Music has been a life long drive of mine. Over many years I have fine tuned my craft and have developed many great skills as a drummer and musician. I have not only learned what it takes to be a great drummer but actually taken the time to study specific techniques and learn from the best.

Here is my story:

Starting at the age of 5, I was introduced to music very young as this ran in the family. Beginning the early years on trumpet, not exactly my favorite instrument, I was pretty much pushed into music by lets say... somewhat authoritarian parenting from my father. As an accomplished musician himself he felt it was important to raise us with a musical background and well... thats exactly what he did. As I got older I was then introduced to keys/piano and had the opportunity to learn more about scales, key signatures and eventually developed a natural ear for music.

By age twelve I was well advanced on trumpet and had a great foundation for piano. As I continued through on learning these instruments I eventually was introduced to the drums. Ignoring everything else around me, drumming simply consumed me and by age fourteen I was full time practicing.

With the drums being my primary focus, I was overwhelmed by great drummers such as Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa. The techniques and precision of these Jazz drummers definitely helped me develop a love for Jazz music. I was exposed to not only great Jazz drummers, but all kinds of amazing Jazz artists. Maintaining my roots as a Jazz drummer I soon got heavy into the rock drumming scene and explored several other styles.

As of Grade 8 I joined the Grade 10 Stage Band (as there was no Grade 8 Stage Band) and had my first experience playing with other musicians in a band environment. I was stoked being in Grade 8 and getting to play with the Grade 10's, after all they were older and more cool. I eventually continued with Concert band and Stage Band from Grade 8 through Grade 12.

From age 16 with my older brother now getting into guitar and constantly hearing the thumping of Van Halen and AC/DC from his stereo I suddenly found myself addicted to Alex Van Halen's drumming. On my own, learning from my favorite bands such as Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Motley Crue and many other 80's metal bands...(keep in mind I was only about 16 years old), I literally consumed my life around learning new songs, following any great drummer I could get my hands on. But it wasn't until I was 17 that things took an amazing turn. I had the privilege of experiencing Rush and from then on was hooked. Day in day out focusing on all aspects of Neil Peart and learning everything I could from his playing, simply helped me excel as a drummer and musician. With a very high standard and challenging myself to learning from drummers who set the bar high, I continued to raise my standards as well.

After several more years of playing the progressive styles of Rush and Queensryche, I joined the progressive metal band Empyria at age 19. All those years of practicing were about to pay off. Empyria was a progressive metal project geared toward the styles of Rush, Dream Theater and other prog bands. We were an elite group of musicians with high standards and drive for perfection. I always set my standards very high and here is where it was going to be of a real benefit. As an original project this allowed us to write some amazing music and shine within the songs. Soon after a couple of international releases and even being signed to a major label in Germany, promotions didn't pan out and sales simply fell short. It was now going to be an indie project if we wanted to move forward. Following 3 more studio recordings and a great following of prog fans, Empyria retired in 2003. It was simply time to move on to other things after 12 years. Following Empyria I joined and played with the industrial/prog band Warjunk. I simply went from one group of elite players to another. Once again I found myself amidst top players with incredibly high standards. I loved it. Nearly a couple of years went by of playing for Warjunk when I found myself once again needing a change.

Maybe I was tired of playing technical and challenging music that was demanding on my chops or maybe just needed to rock out to stuff that was more radio friendly, who knows, but I felt it was time to play to have a little more fun. After all I don't need to prove myself anymore. I was only interested in fun music, groves and catchy melodies. That's right... the infamous hook. Never to lose my interest in great drummers such as Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy, Bill Bruford, Dave Weckle, Buddy Rich (and the list goes on) I joined a played with a few other projects more rock and main stream as you might say and did a few more studio projects. Staying as a session player for a while, doing a bit of freelancing and even going to L.A to play for some major labels with a new project, I still continued to search for musical satisfaction. Currently playing for a Rush Tribute act along with a couple of original projects, I continue to expand my musical horizons and abilities. The road simply never ends.