History
1981 – Played keyboards with some junior high school buds. We were doing Ozzy and Zeppelin tunes, but nobody could sing. We never got a job cuz we sucked. Besides, we were like 14 years old!
1983 – Started taking vocal classes in high school. Sang in all the chorus recitals. The Chorus teacher, Mr. Bill Evans (we all called him Mr. Bill) taught me boatloads about singing.
1984 to 1985 – Sang leads in the high school’s “Rock and Roll Revival”. This annual show is actually famous and has been seen by foreign dignitaries and other bigwigs. I became addicted to the stage. A friend once said, “See how he’s on fire? He’s only like that when he’s singing and when he’s hosting a party.”
1987 – A junior in college, I joined with some high school friends to form Sanxuary. We were playing Motley Crue and Aerosmith covers at parties and local clubs. In `88 we released a 6-song EP called Dream of Laughter. This was the first band I joined that had real potential, but they all break up after a while.
1990 – after a brief respite from singing, I began auditioning again. At this time, I was working for a Baltimore, MD, music rag called “ROX Magazine“. I never got paid, but it was cool interviewing bands and seeing shows for free. The first band I tried out for was Shake the Faith. They were into Jane’s Addiction and the Chili Peppers. We played our first gig at the Olde Town Tavern in Frederick, MD, on a Monday nite. The other dudes got in a fight and the band broke up the next weekend.
1991 – Tried out for Baltimore legends Child’s Play after Brian Jack was fired (Brian claims he quit). This would have been awesome because they already had a massive East Coast following and a major label release. I had a cold during the audition and couldn’t command my normal range. Their label found a replacement, but the line up was short lived.
1993 – Started up the Tune Units (God I hate that name — I wanted just The Units). Just some aging cats jamming out classic rock tunes at small clubs. The other guys were the aging ones (30’s and 40s). I was the inspired nut case obsessed with promoting and booking the band.
`1993 to 1994 – Tune Units evolved into the Crowded. We brought in two young guitarists and a new drummer. Slowly but surely, we ditched some of the moldier classics for new stuff from Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Spin Doctors, Cry of Love. We also started writing our own material. Some of it was killer. We were working 3 to 5 nights a month and were booked by Cellar Door Productions. One day, the drummer just quit. The bassist and I just weren’t up to all those damn auditions again. Besides, it was starting to get hard to have a family and a job and a band, so we closed shop.
1994 to 1995 – Made what I thought would be one, last-ditch effort to keep singing in the Porch Boys. I figured this would be easy because it was just acoustic rock tunes with my brother, Don. We’d been playing together for over 10 years at our own parties. We brought in Ray from the Crowded as a percussionist. The Porch Boys had already done some openers for the Crowded so we knew it could work at small clubs. But, alas, there just wasn’t enough time in the day for all of this. It had to go.
1996 to 2000 – Jammed with my brother a couple times a year and tried not to look too silly belting out tunes in my car. It was just enough to keep me from going postal.
2001 to 2005 – Singing again in a band called LeftOver. And at my age! Well if Steven Tyler can do it at 50 then I’m still just a pup! After putting my name on a local “singer looking for band” list, three guys from Baltimore called me to try some original stuff they were working on. I drove out to Dundalk, we jammed, we clicked. Two months later we were opening in our first gig. A couple weeks after that we finished our debut 9-song CD.
2006 to 2014 – After six years with LeftOver, the band broke up and three of us joined forces with BJ Weigman and George Biggs to create Phoenix Rising. PR had a great stint as a party rock band and I met some fantastic musicians and fans during our run.
2014 to present – Had 8 great years with Phoenix Rising and then was asked to front mega-popular, regional 80s act The New Romance. Couldn’t pass up the opportunity to rock the area’s biggest stages in front of hundreds and sometimes thousands. Haven’t looked back since!
Former Bands
Phoenix Rising – Winning over the world, one social at a time
LeftOver – Original hard rock with soul
The Crowded – Rock with Balls
The Porch Boys – Unplugged and on the Stoop
Sanxuary – My 1st working band
