About Me

I started playing bass somewhere around 1991. Mostly with friends who played guitar and I think we knew one drummer. It was a small town. We played mostly Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer covers so I played metal and hard rock for a few years. Around 1994 I started to get into slapping and tapping influenced by the likes of Les Claypool, Flea, Michael Manring, Stu Hamm, and Billy Sheehan. I didn't have much else to do but practice because I moved before my last two years of high school and was never really the type to 'fit in'. During college, 1995-1997, I didn't really do much music wise. I played in a mediocre band just to stay sane but it's not much worth mentioning if only to fill the gaps. In 1999 I hooked up with 'Hell Camino' in Denver, Colorado. This is where things started to get interesting. Hell Camino was a rock band with a perverted edge. It was a lot of fun to say the least. It was my first experience playing large clubs and theatres and where I finally started getting over my 'stage fright'. It was really anxiety more than anything else. This was definitely the first time I was in a 'serious' band. We practiced 2-3 times a week and would gig up to 4-5 times a month. That was serious to me. In 2001 I moved to California and didn't do much for about a year. I did a little bit of writing on my own and collaborated with Eric Neff, who was ex Hell Camino keyboardist and now one of my best friends. Racketeer is one of the tracks we worked on and the only to ever really be produced to be good enough to show other people. In 2002 I hooked up with 'Downboy'. This is where I really found my niche. It was fresh, it was new, it was tight. I really found my groove in this band and learned how to play less. Less is more, right? One of the most important things I learned was that playing a lot of notes really fast was not how to groove. It's playing what fits, even if it's a single note hit at the right moment and silenced immediately. How to groove has to be learned, it has to be felt. It cannot be taught. Norm Stockton told me once "Develop a passion for the groove." I think that's what separates the bassists from the bass players. After relocating to Frisco, Texas I met up with a group called the "Shock of Pleasure", I have been looking for something like this for a while now. A fresh sound, a cool look, and chilled grooves make up what no other group in Dallas can offer. It is truly a pleasure to be a part of this. Please check out my Music page for more information about the full length album that was just realeased.