Music Background

I started taking piano lessons when I was 8 which stopped when I graduated high school.  I started taking guitar lessons when I was 13, and kept with it through high school.  I guess you could call me a guitar addict.  Through high school and much of college, I would play 4-6 hours a day.  Not because I was forced to -- I simply couldn't stop.  It's like breathing to me.  If I stop playing, I'll die.  I have guitars scattered all throughout my house.  It's been about 10 years since my last band (kiddie hiatus), so I appreciate and savor any opportunity to play out.

My Equipment and Preferences

Head: Marshall JCM-900 4100 Series 100W Dual Reverb

Cabinet: Laney LX412S

Guitars: Jackson Soloist, Les Paul Studio, Ibanez Roadstar II which I’ve customized and dubbed “Franken-Bez”.

Effects: Boss GT-6 Guitar Effects Processor , Heil TalkBox

Strings: D'Addario XL , Gauge .0095

Picks: Tortex Shell Extra Heavy (purple Barney lookin' picks)

Favorite Music Stores: Coyle's Richboro Music

Guitar Service/Repairs

If you need to have your guitar serviced (pro setups, re-frettings, refinishings, repairs -- even difficult intermittent electronics problems), you need to see Kevin at Coyle's Richboro Music.  This guy is amazing.  He can fix anything.  Unlike other music stores that farm this work out to other area specialists, Kevin does all the work himself.  And he's honest.  I wouldn't trust my equipment to anyone else.  Tell him I sent you...

Major Guitar Influences In My Life

There's been quite a number of guitar influences in my life.  I tend to gravitate towards the noisier, angrier faster playing guitarists that use lots of distortion.  It's a matter of personal taste, and I just seem to instantly connect with that whole feel.

Jimi Hendrix

The first guitarist I idolized was Jimi Hendrix.  I remember when I was 13 during my second guitar lesson my teacher, Rod Hill , played the Foxy Lady riff on his classical.  It absolutely blew me away.  I had to get the record.  I needed to play that riff!  Hendrix just had this amazing ability to translate pure adrenaline and emotion into sound during his solos.  Listening to his solos, i t's almost as if I understood exactly how he felt the moment played those notes.  My favorite Hendrix album is Axis: Bold as Love.  The song 'Bold As Love' is my favorite Hendrix song.  I you aren't familiar with the album or the song, check it out.

 

Stevie Ray Vaughn

What can you say about this guy?  What a tragedy he's no longer with us.  He was definitely peaking when he left us.  So many songs and solos that would have been.  Ugh!!  On that last tour with Eric Clapton, Clapton openly admitted that Stevie was just blowing him off the stage, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to go on stage each night knowing Stevie was going to blow everyone away.  Stevie just had a knack for finding clever syncopation and repeating licks with slight twists that would phase in and out of the main beat -- even when he's not playing many notes.  Much of what I do today has to be categorized as a blatant rip off of his stuff. 

 

Robin Trower

This is another blues guitarist in the Hendrix/Ray Vaughn genre.  I've seen this guy play many times.  He did his homework studying Hendrix, and does a great job captivating much of what drew me to Hendrix in the first place.  No wonder I'm a fan.  Most memorable performance was at the Chestnut Cabaret in 1990.  The show wasn't marketed very well.  Needless to say, I stood directly in front of him the whole night.  I g ot his autograph (although it looks as if the name is Bobby Trowel) and spoke to him briefly.  Very cool.  Check out the Bridge of Sighs album and chances are there's 2-3 songs you've heard before.

 

Joe Walsh / Peter Frampton

These guys are masters of soloing in rock. They also have the distinction of co-inventing the 'Talk-Box', which is a device that directs sound from an amplifier into a rubber tube which when placed in the mouth will allow you to make a guitar 'talk'.  I own one of these devices, and if you've been to any of our shows, you know we play a number of songs that use it.

 

Eric Clapton

In the Cream days, it was tough to find a better guitarist.  He would rival Hendrix, Jimi Page, Jeff Beck.  I remember learning the solos to all their songs note for note.  I would play along for hours on end.  Sometimes I still do.

 

Eddie Van Halen

He plays loud, fast and with allot of distortion.  He a lso gets crazy with the tremolo bar, and helped pioneer the 'tapping' technique that I like to play.   I started losing interest after Dave left, but the accomplishments from the early days are more than enough.  On nights we play 'You Really Got Me', so long as I haven't taken my Ritalin they let me play the 'Eruption' lead in solo.

St. Andrews Contemporary Worship Service

When: Sundays at 9:15

Where: St. Andrews United Methodist Church

Address: 999 York Rd, Warminster, PA 18974

If you're interested in checking out a different kind of worship service with rock music, stop by.  The church is located on Route 263 (York Rd) between Bristol Rd and Norristown Rd in Warminster, PA.  It's a less formal affair than a traditional service.  And hey, there's free food and coffee in the lobby.

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