I began playing piano at age 7 and continued until age 11 when the Beatles came along and changed everything. I discovered the possibility, however unlikely that might have been, of young girls chasing me down the street if I took up the drums. So it began.
When I was 14 I began working weekends with my own band in New York and continued doing that until finishing High School at 17, apart from a brief detour as a Baskin - Robbins ice cream vendor. At 18 I turned professional despite continuing school which ultimately created a serious conflict (with the school primarily) as I was often traveling. This resulted in an either/or decision and I opted for music full time.
I began doing everything I could to gain a wider musical background which ended up being an interesting combination of live and studio work which spanned an unusual cross section of music occurring in New York at that time. Rock, Pop, Jazz, Orchestral, Dance, R&B, Folk, TV and Film scores and every ethnic music imaginable was flourishing at that time in New York. It was a wonderful time to be a young musician.
Over the years I have had the great good fortune to work with a wide variety of gifted artists and bands - well known and not so well known - but all of whom I have learned something from or at the very least enjoyed myself.
Some of these artists are, in no particular order: Lou Reed, Bette Midler, Teo Macero and his Big Band, Phyllis Hyman, Todd Rundgren, Baird Hersey and the Year of the Ear, Brenda Russell, Dave Mason, Michel Colombier, Peter Allen, Pat Benatar, Jim Messina, Martha and the Vandellas, Peter Cetera, Dweezil Zappa, Stan Getz, Kitaro and Jon Anderson, Fairport Convention, Laura Branigan, Dionne Warwick, Liza Minelli, Patty Scialfa, Vonda Shepard, Charles Aznavour, Jess Roden, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Bill Champlin, Marc Shaiman, Freda Payne, Jeffrey Osbourne, Diane Warren, Elliot Murphy, Gary U.S.Bonds, Maxus, Hunter/Dragon, Tommy Emmanuel, Richard Clapton, Sharon O'Neil, Jenny Morris, Joey Dee and the Starlighters, Tom Pacheco, Pat Alger and Artie Traum, Adrian Gurvitz, Gary Brooker, Katey Sagal, Debra Holland, Magellan, The Rivets, Scout, Michael Ruff, Marc Cohn, Patty Scialfa, Barnes & Barnes, David Schwartz, James McVay, David Foster, Michael Omartian, Stewart Levine and Paul Rothchild.
Recently I have been working on an album project with a very gifted young artist named Rachel Hart, a tribute record to Emerson, Lake and Palmer (due out Winter '98), a new and very good offbeat television series entitled "Maximum Bob"with Beau Bridges and a new movie with Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett entitled "The Marriage Fool". I am also working on writing new material with Vince DiCola for the next " Thread" record,
which we hope will be finished by late spring of '99.
Other pastimes I enjoy are swimming, which I will do every day when the weather is nice and walking my dogs Xam and Molly. They seem to enjoy swimming as well although we have recently discovered they prefer the ocean over the pool much to the great relief of our friends who like to come over and swim.
Reading is probably my absolute favorite pastime followed by an extremely hot curry dinner. Sometimes I can enjoy them both at the same time. Oh Joy! Unfortunately my wife Heather does not share my enthusiasm for hot dishes although she quite happily and capably grows and cooks a wide variety of peppers for me from our garden, which occasionally the wildlife or the gardeners enjoy first!
