Bio

Rather than the normal flamboyant spiel about my musical coming-of-age, I thought it would be much more interesting to give you a little timeline:

• 1989 – Born in New Kensington, PA.
• 1994 – Only wanted plastic musical instruments as toys. Received mini acoustic guitar for Christmas; did not understand what a fret was. Played Sesame Street songs with out of tune open strings.
• 1997 – T-ball star. No real interest in music. Did not enjoy Hanson.
• 1999 – Started taking saxophone lessons; learned to imitate a foghorn rather well, but not much more.
• 2000 – Gave up baseball for math. Glasses doubled in size. Diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, developed a love for the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.
• 2002 – Braces removed; began renting first trumpet. Nicknamed it “Leaky” for obvious but irritating reasons.
• 2004 – Bought first bass, a candy apple red Rogue, from a friend for $70. Still to this day not sure why.
• 2005 – Addicted to Jaco Pastorius. Discovered Steve Lawson and developed an interest in looping.
• Spring 2006 – Band director plays a Michael Hedges album, Oracle, for the jazz band for no apparent reason. RIP pants. Steve Reich’s album Music for 18 Musicians played in a dark auditorium the following month for the same reason (read: none).
• Summer 2006 – Attended the Duquesne University Guitar & Bass camp for the first time as a bass player. Dragged to a masterclass given by Laurence Juber. RIP pants, part 2. Bought first acoustic guitar soon after – a used Seagull S6 for $170. Got first looper for birthday, a Digitech Jamman.
• Spring 2007 – Discovered Andy Mckee. Able to comprehend “Drifting” much more easily than “Aerial Boundaries”; began learning the style.
• Summer 2007 – Attended Duquesne’s Guitar Camp for acoustic guitar this time. Met current teacher, Tom Kikta, and Jerry Kosak, who provided inspiration to continue on in the solo style. Shamelessly stole many looping tricks from him. (Thanks, Jerry!)
• Fall 2007 – Freshman at Duquesne University majoring in digital media (focus on web design). Won 3rd place in the annual Duquesne freshman talent show for a looped version of Don Ross’s “Dracula and Friends, Part 1.” Won Acousti-classic competition at Jamie’s Restaraunt in Dormont, PA, and received a Taylor 410 as a prize.
• Spring 2008 – Began composing for the acoustic guitar during February’s RPM Challenge. One good song out of 10 isn’t too bad a ratio, is it? Later compositions near the end of the semester were much more interesting.
• Summer 2008 – Recorded first demos at Precision Audioworks in Arnold, PA. Discovered Andrew Dubber’s blog; opened up to Web 2.0.
• Fall 2008 – Now dual majoring in web design and media management/production. Began taking classical guitar lessons to fix screwball self-taught technique.