Born and raised in NYC I have been playing drums in bands
professionally since I was 14 years old. I grew up listening mostly to what I would call "pop" music. To me that means Beatles, Stones, Jackson 5, Steve Wonder, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd; anything that would be played on the major radio stations. But my favorites were Parliament and Hendrix. This was before bands like Nirvana, Incubus or Marilyn Manson existed. The alternative bands of my youth were The B-52's, Bad Brains, Iggy Pop, Sex Pistols, The Police(actually more of a pop band), The Ramones, The Clash, The Cramps and of course David Bowie.
Although my parents didn't really listen to music I was still influenced by jazz, and in particular the fusion groups of the late seventies. Still, I always came back to my "pop" roots and devoted myself whole heartedly to that world. I pretty much watched Hip Hop get born and grew up right along side it, witnessing the shift to Gangsta rap and the expansion to a world dominating cultural phenomenon.
But my love was still and always will be for "the song", and the singer and the instrumentalist. From Aretha Franklin to Frank Zappa, the human spirit shines not only through the mastery of art, but also through innovation and originality.
It has been my good fortune to get the chance to work with some of these fantastic artists, including:
The B-52's
Bruce Springsteen
David Bowie
George Clinton
and most recently Gwen Stefani.
Outside of America I've also had the pleasure of touring
and/or recording with Tomoyasu Hotei, Zucchero, Khaled, Raphael and Rachid Taha.
Along the way it has also been my great pleasure to work and play with many talented musicians, such as:
Adam Rogers
Ronnie Drayton
T.M. Stevens
Dave Fiuczynski
Randy Jackson
Rusty Andersen
Paul Bushnell
Tommy Simms
Vernon Reid
James White
Gary Shider
Michael Hampton
Cordell Mousson
Michael "Clip" Payne
Lonnie Hillyer Jr.
Pablo Calogero
Steven Bernstein
Tomas Donker
Paul "Polo" Jones
Lisa Hunt
Phima Ephron
Jerome Smith
Frank Finley
Ricky Rause
Wyzard
Reeves Gabrels
Gail Ann Dorsey
Sara Lee
Randy Jacobs
Melvin Gibbs
Kelvyn Bell...and many others.
