The Moody Minstrel (in Japan)

Born on a rainy night (as if there were any other kind) on the Oregon coast, I began my musical career by playing TV show music by ear on the piano at age 4. In kindergarten I made my friends who were taking piano lessons mad by learning their etudes faster than they did. My parents then enrolled me in lessons of my own, but I was more interested in playing by ear and improvising than practicing, so I got yelled at a lot before my piano career was terminated permanently. Music was nothing but a game to me till the summer after 4th grade, when I took up the clarinet. From then on I added various instruments and musical genre to my repertoire. After graduating from Oregon State University I went to Japan for what was supposed to be a two-year stint. That was in 1990, and I'm still here. In a nutshell, I set down roots and got a real life. Now I live a dual existence as a teacher at a Japanese private junior/senior high and a musician/writer. My favorite color is cobalt blue #4.