I live in Hermitage TN with my wife Diane. I'm a freelance graphic artist. I play fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar. I play fiddle and mando with the Celto-eclectic band, The Secret Commonwealth.
"Banjo and Fiddle", is the title of my CD project. It's a rediscovery of the 5-string banjo played in the clawhammer style. It was great fun to play with my good friend, Jim Wood, in the studio. Jim and I played some tunes common to the jams sessions we both frequent in the middle TN area. We played live in the studio with just two mics.
I was born February 22, 1954 in Sayre, PA and I grew up in Waverly, NY. I survived (just barely) Catholic elementary school. I was very athletic as a kid, but an auto accident in 1969 change my direction. I got a guitar and developed more of an interest in art.
On St Paddy's day in 1973, while home from Mohawk Valley Community College, I heard the 5-string banjo played by Brian Charlton, a young doctor in the area where I grew up. The music he played on the banjo was exciting, and melodic, I never heard anything quite like it, I fell in love with that sound on the spot. I was playing guitar in a rock band around that time, but after hearing Brian play, everything changed for me, I sold all my equipment, quit the band and bought a banjo. Brian was kind enough to invite me to his home and taught me the basics. I was hooked.
I played three finger style banjo all through my time at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and on to San Antonio, TX where I played in various bands and jam sessions including the Hill Country Ramblers and the Lone Star Fiddler's Association. Some of my fondest memories are playing at the Hill Country Opry in Comfort, TX and hearing all the wonderful melodies and playing along with the fiddlers in the Lone Star Fiddlers jams.
In 1986 I moved to Nashville, TN to pursue a career in graphic design. Soon after moving to Nashville, I picked up the fiddle for the first time and met up with Jim Wood, a young contest fiddler from Fairview, TN. Jim and I were instant friends. Jim taught me a few tunes and introduced me to the Old-time fiddling scene in Middle Tennessee.
In 2002 my wife, Diane, and I went to the Leaf Festival in Black Mountain, North Carolina. While I was there I was introduced to a new way to play the banjo, clawhammer! The clawhammer style fit so well with the sound of the fiddle, I had to learn it. I've been having a lot of fun with it now and I just can't put it down.
Also in 2002 Diane and I decided to open our house and have monthly house concerts in our living room. we hosted over 30 House Concerts, and each was one was unique. We had diverse groups of musicians from Bluegrass to African Drumming.
Around the same time Diane's daughter, Sara, moved back from Morocco with her husband, Zouhair. Sara and Zouhair moved into our house next door. They had twin boys in 2004, Ben and Sam, aka "Thunder and Lightning". Ben and Sam became the centerpiece of our lives and the house concert went on hold. Last year Sara and Z had a beautiful baby girl, Kinza. Baby Kinza is pure joy to her grandma, aka "Mimi". Our lives are very full with family and music!
