I have been writing and performing songs since around 1977--composing most of my material in the mid-1990s. The wholly inadequate genre pigeonhole I could be crammed into with some difficulty is "novelty"--but my stuff ranges from the surrealistic to the darkly satirical to the just plain silly. I stick to 32-bar pop styles as a rule, but I have dabbled in blues, calypso, and other forms. My music sounds as if it were created from the 1920s through the 1950s in a parallel universe--the effect is entirely intentional. I try to wake up the mind and make it smile. If I must occasionally offend in the process, so be it.
I most recently did a live set at Thornberry's in Utica--that was on March 7, 2009. It went well, and the recordings from that show are available on Soundclick.
Before that, I hadn't played a live show of my own songs since August 2000, when my amp crashed during an outdoor show here in Utica NY. I'd like to get back into more performing because there isn't much else going on, and all other human endeavor seems futile.
I love old jazz and pop from the 20s and 30s. What probably shaped (some would say warped) my musical taste at an early age was an old Disney LP featuring Cliff Edwards singing the Charleston. Another album--selections from Gilbert and Sullivan--I listened to constantly. I learned to play guitar listening to Eddie Lang, and I have always admired the way Bing Crosby handled a song--especially in his pre-Decca days. I love Fats Waller, and Louis Armstrong--both men of great humor combined with genius. My admiration is boundless for Cole Porter, Larry Hart, Ira Gershwin, and that old master lyricist W.S.Gilbert. A guy who bought my disc said that I sound "like an insane Nick Lucas raised on Mad magazine." That's about right.
My original blog hasn't been updated in quite a while--but it's worth a look. There's more stuff yet on .
For great 1920s and 1930s music, try Playlists are availaible at my