Born and raised in the Washington DC suburb of Silver Spring,MD. I Russell Williams started my musical training and appreciation at a very young age. I remember when I was a kid and my father would play artists like( Otis Redding,Sam Cooke,Al Green,Patti Labelle,Gene Chandler, Arethea Franklin,Marvin Gaye,and Frankie Beverly and Maze to name a few) Then he would say "these are not only singers,musicians and songwriters but performers and poets who tug and pull at the heart strings of every person that hears them". Then My father would take us to see some of these artists and many, many others live. We would have discussions after each show on the ways the artists kept the audience captured and how they " worked" the stage. So I remembered these lessons as I decided to continue onto a path of music myself.I started at age 12 in the woodwind arena with the clarinet but once I figured out I was no Benny Goodman, I decided to switch to the "manly" Double Bass. I played in the Argyle middle school orchestra and loved the bass until I reached the Kennedy high school jazz ensemble got rid of the bow and realized how bad I really was . Nothing like a bunch of good seniors to show a freshman how bad he is at his instrument. So I figured since I wouldn't be playing the bass at our concerts anytime that year that I would play the only untouched instrument in the classroom, the congas. Now being from DC and loving Go-Go music you end up knowing lot's of people who play "congos" and I became one of those people playing without proper techniques and training, basically just beating the heck out of them to the beat of the drums. Now don't get me wrong there are some real percussionists in the go-go scene but few and far between.
My love for percussion has grown and grown since those beginning days of playing. I went out and found an Afro-Cuban percussion teacher and he taught me proper techniques,several different playing styles,and showed me how to integrate those into the popular music of today.I continue to study and practice because my belief is you can never be to good to learn and in the music world there's always someone more advanced than you so you should learn what they know as well. I have been blessed to be able to play with the Lloyd Dobler Effect and several other bands and musicians from in and around the DC metro area as well as serving as a session musician for some major recording artists. Everytime I take the stage I try to remember those lessons my dad gave me as a boy and give everything I have to those friends and fans in the audience.
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