I was born on a very hot September 4th in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in a musical family where the earliest influences were my mother's guitar and
mandolin playing. Having begun learning the mandolin around age 10, a year or so later I developed an intense interest in the guitar. That came about when Mom took me one afternoon to a lady’s house with whom she worked with at the local laundrymat. This lady’s son and daughter had a band called “Blue Smoke” and I got to sit in on their practice session. Wow, I was blown away and from that moment on I was hooked. Like Mom, I learned to play "by ear" and also learned to sing. Unlike Mom, whose interests were centered on traditional American folk, country, and bluegrass, I was more fascinated with the modern folk, rock, and pop of the '70s. Many have said the influence of this musical era abounds in the music. Maybe if you listen carefully you may hear hints of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, James Taylor, Journey, Jethro Tull, Dan Fogelberg, Loggins & Messina, and Seals & Crofts to name a few. Or not.
I learned my chops and licks, as they say, in numerous bands through high school and later as a professional touring musician. Most notably with an acoustic duo known as M.C. & DeFeis and a variety dance band called Legacy. It was here that I was exposed to and influenced by the many different genres of music embodied in the cover material we performed. Although I had always felt compelled to write songs from the very beginning, as my experiences grew I soon discovered that writing was, for me, the most expressive and satisfying. In the course of my journeys, I acquired a degree in electronics technology which has become indispensible to me in the studio and I have explored and taught myself all the additional instruments I utilize in my recordings. But at the end of the day it is songwriting that truly remains my primary passion.
At present, during daylight hours, I work for Qwest Communications (your friendly regional Bell operating company-formerly Northwestern Bell) and by night continue to work towards my musical vision and, having relocated to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in 1999, I finally accomplished a portion of my dreams by founding Io Music Ltd. and putting together a private studio where I write, record, and produce my music. My last album, In The Moment, is a kind of autobiographical collection of songs that highlight what I think is a distinctive point of view and style in my continuing process of maturing as a singer/songwriter. My latest album, Indigo Moon, has expanded on that point of view and, in many ways, is a collection of stories about different facets of life - love politics, loneliness, and yes - even the weather. Speaking of the weather........
I recently submitted new original music for the Hiawatha Light Rail Line in Minneapolis and my song " Don’t Like The Weather " was chosen to be
featured continuously at the audio/video kiosks located at 11 of the train stations throughout Minneapolis. Talk about blown away! The work was commissioned as part of a public project for the Hiawatha Line developed by artist Janet Zweig in cooperation with Schaff Weisberg, Inc. (audio/video specialists) and Parallel Development (industrial designers). That was an interesting project since it was the first time the subject matter of the song was basically chosen for me. It had to be about either Minnesota weather or Minnesota “nice”. It was sure a challenge but also a lot of fun and definitely one of those "learning experiences" . If you happen to be in Minneapolis and are riding the light rail, stop and check it out while you're waiting! So now I continue to follow the dream….wherever it may lead. The journey continues....