I began playing piano at 5, progressive jazz at 13 and then picked up the sticks to play my dad's 1954 WFL Ludwig kit. My dad, of course, insisted on me taking lessons to learn the proper way to play. I took only one from legendary local teacher Hy Frank.
Self-taught, I have been playing in bands all of my life as well as having experience as an East Coast session drummer. My bands have opened for artists such as Blood, Sweat and Tears and Bill Champlin and I have recorded and performed with artists on numerous labels including Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Frank Stallone, Steve Burgh (Billy Joel, Gladys Knight, John Prine, David Bromberg),Ian Bruce-Douglas (Ultimate Spinach), Phoebe Snow, power pop mastermind Tom Marolda (The Toms) and The Van Eaton Brothers (signed to Apple Records by Beatle George Harrison).
My very first band was with TJ Tindall who went on to be the featured guitarist in many Gamble/Huff records including Disco Inferno. I live by this quote by TJ: "I am just lucky that it's not all about technique- 99% of guys out there can play circles around me technically- thank God that is not the only criteria! It's about the attitude- sometimes limited vocabularies can say the most because you don't rely solely on technique- play from the heart...fills should always compliment the lines they follow-remember you are part of a team- listen and contribute- it ain't about you!"
I appeared as an acapella street-corner singer in “ROCKY” and was on screen as the drummer in the band in the sequel to "Saturday Night Fever", “STAYING ALIVE”, shot at NYC's legendary CBGBs.
He has also appeared with Valentine on television on Burt Sugarman’s “Midnight Special”, The Mike Douglas Show, Dinah Shore Show and others.
I was music supervisor for the cult classic animated film ,"The Transformers: The Movie" (1986) and produced the soundtrack LP on Scotti Bros. Records.