My very first taste of music began when I took piano lessons at the age of eight. I was put into these lessons by my parents, but quickly grew a distaste for such structure. After a year of lessons and a few performances in piano recitals, I called it quits, but did not give up on playing piano altogether. I continued to play, but I preferred the freedom of learning by ear, and found a love and pleasure for experimentation.
By the time I was ten, I had developed friendships with two older neighbors, and if it was not for them, I would not have been introduced to the electric guitar or drums. Nirvana was very popular at the time, so Kurt Cobain's pleasantly screeching voice found its way to all of our ears, especially mine. Over the next few years, all we did was learn Nirvana songs and take turns playing the bass, guitar and drums; the saw blades we used for hi-hats quickly chewed up our drum sticks.
Home was a different story. My parents were fans of the ‘Oldies' such as The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Cat Stevens, Elvis, John Denver, Simon & Garfunkel, Roy Orbison, and the list goes on. I still remember the smell of my parents brown leather trunk full of those records. I loved that smell! Little did I know at the time, that these early influences would later impact my song writing.
By the time grade eight rolled around, I was singing, writing, and playing guitar for The Intellects, my first band. This was also my first shot at recording. We sold a whopping twenty-five copies to our friends and teachers for five dollars a pop!
At the age of thirteen I enrolled into Air Cadets. I joined the marching band and was so excited when I eventually got my own snare drum. The car dashboard quickly became my favorite spot to practice, and I must say that it annoyed my family.
My later teenage years would bring with it three bands. I moved from behind the drums with one band (Tweekstar), to strapping on a guitar and singing my heart out with the other two (The Butterfield Gateway, Caught In The Moss). It was during this period that I slowly found my way down troubled lane and into a drug addiction. When I was twenty-three I went through a treatment center; this was the best thing to ever happen to me, and became an inspiration for one of my songs, Saving Hands.
Today life is good. I have graduated from culinary school, and I am also recording my music on an ongoing basis. My music has toned down since performing in a rock band. I am now writing quieter, but still upbeat folksy music, drawing from my early childhood influences from that brown leather trunk!