BIOGRAPHY
-playing guitar for 16 years
-teaching in the Chicagoland area for 7 years
-have taught over 2000 lessons
-student range 6 yrs to 63 yrs old
-work with beginner, intermediate and advanced students, including "special needs" students
-released 4 studio albums
-touring for the past 11 years with a national act (over 1500 shows)
-shared stages with such artists as: The Black Crowes, Blues Traveler, Rusted Root, The Wailers, John Scofield, Les Claypool,
moe., Umphreys McGee, String Cheese Incident
I began my musical education at the age of 11, playing the clarinet in the grade school band, and continued to play with the concert, marching, and jazz bands throughout my middle and high school years. During this period I was trained to read music charts(bass and treble clef), understand and apply music theory, and exposed to different types of music in various group settings. With a continuing passion for music, I picked up the guitar at the age of 15 and began playing in local rock bands, composing original material, and released my first album at the age of 18. After high school, I continued touring the nation for several years with my band, playing over 1500 shows, and sharing the stage with such acts as The Black Crowes, Blues Traveler, Rusted Root, John Scofield, and The Wailers.
In 2004 I moved to Chicago and began teaching private lessons. In the past seven years I've taught over 2000 lessons to hundreds of students, in a group setting or individually. With my teaching approach, I stress the basics of music and the guitar (open chords, barre chords, major/minor scales, basic music theory, etc.) and try to incorporate the musical styling (rock, blues, pop, jazz, funk, country, etc.) the student is interested in playing. I focus on song structure, soloing and improvisation, and for those interested, songwriting, singing and playing.
In the past few years, I have been working with Little Star Guitar, a program specifically designed for children, teaching the basics of guitar in a group setting. I've been a part of designing the curriculum, testing the program, and teaching the classes. For further information on the program, visit the Little Star Guitar website.