I grew up on rock and roll. In 1988, I was a 7 year old daydreaming about Mustangs and Corvettes and dressing as 1950's as I could, listening to oldies stations like the ever classic 101.1 CBS FM. Well, not all that much has changed. I'm 25 and now I've got a guitar and a textbook of subliminally implanted rock and roll to make a statement with.
A major ear tumor operation back in freshman year of high school led me to care about music more than ever before. I was, after all, not supposed to hear again, ever, and my hearing was miraculously saved! At that point, I was listening to a lot of Lenny Kravitz, who I felt some sort of affinity with. It was his influences! I knew I heard those sounds somewhere before. It was then I dug and dug some more, discovering a plethora of classics- great music like Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, and Led Zeppelin- starkly contrasting to the pop scene at the time, which consisted of Bush, Chumbawumba, and the Spice Girls.
With a guitar my grandma bought for me from Bradlees and a whole lot of determination, I started learning. Hilariously, I initially thought it came "pre-tuned" from the factory and was unwilling to let anyone touch it! It broke my heart to learn on the contrary.
Once I started playing, I realized there was more to these songs than just the chords... it was the production, the vibe. I was onto things that I later read of producers reminiscing about. So there I sat with my Tascam Portastudio and a 2-track tube 1/4 inch recorder achieving effects like FLANGING by hand.
I knew it was going to take a lot of knowledge and talent to make anything worth listening to, so I delved into guitar and recording topics head first.
After years of enormous frustration, I began studying guitar with Steve Girardi, one of the few jazz teachers handed down the Sandole method, a little-known comprehensive musical approach devised by teaching icon and John Coltrane mentor Dennis Sandole.
I began playing sideman gigs in and around New York, working with songwriter Sherma Andrews and playing with other notables such as Robert Randolph/Citizen Cope keyboardist John Ginty, as well as personal projects.
After a brief stint at Berklee and degrees from Full Sail in Recording and Entertainment Business, I emerged to work in the music marketing industry.
Now I balance time between my promotion company, Take Out, and my own music career, working on an album I'll be releasing soon.