.

Pop/rock, folk, blues, singer-songwriter music. Artists who've influenced me include The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, The Kinks, and many others.

Central Jersey Shore, though NYC has a great amount to offer. I also loved San Francisco and Arizona, though I've only been there once each.

My main acoustic guitar is a Taylor 510-LTD; main electric is an Epiphone G-400 (SG copy); main bass is an Epiphone Viola Bass; drum kit is a 4-piece Ludwig sparkly blue set with Remo heads and Zildjian cymbals; keys are a Yamaha PSR-320; and I record into an eMachines P4 3GHz computer equipped with Cool Edit Pro software and Layla multitrack soundcard.