“Well…what can you tell us about your ‘musicianship’?”

 

I’ve been banging on the guitar my whole life and you would think I’d be good at it by now. But good is a subjective term, you’ll have to decide that one for yourself. I do enjoy playing. People enjoy my playing.

 

“Do you play any other instruments besides guitar? Do you sing?”

 

  I had been accompanying my guitar with my voice for a long time. My voice had always taken the back seat.  It’s just been in the past few years that I’ve really enjoy singing. I’ve worked very hard at it. It hasn’t come easy. I get impatient but I’ve learned to stay within my range. I can play most string instruments. I play some piano but only for my amusement.

 

“Have you had any musical training?”

 

My father is a singer/songwriter and he plays guitar. He taught me the basics and got the ball rolling. I took private guitar lessons and I learned to read and write music. I played various instruments in band through grade school but it wasn’t until middle school that I was able to play the guitar. Stage band was what the class was called. It was a version of a big band. Along with the guitar there were trumpets, trombones, saxophones, electric piano, bass guitar and a drummer on the drum kit. I loved it. I played guitar in stage band through high school and played percussion in the concert band those years as well.

 

“Did you play in any bands outside of school?”

 

I remember one day a stage band from high school came to play for our middle school. They set up in the gym. The bass, guitar and drums were the first to set up and as the others were getting ready they started jamming Rush’s “La Villa Strangiato”.  I was blown away. It was possible to play that music instead of just listen in awe. From then on I knew I wanted to play in a band. I played in bands for years with my brother who plays drums. Usually we were 3 piece bands with a singing bass player. Back then it was all about Rock ‘N Roll and the power trio and that worked for us.

 

“So were they all rock bands?”

 

Pretty much. We had one bass player who used to play the fiddle. One day he turned me on to his version of Led Zeppelin’s “Hot Dog” and Charlie Daniel’s “Orange Blossom Special” and I gained some appreciation for that style of music. I had grown up on my father’s music, Folk mostly, but it wasn’t until recently that I started seriously listening to Country music. I joined a Country Rock band and had to learn some Dwight Yoakam. His music crossed me over. Well, from there the flood gates were opened and all that music poured in. If you could see my ipod you would laugh.

 

“You mentioned Rush, Led Zeppelin and Dwight Yoakam. Are there any others you feel were influential?”

My father loved to have his music playing. In the house. In the station wagon. And by the campfire. I listened to Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young, John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Diamond, Peter, Paul & Mary to name a few. My mother liked Rita Coolidge. I’m sure all of that music influenced me. My father wrote songs and I still hear those songs in my head, too. My brother liked Alice Cooper, Kiss & Aerosmith as well as others. I remember him putting Alice Cooper’s “Welcome To My Nightmare” on a cheap little record player we had down in the basement. Blown away. I remember the album cover too. I loved all that artwork on those old albums. I can’t separate the music from the art. For me they are one. And the live albums. I couldn’t get enough of hearing those bands play live and seeing all those great concert photos. The big stage, The lightshow. It all moved me.

 

“So you like playing live shows then?”

 

It is hands down my favorite part of being a musician. Being under the lights, hearing the music played loud and being part of making that music is what I enjoy the most. I get lost in it. It is transcendent.

 

“How my live shows have you played?”

 

I can’t answer that one. I know my first show was 1976. Since then there have been many.

 

“What was your favorite?”

 

The next one. Always the next one.