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1. When did you first start playing the guitar?
After high school, when I was around 20 years old.
2. Who would you say your major musical influences are?
Andre Segovia, the great Spanish classical guitarist; George Winston, a melodic piano player who recorded on Windom Hill records; Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead! There are so many more greats in jazz, blues, country, classical and most every style that have influenced me.
3. Are you from a musical family, where music played in your home?
No, I am the only one of my family that has developed as a musician.. However, my mother appreciated good music and listened to the fine arts radio station in Chicago. This station, WFMT, played great classical music as well as folk and what we today call world music,. so, it was through the radio at home that I was exposed to much wonderful music.
4. What musical influences outside the home did you have?
The street sounds of …
4. You have worked in a number of styles of music. How would you categorize your current style and what has drawn you to it?
I call my style semi-classical. It’s based on a romantic, seamless approach to arranging. I am drawn to it because this is my approach to life—the best thing to do with a life is to create beauty.
5. You have a CD. Tell us about it.
My CD is titled Wordless Poetry. It has 19 songs arranged as a romantic, flowing narrative. It includes several of my own compositions, and some famous songs and other songs I arranged. It is all solo guitar instrumentals, with no overdubbing. I was the producer and worked with a very skillful engineer. I also worked with a wonderful writer who helped me craft a personal story for each of the selections. People tell me that they love the CD because it is soothing and energizing at the same time. Sometimes I listen to it and think, “I wish I could play like that!”
6. You were in a band called Nine Mile Skid. Do you see yourself working in a band again?
I would love to, although being in a band is like having four or five spouses—good luck! But I do love ensemble work. I currently sit in with several bands. I also have a folk duo called Dead Set that I enjoy very much being a part of.
7. When did you realize that music, guitar in particular, would be the focus of your life?
In grammar school, when I was ten, I started in music by learning the trombone. In high school I switched to the clarinet and was very serious about it, training to get a job with the symphony. But after high school, I was drawn to the guitar and that was it for me. And of course I still love it!
