A Little About Myself:
Since a fairly young age, I have loved music in all its forms. I began to play the guitar when I was 13 years old. After playing in my own rock band, as well as a jazz small group, I picked up drumming as well. Since then, I’ve spent countless hours practicing to develop a sturdy skill set in composition and improvisation.
I started out like most musicians did. I struggled to produce a clean chord on the guitar but after years of work and experience playing shows, I developed a feel for music. Through many difficult exercises and challenging songs to learn, I started vastly improving my chops. It is because i learned all of this on my own, that i feel i can offer a unique and relaxed approach to teaching and playing music that most cannot.
When i went to college at the age of 17 at Binghamton University, I left most of my connections in the music world at home. I attempted to start a few bands with my close friends however all of them ended up falling through. During this experience I experienced a shortage of skilled drummers around me. I felt there were more than enough guitarists that had sufficient skill and practice however most of the drummers that my band and I auditioned were lacking a lot of fundamentals. It was for this reason that I decided to pick up the drums as a serious endeavor.Through many, many hours of practice on timing, rudiments and approach to drumming, I finally developed enough experience to play a couple of shows as a drummer.
I consider myself well versed in both guitar and drumming as I have taken it upon myself through research and many books to learn most of the fundamentals. I independently studied jazz on guitar, giving me a push to venture into music theory. I also took it upon myself to learn all of the various styles of drumming including swing, Latin, Gospel, funk, and of course rock.
I owe much of my skill to my musical influences. Since I never had a formal instructor, these people essentially filled the void, driving me to better myself more and more. A few guitar influences include Guthrie Govan, Misha Mansoor, Luke Hoskin, Plini and the great Pat Metheny (of whom my father took me to see when I was very young). Drumming influences include Matt Gartska, Benny Greb, Antonio Sanchez and Blake Richardson.