My journey as a music teacher began as a young child. I was raised by a parent with a PhD in Public Health Education, and that parent gave me my first guitar. They really showed me the nobility in teaching, indirectly as it was. I was mesmerized by my cousins, aunts, and uncles ability to sing in harmony and play acoustic guitar around the campfire at countless family gatherings. I’ll never forget the first cassette tape my aunt gave me with the Beatles on side A and Bob Dylan on side B. Soon after that in junior high into high school I was introduced to the grunge kings Nirvana, then Led Zeppelin, then the Grateful Dead, then finally Phish and Frank Zappa around 9th grade. I was already showing my friends how to play, writing tablature and sharing what I found via dial up internet in the late 1990’s. Growing up in upstate New York, there was also a rich folk music scene that I continue to connect with as a singer-songwriter.

I had been playing guitar for a couple years by then, writing my own songs, playing local open mics and talent shows as a teenager, and was fortunate to play in the high school jazz and concert bands and sing in the school chorus. My experience on snare drum, percussion, and timpani propelled my ability to play lead guitar with good time and creative rhythm, a principle I share with all my guitar students to this day.

After leaving my small town the day after my high school graduation, I hopped on a train and moved west, a familiar American tale. I decided to pause the idea of starting my college education and move in with my cousin in Winona, Minnesota and formed our first professional acoustic duo. Upon taking a road trip only a year into that tenure, I fell deeply in love with the city of Eugene, Oregon, where I would enroll at Lane Community College as a music major only a year later. My time at Lane is my most cherished part of my educational career. For the first time I actually loved being in class; for music theory, ear training, independent study for composition, and of course jazz performance and individual lessons. My classmates became great friends.

For the next 10 years I gigged as much as I could, working food industry and other painful jobs to sustain my love of performance. In 2007 I moved with my musical mentor and bandmate to Flagstaff Arizona, and learned essential lessons from him that “they don’t teach you in music school”. I moved back to New York for a brief spell, then back to Eugene in 2008. I had some moderate success with an original band, and was asked to play at the Oregon Country Fair with legendary drummer of the Grateful Dead Bill Kreutzmann, for a 2 hour improvisational set. Holy life goal achieved. I moved up to Portland, Oregon and studied another year at Portland State University. I co-hosted an improvisational jam called “The Family Funktion” with some great friends that was unlike your typical blues/funk jam. The music was spontaneous, but the organization was not. We had a team that contacted the very best musicians in the state every week, and put together mashup sets (up to 4 a night) and the only rule was this; No songs… Jam only! We hosted Mardi Gras 2011, another highlight of my musical career, and it allowed me to play with and befriend some other top pros like Steve Swatkins, Russell Batiste, Farnell Newtown, and legendary saxophonist of the Fats Domino Band Reggie Houston. I remained friends with Russell Batiste and played a few shows with him, until his tragic passing in 2023.

In 2012 I fell on some pretty hard times. My health was suffering due to alcohol and substance abuse. But like something out of a fairy tale book, I moved into an apartment in Western Massachusetts with my cousin who basically rescued me, and our neighbor ended up becoming the love of my life. I played in several local groups in the area, and had some very nice regional success with a Phish Tribute “Rift” in the Hartford Connecticut area. From 2014 to 2016 we traveled the United States together and lived in the very beautiful city of Denver, Colorado for 1 year, then moved to Southern Oregon, where I put in another year of study at Southern Oregon University. Since 2019, we have both found sobriety, our love of nature and our two dogs, meditation, exercise, healthy diet, and I’ve put all my eggs into the guitar teaching basket. In my home/zoom studio I have a treble clef whiteboard which brings me almost as much joy as playing and teaching guitar does, and it reminds and reaffirms the passion of guitar, music theory, and ear training I first realized at Lane Community College.

I hung up my music performance boots in 2019 which coincided with getting healthy, and haven’t looked back. With the ability to play music with some close local friends, record original material whenever the muse inspires, and focus on raising our two dogs, I keep a positive daily vibe by sharing my love of teaching music, and practicing radical acceptance. I believe I have found some real peace. It would be my honor to share with you what I have learned, what I continue to learn (as the music education journey never really ends does it?). I’m extremely grateful to the GuitarZoom Academy for bringing me on to the team. I’m excited to help you on your guitar and greater musical journey!