
I've been playing guitar since I was in junior high school. My greatest influences as a musician have been Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Billy Gibbons [ ZZ Top - the old stuff, not the new ] & Stevie Ray Vaughn. As a writer I would have to expand the list to include Ray Charles, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, Joan Armatrading and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
My passion for songwriting started in earnest when I started college in the early eighties. The element of music that has always driven my interest is the groove. By this I mean the inexplicable feeling that overcomes you when you hear a good song that makes you want to move. I think the main reason that this element has held my interest all this time and continues to drive me today is the fact that it is universal and magical. It transcends all language, racial, ethnic, societal, economic and cultural barriers that exist, and as a result may be truly the purest form of communication.
