I’ve loved music since I was a small child, but I truly gained a never-ending passion for it while I was in high school. I got my start in the school band playing percussion and then went on to drum set and drum corps. My junior year in high school I wrote my first composition and I’ve been composing ever since. As of now, I have at least 700 or more compositions that very few people have heard. Why that is, I don’t know.
My musical mind was first thrown for a monumental loop when I heard Frank Zappa for the first time. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I had read a list in Modern Drummer magazine that compiled some of the greatest drum grooves of all time. I believe Vinnie Colaiuta had two just from FZ’s Joe’s Garage. One was "Keep It Greasy," and the other was "Fembot In A Wet T-Shirt Contest." Well, with song names like that, I rushed out to go get the album. I listened to both discs, and just sat there in awe of what I had just heard. I was inspired, motivated, and deeply moved by the experience on a level that I didn’t know was possible. From there, I began collecting other FZ albums and reading not only about him, but the many amazing musicians that he played with over the years. It forever changed my perception of what was and wasn’t possible through music. It helped me realize that if I want to write a more traditional orchestral piece one week and a completely ’atonal’ polyrhythmic wonderland the next, it’s okay. And if I want to combine the two and name it something ridiculous, that’s okay too.
