Album Notes

I first fell in love with music when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I’ll never forget that day. I was standing in the kitchen and then some pop/rock tune came on the radio. No, I don’t remember the song, but I do remember my reaction. I immediately left what I was doing, which I believe was helping put dishes away. (Easy thing to leave when you're 7 years old) And I headed straight for the living room where the stereo was playing and just stood there staring at it. I was transfixed into another reality. I couldn’t pull my eyes or ears away from what I was hearing. By that time it was too late and I knew what I was going to be when I grew up. I was going to make people feel what I had felt that day; love.

Fast forward a few years and now I’m 12. It was at this age that I fell in love with music a 2nd time. I had studied the drums for about 4 years or so at this point but wasn’t really in love with it. So it wasn’t until I discovered the guitar that I REALLY fell in love. Once my acquaintance with guitar began my life was never the same. I went from maybe playing the drums for 15 min a week to having my life consumed by the guitar for 5-6 hours a day. It got so bad that my parents actually had to take my guitar away because my grades in school were faltering. Most kids get their nintendos taken away whereas I got my guitar.

When I was 15 my parents came to me and said “Honey, we’re moving to Portugal.” Well, I reacted like any 15 yr old would have. “WHAT! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKIN MINDS!!!???” And after several of those blowups I found myself on a plane a few months later east bound for Europe. Moving to a country I knew nothing about. Where I had no friends. And couldn’t speak a single word of their language. But like all tests in life what doesn’t kill you…

I was in Portugal, the land of fish, olives, roasted chestnuts in winter, cobblestone streets and fado playing in the underground taverns, for 5 years. I studied at the Conservatory of Music in Braga and the Professional School of Music in Porto ending with a Diploma in Classical Music. Funny because I started as a metal head thinking I was going to be the next Steve Vai and conquer the world of metal. I even had the long hair and V guitar to prove it. (You can read the whole Portuguese story on my blog.)

Then I moved back to the States where I studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. I was there for only two and a half years where I received a Degree in Film Scoring and graduated Magna Cum Laude. But it wasn’t that I was a great student. It was more like Europe had kicked my butt so badly that Berklee was piece of cake comparatively speaking.

After Berklee I headed westbound to Los Angeles where i lived for 8 years. Was LA my first pick…no. I’m not a fan of the city per se. But I am a fan of how much work there is and how much you can do.