I was born on March 11, 1970. It was a cold day in Mount Clemens, Michigan, a suburb north of Detroit. The wind whipped across Lake Michigan, driving it into a frothy... All right, all right. Here's the info you're looking for:
Began studying piano at age 9, cello at age 10, trumpet at age 12 and guitar at age 15, although I've forgotten most everything about cello and trumpet by now.
Sometime in September 1983, while playing for the Hurricanes in the West Windsor-Plainsboro Recreational Soccer League, I scored the only goal of my soccer career- 1 of just 2 goals scored that year against the Teamen, eventual league champions.
Had my first date with Elizabeth Cummins, who was later to become my wife, on November 18, 1989.
Began giving piano and guitar lessons in 1991 while at Rutgers University.
Graduated from Rutgers with a BA in music in 1993.
Studied classical piano with Wanda Maximilien, Rosemond Van Der Linde and Paul Scheid, and jazz piano with Dick Turner.
Studied classical guitar with Robert Trent and jazz guitar with Tom Gavornik.
Studied composition and electronic music with Ron Surak.
Released a CD of original music, Tea Leaves, in 1996.
Moved to San Francisco in 1997 and traded stock options for a few years.
Wrote the liner notes for Patch Kit, a CD by The Noah Baerman Trio, featuring Ron Carter and Ben Riley, on Lemel Music, released summer 2003. It's a great record.
Wrote the instructional method Beginning Piano for Adults, published by Workshop Arts, a subsidiary of Alfred Publishing Company, Inc., published fall 2003. More info on the media page.
Took a road trip around the continent with my lovely wife, Beth and our dog, Plato, from June, 2003 to March, 2004. I am working on importing our website from that trip over here. For now, it is here.
Moved back to New Jersey. I had sort of an epiphany, and while setting my guitar on fire and throwing it through stacks of amplifiers sure is cool, my musical heart really belongs to the piano. For a long time I suffered from piano-related tendonitis and I was not able to put much time into the instrument. I am now getting back into shape, reconnecting with some schoolmates in the greater NYC area and teaching in and around Jersey City.