Born in Michigan in a small town on the coast of Lake Michigan, I come from a completely unmusical family. I was strongly attracted to music from a young age but lacked the encouragement to pursue music. I finally saved enough money by age 14 to buy my first guitar. A year and a half later I entered a band in the battle of the bands in Michigan. The band took 3rd place but I was awarded the best guitarist trophy!  Many of the band's arrangements and some of the compositions were mine. That was all the fuel I needed. I started to teach myself to read music starting in high school. Right after high school, I met my first instructor who rocked my world. Within two years, my playing and musicianship skills soared, even beyond my instructors. I started to study classical and jazz guitar and took up flute as well.
      

At age 20, two years into my music degree, I hooked up with some musicians doing touring work with some signed acts from RCA record company. I left school for the time to play concerts. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to share the stage with such names as Dolly Parton, Steve Warner, Kenny Rogers, Ronnie Milsap, Eddie Rabbit,  Electric Light Orchestra, Bob Seger and many others. After about five years of road work, I went back to school to finish getting a degree. At that time (1982), I moved to Phoenix, Arizona and began my teaching studio. I continue to perform locally and have done many concerts here (Chiffons, Cherelles, Drifters, Coasters, Martha and the Vandellas, and others) and recording sessions.

After all these years, I still get great satisfaction from watching my students grow musically. Many have gone on to become professionals, some come to me after years of playing professionally to refine their skills and some people just come to me for the simple pleasure of seeing how much they can improve their playing skills. While many people spend their days at a desk in front of a computer, I spend most of my days (and nights) with a guitar in my hand...and love it.