First there was light, air... then food and water. After that there was Prince. He was my introduction to music. I'm not sure what I was listening to before I discovered Prince, but I remember the day it happened. My father took a group of us to see this "Purple Rain", which I didn't want to see thinking it was the sequal to "Color Purple". Things wouldn't be the same. I began to approach my instrument and music more seriously and discovered John Coltrane and Miles Davis followed by David Sanborn, Spyro Gyra, Steps Ahead with Michael Brecker and the Yellow Jackets. Soon after this initial entry into Jazz I discovered Yanni, Kitaro, Hiroshima and Vince DiCola... and my New Age began. Not long after my cousin introduced me to Van Halen, Tony MacAlpine, Yngwie Malmsteen, Metalica, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and the guitar virtuosos of Neo-Classical Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal music. All the while I was studying composition and being entrigued by the four-part melody and counterpoint of Bach and his Chorales. My circle of music was quickly forming and became the birth of my passion for Art. Many things have changed since those days, and it's been many years since my first love and I spent countless hours learning and discovering every intricate detail of each other. But now my Muse kindles the flame that guides my inspirations, and finally after half my lifetime... I return to my "Origins" once more. -Stephan
