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First of all, thanks for visiting my site! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed researching and building it. What started out at age 11 as a big hassle and shredded fingers has turned into a very fun hobby for me, (uh, and sometimes a job too!)
I was born in Denver, Colorado in 1967. I figured out what classic rock was before it was classic rock. One of my earliest memories is our neighbors cranking the Doors and Jimi Hendrix at all hours when I was only four years old. It seems that I was destined to play guitar, I guess . . . . As a kid I was exposed to a lot of cool 70's things, like Lava lamps and "freak-out" forts. It shaped my oddball and free-wheeling attitude for years to come. I started singing at around age 5 in church. My mom always said I had a good voice. I worked on my singing skills throughout my childhood years, singing in various choirs. Most importantly, it helped develop my ears. I started playing the guitar in 1979. My mother kind of "forced" me into it, but I will be forever thankful. The first guitar I had, we bought from the neighbor across the street. It was an old Regal acoustic, and my dad paid $10 for it. It was basically a piece of crap, but, hey, it was my baby. From there, I owned a couple of acoustics and finally graduated to my first electric guitar, a Hondo Les Paul copy in 1981. That axe did everything but stay in tune! Owning that guitar turned out to be a valuable lesson in patience. Luckily throughout high school I was able to play in a band, go into the studio, and LEARN a lot about all aspects of the music business. I attended the University of Northern Colorado from 1985-1990. I had a great time, played many gigs and met a lot of AWESOME musicians. Uh, yeah, I graduated, barely. In 1990 I joined the Army and over the next eight years, took my musical experience to a new level in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Click here for: GIG Photos During my tours, I always made time to continue my passion, collecting vintage amps and effects. I love guitars too, but consider them more of a utility item, rather than a collector item. All of my vintage ones get played quite a bit. I hope you enjoy the items and pages presented here. This site is continually updated, so check back often. Other special thanks to: Mom: If it wasn't for you believing in me, I would never have experienced the joys of the guitar. Only Mom would forgive the Bassman 135 and the china cabinet. UHHH...oops! Dad: Had the talent for tinkering and repairing everything! He did not trust ANY repair man within 500 miles. His curiosity and talent rubbed off on me in a big way. I can now rebuild my amps and fix my own gear, THE RIGHT WAY!!! THANKS DAD! Without the following friends and fellow musicians, I wouldn't be half the player I am today. THANK YOU! Kyle and Jay Dedrick, Tony and Jim Wilk, Jeff Pitts, Alan Feldman, Ted Overall, Pat Loehr, Danny Dumm, Dave Iannone, Jan Mandryk, Russ Chesebro, "Austin" Jim Ford, Dave Daubermann, Doug Dub, Rich Craig, Clint, Alison Raven, Chris Pate, Danielle Muskatell, Dave Gillespie, Xavier "Bonz" Polk, Rick Salcedo, Leigh Koltun, BOO 2, Robbie G, Ted Soret, Mike Pintagro, Cletus, Phil Ortega, Zoey Karabin, Doug Caldwell, Lee Hall, Ken Norton, Urban Urbano, Mike Davis, George Briscoe, Mark Stewart, John Cockerell, Michael Clark at Clark Amplification, Chris Forshage at Forshage Custom Instruments, Jon Bessent at Tonecraft Amp Repair, and Jason Rinn and Richard Diaz-DeLeon at Spacetone Music. |
