Since day one I have listened to music. That is why we all start. I listened to everything because I had no choice. Even when there is no music playing, I hear playbacks in my head. It is kind of like walking through a store and there is that background radio station playing. I hear music playing all the time. I have no choice. Now I have an iPod that gives me a little more control of the FH3 radio station.

My first live music experience was The Who in 1989 at Alpine Valley. My dad drove us up there to sit in the parking lot and listen. Of course there was a scalper, and he had a great deal. He was selling four lawn tickets for only forty dollars. Yes! We were going in.! Now I could see listening was going to be cool enough.

I was 14. This was the start of my absorbing music of the 90's. I spent all my time and money on tapes, then cds, and concerts. My next show was Anthrax opening for Iron Maiden, without my parents, at the Rosemont Horizon. It’s crazy to think back. I went to see Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth and Alice and Chains at the Clash of the Titans concert at Alpine Valley. That day I saw my first sod fight. We were in good seats, far from the lawn but still in range. A chunk hit the kick drum of Nick Menza's kit and Dave Mustaine stopped the Megadeth show.

I finally bought my first drum set when I was 20. What a waste! I should have met my present self when I was 10. When I started playing, I wasn’t really good. So I joined a band to get better. I became much better, and learned faster so I joined another band to continue growing. We all got better, but I was still different. Then, I went to drum school at the Musicians Institute-Percussion Institute of Technology- in Hollywood, California. I learned a great deal about drums, myself and life in general. I continued to study on my own when I came home and took more lessons. Soon after, I started teaching kids how to play. Teaching just made everything come together. Helping them seemed to make up for me not starting earlier. It made me so much better. It is also very rewarding to contribute to people realizing their dreams…

See the music page for a full description of my band history.