I started out taking violin lessons in the 4th grade, in which I played for 2 years. After that, I tried for 2 years to convince my parents I was a drummer. But all I would do was bang on pots and pans until I finally wore my parents down. When I was in 7th grade, I had a drum set and was playing in a band for the talent show. In 8th grade, we called ourselves “Livius Astronomous”. We had 2 drummers like the Allman Brothers. I could play anything. All I had to do was hear it and I could play it. I played drums all through college. I wanted to do this all the time but my profession got in the way. I grew up in the era of The Beatles, Led Zepplin, ELP, Cream, Derrick, and The Dominoes. These rock bands were some of my favorites. I could not get enough of them. After college, I stepped away from music for close to 18 years. Though I still listened to music, I felt that it spoke to me in several ways. Although satisfied, I still subconsciously wanted to go back to the music days. Some 15 years ago, I went to this event called “Merlefest”. From there, I was rejuvenated into the music world. But this time, it was on bass. I thought it would be similar to drums; so I picked it up and have been playing ever since. My influences are varied depending on my mood. Meaning one day my favorite could be Chuck Berry, then the next day it could be Led Zepplin. I often marveled at musicians like Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Stanley Clark, Paul McCartney, and Flea. I often tried to recreate and influence my playing as to what they did. But, my biggest influence was a player named Jaco Pastourios. I always have been a huge fan of Jazz and its culture. Pastourios was my king. But not until I was older, did I really appreciate how he played with such grace and emotion. Though he passed at the early age of 35, he was the best without any doubt at all.