It was typed on my birth certificate.

I avoid playing live whenever possible. When I play live, it's among friends.

It makes it possible for people like me -- who don't enjoy playing live -- to make music and sometimes get it heard.

In a heartbeat. Not that they're beating down my door.

I started out at age 11 studying classical guitar, the melodic and harmonic possibilities of which unlocked a creative door for me. This has formed the underpinnings of everything I've done. In my teens, I was captivated by the richness and variation of progressive rock music of the '70s. Lasting influences from that period include work by Genesis, Todd Rundgren, King Crimson, Steely Dan and early Elton John. In the '80s, the work of the Talking Heads, and particularly of Brian Eno, became increasingly important to my musical world view. In the late '90s, another important influence became the pan-cultural percussive melange of Dead Can Dance.

In 1996, I became active with the Guitar Craft movement, a series of residential guitar seminars originated by Robert Fripp in 1985. I attended a Guitar Craft Level One course in Argentina during November of that year, and participated in a Level Two course in September 2000. The underlying tenets of my Guitar Craft experience continue to inform my music, providing important tools and perspective to my work.

Carmel and the Big Sur coast.

Mac G4, with Reason 2.5 and Logic Pro 6.