The Rippingtons - Gypsy Eyes
..
Add to My Profile | More Videos I was born on Halloween in Washington, DC. As a kid, I used to go to the Howard theater to see all of the hottest R&B acts we were listening to on the radio. I was extremely impressed with the shownamship these acts had and how audiences responded to them. There were two specific instances that had a tremendous impact on the rest of my life. First, I saw Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. What impressed me most about that group wasn't any of the singers...it was their guitar player, Marvin Tarplin! I thought he was the coolest person I had ever seen and the sounds he made with his guitar are still in my head years later. The second was seeing Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions. Not only did Curtis play the guitar, he sang, too. I wanted to play the guitar and sing, and make audiences clap their hands and shake their butts! The ensuing years enabled me to do just that. Perhaps not on the scale of some the people I had idolized as a young man growing up in DC, but enough that I got to feel the thrill of being onstage, and the response of an audience. Musical influences include Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield (whom I credit with helping me get through puberty), Marvin Tarplin, George Clinton, James Brown, Bootsy Collins, Stanley Clarke, Lee Ritenour, Peter Cetera, Russ Freeman, Kim Stone, Ottmar Liebert, Maceo Parker, Victor Wooten and Earl Klugh. There are dozens of others, but this is just off the top of my head. Thank you all for making me the person that I am today. To my wife, Carla, thank-you for being the love of my life. I have said many times that you came into my life right when I needed you most!
