_
Born Omaha Neb in 1949 - "Navy Brat" - Home has been Connecticut, California, Minnesota, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Florida, Vermont, New Jersey, etc. - US Navy '67 to '73 - Sonar Tech- UCONN, BSEE '77 - Controls Engineer, PE in VT, business owner. I now live in Burlington, Vermont and San Diego, California. Bass and Guitar since age 11. Bad Keyboard player, better MIDI programmer! R&B, Rock, Jazz, Gospel, Fusion. Music composition and synthesis are passions. My mentor is Paul Asbell (Kilamanjaro et al.). I want to grow up to be Wes Montgomery, but will settle for Norman Brown or Chuck Loeb if I can't be Wes ( every aspiring jazz guitar player knows exactly what I'm talking about....)
I began playing guitar at age 11, after learning some basic ukelele chords in school, while living in Honolulu. I won a contest held at the Minneapolis Aquatenniel at age 13. Early teens years included giving and taking lessons in Newport RI, and playing in several bands around the Bristol RI area including the Shondells, and the Nomads. Met my lifelong friend Tony Ribeiro in Bristol. We lost touch after high school but have recently reconnected and plan on collaborating on future music projects. After moving to Bridgeport CT, I was fortunate to join a Gospel group, the Stars of Harmony, and played for several years in churches around New York, New Jersey, and New England. I played in several other rock and soul bands during this period, on guitar and bass guitar. I joined the Navy in 1967 after high school, and played in the Jazz band during recruit training in Great Lakes Ill. After completing several electronics maintenance schools in Great Lakes and San Diego California, I formed a rock and soul band on the USS Bigelow in Mayport Florida. "Foul Weather Parade", as the band was named, played during the ship's deployment to the North Atlantic in England, Germany, Norway,Denmark, and the Netherlands. I was fortunate to reconnect recently with a good friend and the drummer in FWP, Alex Harrold. Alex and I also plan to collaborate on future projects. College followed the Navy, I attended the University of CT and graduated with a BSEE in 1977. My playing assumed a lower priority during the the early years of my career, but I continued to play and practice on my own for enjoyment. As my career matured, my interest in music again assumed a high priority and I was fortunate to meet Paul Asbell ( Kilamanjaro, et al). Paul, who has mentored great players like Trey Antanasio of Fish, has improved my perspective and skill on the instrument immeasurably. The future for me will include a continued focus on the instrument that I love - there will never be a time when I am "satisfied" with my playing - although Jazz is the genre that I gravitate to , my interest continues to grow in other genres, and combining them - I call it "genre bending". I'm particularly interested in using MIDI. loops and FX to "modernize" the way traditional standards are delivered. I realize that I have years to go before my compositional skills are honed to the level that satisfies me, and I intend to develop those skills throughout the remaning years of my life. Amen.