BIO

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BIO

I was the son of a drummer, so maybe it was born into me. I was eight when I took my first lesson. Although I did not stay with it for long, I always had my sticks. As the years passed I would spend time listening to music while banging on my knees [I should have had a practice pad]. When I was twelve I found myself at a friends house with a drum set. I sat down and played…just like that. I knew then that I wanted be a drummer.

I continued to play without any guidance or instruction until the age of nineteen. Mind you I didn't sound half bad. At the University of Southern Maine I enrolled in a basic music course. Within a month I had learned about note value and music structure. The moment I could explain what I was playing on the drums, I had greater control over it. I could now create drum patterns on paper or in my mind and challenge myself to play them on the drums. The possibilities were endless.

In late 1989 I moved back to Rochester NH. I was offered a job at a local music store as a drum teacher. I was glad that I had studied music at college or how would I explain this "drum thing" to students. I thought, "I know music…I can teach". There was much more to teaching than I knew. I couldn't write something down and tell the student " here…play this". I discovered each student understood things in his/her own way. Now I had to find a method of explaining the same idea or concept to a student in the way that he/she understood. This was a challenge. But the first time I saw a student's eyes open wide and say; "Now I get it!" I was hooked. There was no greater reward than sharing a joy and passion for something I loved.

As teaching progressed I found different music groups looking for drummers. I soon gained a reputation as a hired gun. I had the ability to show up the night of a performance and play with a band like I'd done it a hundred times [this was due in part to my interest in different musical styles]. By 1996 I found myself telling bands I couldn't work with them because I had to be at my day job the next morning. We've all heard people say, "don't quit your day job" well that's what I did. For the next three years I was a professional musician. I had the opportunity to work with some of the finest musicians in New England. I couldn't have found a teacher to give the lessons I learned performing on stage. I reached a point where playing would require me to travel away for long periods of time. By now I had a wife and family and I wanted to be home. I pursued some other interests for a few years and now I'm returning to my first love…teaching. That's my way.