“My father was a percussionist and my older brother was a trumpet player, so that made the music thing pretty cool for me from an early age. When I was 12 or so, my brother gave me my first album, Chicago V. I got a record player that same birthday, and the collection naturally grew from there. My older sister was a big contributor. She turned me on to Three Dog Night, who were a huge early favorite. I remember their drummer was this powerful, imposing figure, really impressive. I was hooked and got a set of drums at 13. My tastes rapidly turned more to the experimental – Billy Cobram, Yes and all this jazz fusion stuff.
Any super-strong, new sound appealed to me, especially the heavier stuff, a lot of 3-chord power-rock and songs with great harmonies…Ted Nugent, Queen, Sweet, Head East, Boston… I was also fascinated w/ early synth, especially REO Speedwagon. The Minimoog, Styx, and I knew I had to make music.

At 14 or so, I remember going over to friends’ houses and hanging out, trying stuff like you do when you’re 14. If a guy had some music, that was cool. If he had a guitar and was playing some stuff, that was cooler. By college, guitar had totally eclipsed drums as my #1 instrument of choice, basically for the increased sex appeal and portability issues. I had a very big amp.