Male

50

Born in 1959, I think I came out of the womb obsessed with music and drumming. I was a budding fan of rock 'n' roll by the age of 4 thanks to my older sister's Chubby Checker records and when the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan, It provided the adequate electricity to jumpstart me into a wannabe rock drummer.

Mostly self taught with a few lessons here and there I played in rock bands from elementary to high school and then prog and art rock bands in college.

I had listened to various types of world music since my late teens, but it wasn't until Mickey Hart's books and a live performance of master frame drummer Glen Velez that my obsessions took a sharper turn toward traditional and non-traditional ethnic percussion.

While I have amassed quite a collection of instruments from around the world, frame drums, gongs and other sonic metals are my main passion. I also love found percussion or as some call it, "junk percussion."

My influences are many and are as varied as are two of my favorite artist/composers, Joni Mitchell and Frank Zappa.

Most recently I have been exploring solo gong music and ambient music.

Outside of music I love the outdoors. Camping, hiking and an appreciation of nature helps nurture me as well as any music can. As a conservationist, I have great concerns about our natural world (especially under the current regime).