I was born in Syracuse, NY (USA) and grew up (well, until 9) in Liverpool, NY. Around 1988 or '89 my family and I moved to Baldwinsville, NY (about 15 minutes North of Liverpool). It was in Baldwinsville that my musical endeavors began. I wouldn't say that I came from a musical family, though both my mom and aunt did play piano when they were young (my aunt also sang). Even though the family did not play music much, there was always music playing on the record player or tape deck. I grew up hearing all sorts of genres: Classical, Folk, Reggae, or Rock of some sort. It kind of felt deep rooted in my soul to make music. I started music by playing organ and teaching myself with some simple music books. Organ was the only instrument we had at first...well my sister did have this little toy Casio keyboard that I played too, so I guess that really came first. About a year later I began playing trumpet with the school band. Trumpet was okay, but not my favorite, even then. The following year my parents purchased a Wurlitzer Baby Grand. I basically began piano lessons then. First the lessons were more pop music based, but later moved to be Classical, and Jazz in college.
I began writing music almost right away after placing my hands on the keys...I was probably 11. A year or so later I joined and formed a band with an odd name: Electrified Meat (me and Ed Sheedy). The band was mostly for fun and originally started with two keyboardist. Soon Ed received a guitar for Christmas, but had no clue how to play. I asked my music teacher at school for some chord charts for the guitar and I took the instrument on, mostly first to show him. Well, a new love was born. I showed Ed how to play and he showed me how to construct a pop/rock song. Soon the music I was writing needed more, so I took on singing...certainly not because I had a great voice. Later the band added other members (Justin Jackson and Kevin Garvey) and changed our name to Many Others. Many Others performed a mixture of covers and originals. We played a few gigs- coffee shops, Battle of the Bands, wherever we could. The group was really a channel for me to do more writing and practice. As time went on my voice really matured, though I never had any formal vocal training. As a group we produced one album, titled: 'The First. The Last. The Only.' This was the final work of the group before separating in 1997, but this was only because I moved from Baldwinsville, NY to Mansfield, MA. After moving I formed a Transit Group*: Two Minds. This was music mostly from myself and some minor parts thrown in by Justin Jackson. We created two albums together before calling it quits.
I then worked on a ton of solo material, some good, some not so good...writing around 300 or so original songs. It wasn't until 1999, when I went to college at the University of Massachusetts Lowell , where I met my longtime friend Brian Kumm. Brian and I shared a dorm together at school and worked on a lot of school and non-school related musical activities. After leaving college I was in a group called Kilroy Was Here for a short time. Following that chaotic period Brian and I formed a duo (another Transit Group) called Ressonant Reflections. I worked with Brian in my studio, which was now in Florida. It wasn't until later that Brian and I both moved from working with Sony's Vegas Pro to using Cockos's REAPER software DAW that we were able to send material back and forth to work on the upcoming album: A Perfect World. I have completed two albums solo since moving to Florida. I now live in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, which is about fifteen minutes north of West Palm Beach.
