Local rockabilly guy calls himself 'Bob E Rock'. Obviously I borrowed the idea. Thanks Bob!

I play the occasional open mic in and around the Washington D.C. metro area.

I play when the mood strikes me.

The last special moment I had related to an open mic was when I had to hunt down change for the parking meter. By the time I got back to feed it the meter maid guy was writing me a ticket as I ran towards my parking space with quarters in hand. He wouldn't let me go. By the time I got to the show all the performing slots were filled and I didn't get to play.

I think it's a great opportunity for people who would otherwise go unheard to promote themselves. I think copyright issues should be respected.

Only if they kiss my ass real good.

Played primarily in original D.C. area rock bands between 1980 and 1990. Since then I've continued to write songs at a snail like pace and manage to record something now and then. I also jam occasionally.

As far as my original material I'm a big on the "power pop" sound. I'm a big Who fan so you'll hear some of that in my original material. A dash of blues is not uncommon in my material. Other comparisons people have made about my singing and songs include Marshall Crenshaw and Graham Parker. I enjoy a little of everything but I'm mainly a rocker. Lately I've gotten into the "alt. country" thing (or whatever they call it now) like Lucinda Williams, Scott Miller and Common Wealth and BR549.

In no particular order here are bands or artists that have really grabbed my ear recently or over the long term:

Cheap Trick, Eva Cassidy, Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Scott Miller and Common Wealth, Br549, the Who, Pete Townshend, Freedy Johnston, The Jam, Nils Lofgren, Grin, Tommy Keene (another D.C. area music hero), Tom Petty & the HBs, Donovan, The Smithereens, XTC, Juliana Hatfield, Blake Babies, the Knack, the Replacements, Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, Guided by Voices / Bob Pollard, Be Bop Deluxe, Garland Jeffries, Little Steven, Bruce Springsteen and a whole bunch of others I can't recall at the moment.

More than one person has compared my lead playing to Nils Lofgren. A high compliment as Nils is a hometown musical hero. I own a number of his solo records and records by his most popular D.C. area band, Grin (they had a minor hit with a song called "White Lies" back in the 70s).

This is one of my favorite sites for checking out band histories, associations, discographies and so forth.

Bozeman, Montana is very nice. Hopefully the influx of all the big name retailers, franchise fast food joints and such won't screw the place up too much in the near future.

Primary music making gear:
Martin 00016C acoustic, Ernie Ball/Musicman Albert Lee signature electric, Fender Champ 12 amp, Yamaha QY20 music sequencer and Tascam 424 portastudio. Effects and signal processing gear are in a constant state of rotation and refinement.

Have fun, don't take life or yourself too seriously. Don't worry too much about success. You can't take it with you when you leave.