I grew up in the Philly burbs, started playing guitar when I was about 16.
Actually, earlier than that - my dad always had this old acoustic lying around,
which I would constantly mess around on as a kid. I remember picking it up and
playing along with songs on the radio. In hindsight that old acoustic was
virtually unplayable, but I didn’t know any better. When I turned 16, I got my
first guitar, a used-and-abused fake Gibson SG, only negligibly more playable
than that old acoustic, but it was an improvement nonetheless,
and it was red, and it was mine, and I loved it.

Between the ages of 16-18 is when I started to take guitar seriously. Possibly
bordering on an unhealthy obsession! Funny story – when my older brother
graduated from high school, our parents helped him get a car. When I graduated I
asked for music gear instead! Yes I have issues. I started out with The Beatles,
and then moved onto other classics like Led Zeppelin, Boston, The Stones, The
Who, etc. But the big shift occurred when around 18, I discovered “progressive
rock”, bands like Rush, Yes, and Pink Floyd. Looking back, this is when I really
started to grow as a musician, learning (sometimes without realizing it)
complex song structures, time signatures, styles,
and the wide variety of textures found in chords and arpeggios.
To this day I am thankful to have that background to draw upon.

Going into my early twenties, I started gaining experience in live performance.
My first band started out with some parties and we even played at a couple
carnivals as a side show. We did a mix of covers and originals.
We gradually started getting actual paying gigs at the small local pubs.
That band fizzled out so I found an established working band, regularly playing
the small bar circuit throughout Philadelphia. Eventually that band ran its course too.
At 25 I joined a new band - this was the early/mid 90’s, and we were into
a lot of alternative stuff like Radiohead, The Smiths, Blur, Echo & The Bunnymen,
The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, and a lot of one-hit-wonders from the 80’s,
while all the other cover bands were playing strictly grunge which was
the ‘it’ genre at the time. Our primary goal was to have fun,
and if we got the odd gig here and there, great.
Well to our surprise within a few months we were playing the large
club circuit in Philly,  The Poconos, Jersey, shore-points, and Delaware. Apparently
we hit a niche market, by complete accident!
It was a great run and I gained invaluable experience from it.

By the mid/late 90’s, the Philly band scene was fading out. I starting dating a
girl who is now my wife (love ya babe!). I basically retired from the band scene,
got married in 2000, moved to the Lehigh Valley, bought a house, our son
was born in 2003, then our daughter in 2007. In the meantime I had gradually
sold off most of my gear because it was collecting dust.
“Family life” had displaced my “musician life”. And that’s not a complaint!

Throughout 2008-2009 I teamed up with an old friend on a recording project, got
some new gear, and we worked on some original material, and threw in some covers
too. We performed at some local benefit events, with the highlight being a
performance at Musikfest 2009 in Bethlehem. By early 2010 the project had come
to an end, and I decided to start looking around for another band. I vaguely
remembered a band called “the Secret System”. I had seen their ‘guitarist
wanted’ ads every now and then, and had checked out their website, and I
remember thinking to myself “hmmm… these guys look very interesting”. So I kept
them in mind, and boy am I glad I did! I contacted Scott and I was happy to hear
they were still in need of a guitarist. During that very first phone
conversation, it was evident that we were on the same page. The auditions went
very well and it was obvious that we all clicked and ‘got each other’.
This is hard to describe, but when we perform I feel like I’m a part of something
important and meaningful. To me it means that we have the right individuals with
the right chemistry, and I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for us!