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Instruments I have loved, hated, used, been interested in and inspired by:

I started on the Trumpet in 4th grade. I was never the greatest but loved practicing because of my Music teacher Mrs. Virgina Campo. She had a 'Sissy Spacek' cuteness and was married to a member of Leroux. She therefore used pop music instead of the same old standards and that kept us interested. There wasn’t any instrument I ever saw her pick up that she couldn’t play; including bassoon – there’s a great story here for a later time. Her husband at the time played flute on the song “New Orleans’ Ladies,” and Ms. Campo seemed to me an equally accomplished musician.

In sixth grade I started on French Horn. But:
Playing French Horn in the district honor band +
Trumpet and French Horn in the junior high band +
Football practice and all its padding +
A day’s worth of Catholic School textbooks and homework =
Too much burden for a 13 year old to tote to and from the school bus, not to mention ‘on’ the school bus. Shortly afterward I moved to a new school and--tired of carrying so much stuff--never played football or in school band again.

At the end of my freshmen year of college a combination of a semester of suspension, living in the boondocks, no car, no friends, no job, and a girlfriend in another city left me with nothing but an acoustic guitar. I had 8 to 12 hours a day to practice on that miserable Sears and Roebuck red plywood guitar. It was a total P.O.S.; horribly high action. Armed with copies of “Master of Puppets” and Heart’s “Dog and Butterfly” I learned both albums entirely along with many, many others on that horrible guitar. Finger’s bleeding, calluses peeling, welts on my chest and cramps in my wrist…Oh the Joy.

I still have that guitar, my Mom bought it for me in a twelve-year olds’ fit of “I want it, I want it.” Knowing I would get tired of it quickly by the time I turned 13 she bought me the cheapest guitar she could find-- have you ever noticed how tough cheap guitars are? It survived a 66 foot throw at an “Axe” throwing contest where the first place prize was a new guitar. The winner threw his 74, but mine was strung and in tune when I threw it – and still was after it landed. His was stripped of tuners and strings prepped with 25 extra layers of blue spray paint for what turned into a hammer throw competition.

Yes Virginia, you can get a telecaster for a 6-Pack of Coors Silver Bullets. The electric I learned on for the rest of my college career (another P.O.S.) was a plywood off-brand that all my friends covered in graffiti during drinking frenzies. Once again, terribly high action, I made the bridge one summer out of aluminum scraps and a tap and die kit with my Dad. It was one of those ‘divorced parent visitation weekends.' I still have that guitar too. You can’t make it sound like anything but 1920’s dirty, delta blues slide--as papery-thin and as irritating as a guitar can sound--but perfect in some occasions.

“Lillith”- Lillith is the first awesome guitar I ever had. Black. 1986 Charvel Model 2. Black, black and on-sale. Did I mention black? I played every metal song in every metal band I’d ever been in on that guitar. Love it. Love it. Love it. I will never get rid of it, although she does need a serious overhaul. So let it be written, so let it be done; I’ll post updates of her recovery.

“The mandatory Stratocaster." Name: ‘Deborah.’ I got this Strat cheap off of a friend in college, but I new what I was getting since I had helped him pick it out when he originally bought it. It was your standard off-white Jimmy Hendrix style. Then Jeff Brumfield sold me a used OBL stacked humbucker; wow did it scream in the bridge position of this guitar. It became the back-up for Lillith for I don’t even know how long. Deborah’s since been stripped and decoupage with Djarum Safari Cigarette packs for a midi platform; can’t wait to finish this guitar. I should have it ready for the next album I’m recording. For a while it was my main progressive metal guitar; then I started using a Pearly Gates humbucker in the bridge position for a second guitar part. My bright mid sound allowed contrast to Edge of Fear’s Jose with his HUGE HUGE HUGE guitar tone. Together it made for something wonderfully round and unique.

“The Drumming Phase”

I was at your standard amateur drumming circle on a weekend campout when someone handed me a drum.
I was already a fairly accomplished guitarist, pretty good with rhythm – keeping up was simple enough.

Seeing I was interested, my girlfriend bought me a Tar (a shallow middle-eastern frame drum.) Not long after I bought a very nice hand made wooden goblet drum. I’ve beaten these two nearly to death over many years.

After that it was a blur of drumming and dancing and learning and discovering and re-discovering music from anywhere and everywhere, from anyone and everyone. Consequently, the stack of percussion over the last decade has gotten a little out of hand. There are sixteen guitars and they have become invisible next to the drums and accessories. Doumbeks and Djembes and Klong Yaws, oh my!

Influential Bands:

Xvious:
(Heavy Metal)

Kings and Clowns:
(Heavy Metal)

Menagerie:
(Heavy Metal)

Fly by Night:
(Acoustic Rock)

Pass the Blame:
(Western Swing)

Edge of Fear:
(Progressive Metal)

Solo Acoustic work:
Jazz, Swing, Western Swing, Rock and Roll, Funk and R&B