Songwriting has been a personal spiritual practice flowing out of me since childhood. It’s prayer and processing and creating simultaneously to God and with God.  I wrote my first song when I was 5. It wasn’t amazing, but our church choir director taught it to the choir and let me sing it with them. That was a real boost to me as a child. 

 

Flute was really my first voice. I started playing when I was 8 years old. I had some Herbie Mann cassette tapes that I would improvise along with.  I didn’t find my singing voice until adulthood. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a big influence. I've played in various bands and groups (including with family) spanning blues, gospel, and international music genres.

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I have my BA and MA in Psychology. I am a therapist and  a clinical researcher exploring the healing power of the arts in drug and alcohol counseling in Zambia, Kenya, and the US.

I am a passionate musician and music educator from Virginia Beach, Virginia. From my earliest days I was surrounded by music.  My Mom was an avid music listener and she loved to take us on family trips, often from Virginia to New York and I would ride along in the car with her listening to everything from the Clark sisters to Fred Hammond.  My biological father was in a quartet with many of my family members. We used to listen to their albums and attend concerts. We also listened to a variety of instrumental music of different styles. My Dad also loved the blues and he would listen to it in his shed.

 

I went on to study music in college and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Institute. I had always wanted to be a performing musician and tour the world, but I graduated with an injury that had me sidelined for a while. I returned home but was unsure about my life’s direction. I began working as a camp counselor at the YMCA and it was at that time that I discovered my love for working with young students. I eventually started giving piano lessons and working at an organization called Soundscapes which provides musical opportunities for Students in Newport News, Virginia. This enabled me to combine my great loves of music and teaching into one. Now I am able to play again and I have a desire to continue sharing a message of hope through music. 

I grew up in northern Illinois where I had the pleasure of milking cows by hand, baling hay, and riding on a real one-horse open sleigh as a child. I began playing drums in church while my dad played upright and electric bass. My other early influencers on bass were Chuck Rainey, James Jamerson, and Bill Dickens . I am a retired U.S. Marine who is blessed with a wonderful wife Kelly, as well as 3 sons, 4 daughters, and 9 grandchildren.

 

I live in Chesapeake, VA and am active in church. I taught elementary school and now tutor and mentor children in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake schools. I hear God’s heartbeat through music and find that Jesus and the apostles’ words of direction come to the surface throughout my day by praise and worship music.

I didn't own a drum kit until I was 18 when I joined the Air Force and they sent me to Las Vegas. After a couple months of practicing, I was invited to join a band. That band led to another band and  another and I kept going and never looked back. I now have over 50 years experience.  I am a certified drum instructor with DRUMEO, a member of NARD, National Association of Rudimental Drummers and teach for Guitar Center.

 

I have travelled around the world playing music. I teach music as well and understand the healing power of God through music emotionally and spiritually.