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| Bio
I could fill a few pages with my history, and some of it might actually make a good read, but to the point: I’ve been lucky.
Having been born of musical parents, genetics kicked in at a very early age. I was playing very tiny bits and pieces of Beethoven on the piano at age two, picking up what I could from listening to my mother play. My Dad's music was more upbeat, and by about age six, I could maneuver my way around the Hammond organ, although I could just barely reach the foot pedals. By the time my parents hired a piano teacher for me, I had already developed too strong of an ear to care at all about sheet music, and after a few months, the only formal lessons I ever had were stopped (with the exception of a few lessons with Paul Asbell a few years ago, who pointed me toward the track I'm on today).
At thirteen, I my infatuation with guitar began. I drove my father crazy asking for one but he assumed it was a passing phase. As luck would have it, one of our neighbors was in the yard one afternoon when I was pleading once again. His name was Don Hood, and he was originally from Canada. He told me that if I ran up to his place, there was a bass ukelele sitting on his fireplace mantel, and I was welcome to it. That may be one of the only times in my life that I did run. My family saw very little of me after that. I spent hours figuring out how it worked. That summer, my grandmother bought me my first real guitar. I've never been far from one since.
My very first regular paying gig was handed to me after my maiden flight, something I’ve never understood, but hey, it was the 80's. Maybe it was the hair? But nothing encouraged that special kind of crazy in me more than walking into that really nice club in the ski town where I lived as a little nobody--and walking out the same evening with an impressive paycheck and a contract for the season--still as a nobody, but one that had beaten the odds. I was stunned--and hooked.
Another Vermont artist, (who has done rather well, I might add), Spencer Lewis, used to play there, too. The establishment was called The Needle in a Haystack, but we referred to the place as "The Golden Goose", because the owner payed us so well. Gifted musician, John Zeuffle (who probably coined that nickname), shared in the loot, as well.
From there, I played the usual and not-so-usual ski area clubs, some really great listening rooms and coffee houses in New England, had airplay and TV exposure. And after several years, for a lot of reasons, I walked away from music, believing this move was permanent.
But my muse yanked me back for good when I was asked to play at the memorial service of someone who was taken way too soon; someone who helped define who I am today. I could just say that within a few months after that event, in 2005, I left my job as a production editor to pursue music once again, but that description lacks the drama I remember. What I actually did was fire off an e-mail to my supervisor, explaining that "I measure success by what you have to give up to achieve it", hit the send button, and calmly started packing up my desk. I wouldn't recommend this way of burning a bridge until your commitment exceeds your desire. As for me, I never looked back or said "ooops".
Since then, I’ve been on a rather interesting journey while I pay the dues I was able to avoid way back when. (Of course, back then, given the circumstances, I didn't know there were dues, let alone have to pay them...) And after three separate hand surgeries, a major relocation, and a myriad of interruptions, etc., I’m finally at the place I need to be. As the song says, “it’s been a long time comin’.” Oh yeah.
After spending way too many years in one of the most remote mountain regions of Vermont, I left skid marks in the driveway as soon as the house sold, and followed the pulse to the vibrant musical oasis of Burlington. And I'm loving every minute of it.
Through it all, I believe that I probably fail more miserably at just about everything else (*grin*), so I'm glad I have music to go back to. I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished so far, as accidental as some achievements have been, and I'm humbled when others like what I do. The School of Hard Knocks taught me well. As I mentioned earlier—I’ve been very lucky.
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