Born with it.

Yes. I focus on venues/places that are conducive to my music, such as churches, retreats, contemplative gatherings. I also play at house concerts which are truly an intimate venue and fit my music really well. Please contact me if you'd be interested in having me perform at your house concert.

I think the Internet is one of the greatest sources for indie artists to get their music out to the world. While we still may not make the bucks like those artists signed to major labels, we at least get the same satisfaction of knowing that there are people enjoying our music.

No, I'm happy being with the small independent label I am currently with. Larger distribution would be nice though.

I began playing guitar on my 16th birthday. That?s when my mom gave me one for a present. I had promised I would learn how to play it because I signed up for a guitar class at high school. I really had no intention of learning the instrument; I took the class only because I figured I'd be able to goof off in it. I wasn't much into school.

I was a loner . . . we moved around a lot. The guitar became my best companion. It probably kept me out of trouble too. I would stay up until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. playing that thing. And from the start I made up my own compositions. I never did learn how to play someone else's songs except those taught in that guitar class.

Being that I was a teenager, I soon migrated to the electric guitar. I just had to mimic the hard rock music I was into. I actually became a very good rhythm guitarist and passed every audition. So I was in a number of original rock bands back then. Yet there remained a love for acoustic guitar music that was inadvertently introduced to me by a sister listening to her Crosby, Stills & Nash and Neil Young records . . . before I even learned how to play.

Those band days lasted only about five years. I never became known on the music circuit though. The bands I joined rarely went beyond their local playing area. And I was still a loner; I didn't hang out with musicians up in L.A. or Hollywood. I never met or knew anyone famous. I did however play in a band, for which I gave its name "Firestorm", with Robert Sweet, best known for being the drummer of Stryper. Then came a two year break due to the crush of fleeting fame. It came close and the band broke up. I never played in a rock band again.

I resurfaced as the rhythm guitarist in a Praise & Worship band at a church I began attending. I had become a Christian at age 17 but only got serious about it in my mid 20's. (Interestingly this was about the same time Stryper came into existence). I spent three years in this group. It?s here I learned music can be a healing affect in the heart, body and mind. I would not trade this experience for anything.

Around 1989 I again dropped off the musical landscape. In fifteen years of being a musician/songwriter I had failed to become "someone". I was disappointed. I sold all my performing and recording gear, keeping only one acoustic guitar. Another two year hiatus began . . . another dry spell.

The 90's found me managing a truly great rock band, Sunday Silents. The drummer, a friend from church, was in the band and invited me to a gig. I told them they should get a manager . . . they chose me! Later I spent five years as lead guitarist in my most favorite band to have ever been in, Purple Mountain Matinee. The decade ended with me leaving PMM and once again disappearing from the musical landscape.

In 2004 I began messing around with alternate tunings on the guitar after having listened to, over and over again, the 'Guitar Passion' album by Dallas Gordon. This one album inspired a return to playing, composing and recording my own music. And I found a more proper place and expression in being an instrumentalist. In 2006 I recorded my first album, 'Clearly', under my own name. Thirty-two years after first learning how to play the guitar.

I have spent all my 35 years as a musician also being a "day job" person. Yes, my time has been split between the two, the "daily grind" winning out. Good? Bad? Who knows? I may have been a young rock star tragedy . . . since "die young" was a motto back then. But at 50 I determined music would have a more prominent place in my life.

So, it comes down to: I have no claim-to-fame, no accolades to boast of, and don?t know that I ever will have either. I'm just a normal guy that happens to play guitar and compose instrumental music . . . which I hope will enable you to escape the noise and enjoy some quiet moments.

I think a true influence is that which stays with you year after year. There are a lot more songs I've been influenced by than artists. Here are some of the artists and albums that have something to do with the way I write and play - understanding that first I appreciate the songwriting then the playing:

In Alphabetical Order

ARTISTS
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William Ackerman; Acoustic Alchemy; Ken Bonfield; Jamie Bonk; Boyce & Hart; Craig Chaquico; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Dallas Gordon; Oshio Kotaro; Jeff Lynne (the ELO years); Billy McLaughlin; Glenn Miller; Rush; Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions Guitarist); John Michael Talbot; Neil Young

ALBUMS
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Bridge of Sighs (Robin Trower); Burgers (Hot Tuna); Guitar Passion (Dallas Gordon); Rainbow Rising (Ritchie Blackmore); Songs for Beginners (Graham Nash); Surfing (The Ventures)

Where I live.

GUITARS
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Walden G2070; Walden CN2030; Walden N550CE; Walden O550; Tacoma Thunderhawk; Godin Multiac Nylon SA; Ibanez AM73

AMPS
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Roland Cube Street

STRINGS
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John Pearse - Exclusively
710NM (Acoustics)
2600 Jazz Light (Electrics)
1200 Firm Tension (Nylon)

MISC.
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K&K Sound Pure Western Pickup (Exclusively)
Digitech RP-250

RECORDING
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Roland VS-2000CD
Samson - Resolv 65a Monitors; S-amp Headphone Amp
Rode NT1-A Mic
T-RackS Mastering Software
T.C. Electronic 3000 Reverb Plug-in
Universal Audio VS-1176LN & VS-LA2A Plug-ins