About me....I'm a married "forty-something" songwriter/recording artist (BMI) currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. I decided to move to "Music City USA" from Niagara Falls, New York about four years ago. I spent many years in the Buffalo music scene honing my skills at performing, recording, live audio reinforcement, studio engineering, writing, arranging and producing. My primary instruments are keyboards, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and bass guitar. I also do a lot of rhythm programming. I don't consider myself to be a great vocalist, but I manage to put down some decent vocal tracks once in a while.

   I started studying music on my own around the age of ten. My first instrument was an old acoustic guitar with only four strings on it. I would have preferred six, but we really couldn't afford them at the time! I learned music from as many books as I could carry from the library. Our church was a community music school, and there was a piano in almost every room. I couldn't wait to go to church to play the concert grand piano in the choir room. I'd stop by the church whenever I could during the week to play it when no one was around. 

   At an early age I remember listening to songs and picking out the different parts in the arrangement. I was always amazed at how they could make everything sound so good. I didn't realize back then that many of the most popular artists had a lot of "help" in the studio to get that perfect recording! My first recordings were made on a Radio Shack tape recorder,  with that top-of-line microphone you plugged into the side. I figured that wasn't gonna win me any Grammy's, so I moved up to a Fostex 4-track cassette recorder. From there I used an 8-track reel-to-reel and actually started recording some decent demos. It didn't take long for me to get hooked on recording studios, and I began to sit in on as many sessions as I could in the bigger studios around town. I've always tried to learn as much as I could from anyone who was willing to teach me. I don't have a music degree from Julliard or Eastman, but I've had plenty of on-the-job training with folks who make their living in this business. 

   I've replaced all of my analog recording with digital recording with no regrets. The technology of today's recording industry has allowed me to put together arrangements and productions which I could only dream about when I was a kid! I'm having the time of my life doing music right now, but I wish I would've had this technology years ago. Well, I guess it's better late than never!

   I'm a member of NSAI (Nashville Songwriter's Association) which has helped greatly in my songwriting career. This is one of the very few organizations that can give you face-to-face exposure to some of the biggest songwriters in the industry! If you're a songwriter and need some direction, support and education, NSAI is definitely worth the investment. I've also done a lot of networking through MySpace Music. This has become an indispensable tool for meeting fellow artists and industry folks. It's also a great way for fans to interact with artists and also make some friends in the process.

   I'll add to this mini-autobiography as I get the time. I hope you enjoy my music, art, photos, poetry and anything else I can think of to put on this site!  :o)

  Take care,

   John