Music started early for me with formal piano lessons.  I had a natural ability for the piano, but was a terrible practicer. I seemed more adept at getting my teacher to talk at lengths about this and that aspect of music, learning and performance. Using various carefully timed prompts and questions, I would spur her on to new heights, burning through lesson time as she philosophized about the masterworks I was supposedly practicing. I skated easily through those early lessons, until, of course, the yearly RCM piano exam came around. You get nothing for free as they say.

Growing up, we always had guitars around the house (although nobody actually played them). My dad even made an acoustic guitar that I remember as being great, but I think I put a big ol' hole in it.. not sure how I managed that.

A friend who was a little older had been taking guitar lessons and sounded really good. We started playing together fairly regularly. He taught me how to play ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and the opening to ‘Roundabout’ by Yes. I think he also introduced me to the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan. I didn’t really know what ‘blues’ music was, but the sound of it was mesmerizing. That’s when I caught the guitar bug. I wanted to figure out how to make all those sounds I was hearing on the radio.

A tape deck and a television were my main sources for learning guitar.  Vancouver local television used to broadcast late night concerts of many popular bands. I would go to bed at the time required by my parents and set an alarm for 1 am or so, when I knew these shows would air. I regularly video taped bands like Dire Straits, The Cure, Van Halen, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan, staying up for hours, watching and recording. 

After a while it became quite clear that I was getting increasingly sleepy at school. The sugar jolt I got from morning cereal was not quite carrying me through the day like I’d hoped. I would try and make it through homework, and in the evening would fire up the VCR and try and learn the various licks that Eddie or Mark or Stevie would be play. The problem with the VCR is that you would get those squiggly lines every time you paused the machine, which would obscure the fingering and neck position of the players hand. Rewind. Play. Pause. Rewind again. Pause. Eventually I would get the perfect frame, only to realize I had been playing this or that riff in the wrong place on the guitar neck.

I was doing all this on an acoustic guitar up to this point, which was fine, however I became increasingly conscious of the difference in sound, feel and look of my humble nylon string, compared to the rock machines being used by players on tv. I eventually managed to acquire an electric guitar.  I would practice it at night in silence (I didn’t have an amplifier yet). It would go out of tune frequently and the e string would always break, but I felt I had gotten one step closer.

Fast forward through high school rock bands and the local Vancouver scene. The first time I ever got paid to play music was a show I did with a band at the University. It was for the ‘Canadian Council of Poets’ convention. We were too loud and kind of terrible, but the poets were down to have a party and I got paid $50 for the night.  What a way to make a living! I was hooked and rolling in big money.

I was also working a day job at the time, but felt life was heading in a less than satisfactory direction. On a whim, I applied for a scholarship to Berklee College of Music. I promptly forgot about it, but months later I received a letter. I was offered enough of a scholarship to allow me pick up and move to Boston. 

It was my first time living in a big US city, and I loved it. I was studying Guitar and Jazz Composition. My teacher Jon Damian was inspiring, and gave me a deep appreciation of how a guitar could be used as a mini orchestra. The ex-pat eastern European classical music profs were fascinating to talk to, and would lecture about the more subtle aspects of creating melody and harmony, whilst smoking roll-ur-own cigarettes on the strip on Massachusetts Avenue.

Berklee was great, and I went there for three years. One Sunday, however,  I showed up to a restaurant gig, only to find out I had been double booked with my Harmony teacher.  I decided then and there that the scene in Boston was too small. I contacted some friends and made the big move to Brooklyn.

I arrived in New York wanting to play jazz guitar. I dedicated myself to this goal for a while, but eventualIy realized there were players there that loved the jazz genre way more than I ever would. So, I dropped out of jazz and started playing with songwriters. There were so many great songwriters on the NYC scene in the early 2000’s. I loved the process of taking well crafted songs, filtering them through my ear, adding my own sonic stamp, and releasing them back into the air. It was during my time in New York that I was able to tour with Shooter Jennings, Kat Edmonson, Paula Cole and little with Angelique Kidjo, and played with countless more. I also got some television time on Dave Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and The View. 

I suppose in bio’s such as these, the point is to name drop a little to give yourself some online street cred. As I think back to my time in NYC, there were so many great musical experiences.. so many nights playing where the sound was perfect, the songs were great, and the band was tight (and sometimes the crowd was dead quiet, listening). These shows would materialize in the bar or club through speakers, microphones and soft lights.. and then it would end. What you got to keep after was the feeling and memory that you’d made a great sound with other musicians. There were, of course, also many nights were it didn’t go down like this at all.

If someone were to jump out from behind a bush, point a finger at me and yell "List your top five professional highlights!", I would have to say (in no particular order) 1. Playing a show with Brian Blade’s Mama Rosa band and Daniel Lanois at the Highline Ballroom 2. Playing the Dave Letterman show with Norah Jones 3. Recording/performing with Leah Siegel/Firehorse 4. Making five records with Mike Viola in the producers chair and 5. Playing Carnegie Hall with Andrew Bird and crew.. Each of these taught me something really important about music. There were so many others highlights of course…

After 15 years in NYC, my wife and I decided to head to Los Angeles. As soon as I landed, I got hooked up with Andrew Bird through mutual friend/songwriter/producer Mike Viola.  I ended up playing his music for two years, which was fabulous.

That brings us up to date… more to come.