Where it Began
Burlington, Ontario Canada.
History
I started playing at the age of 13 on my mother's beat up classical guitar. I had just watched the movie Cross Roads, featuring Steve Vai and Ry Cooder in that unforgettable guitar battle. Ry Cooder did all the other guitar work in that movie; no it wasn’t Ralph M. It was then that I began guitar lessons in the hopes of learning even 1% of what I heard that day. In the next few months I discovered Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani. I still remember where I was standing the first time I heard those guys play. After some time of bashing around on the instrument I ended up in structured guitar lessons with Marc Cooper who guided me far beyond any level I had hoped to achieve. He also showed me there was more beyond shred. I traveled, played, and found myself on the door step of GIT in California. I wanted to enroll but the timing was wrong for many reasons. I continued with my education locally, mostly guided by Marc, and I had the fortunate experience of starting to teach at the same time. So while learning from the masters I was learning from my students. It was a wonderful and enlightening experience.
Artists & Friends
Along the way I have played with some fantastic artists and musical talent like, Coop Deville (Marc Copper) a great mentor and teacher. We had the fortunate experience of playing in California at the Godin Guitar Bar with such greats as: Buster B Jones, Tom Bresh, and Stephen "Cat" Coore. Some other great experiences have been playing at the Sound of Music Festival with And Then Some, and Breakfast Television with Gail Hawkins. I have met some very cool players along the way like, Joe Satriani,Paul Gilbert, Mike Keneally (Zappa's guitarist),Billy Sheehan (Mr Big), Steve Vai and John Petrucci,Kim Mitchell,Pete Fredette (Kim's Bass Player),David Wilcox, and Colin James.
Business
In my early twenties I saw the opportunity to start a lesson center, Melody Man Studios. We focused in on a different style of teaching and included a great rock band program. I sold the studio a few years back to Steve McPhail and it has kept on growing. I am very proud of what it has become and Steve has done an amazing job!
Local Talent
Freedom Train, Tim Park, Sonny Boy Mick (Steve McPhail),Tomi Swick, and the Dave Little Band (I’m in this one).
I wish everyone the same joy in music that I have had.
