I first learned to play music and keep the tempo with my foot as a trumpet player in elementary school. It wasn't until much later that I saved up enough cash to buy an old classical guitar from a pawn shop and enter into one man band fray. After graduating from the University of Washington a buddy of mine and I saved up enough money to live and travel in a VW bus for year. The time spent poking around the US taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of our vast North American continent was a priceless education that proved to sow the seeds of my musical instrument creations. It allowed me the time to hone into and appreciate more deeply a taste for older, bluesy roots Americana music and take the first steps in trying to play a variation of it on my guitar and a stomping foot. Currently my musical tastes have me tuning into and want to play songs by: Mississippi Fred McDowell, J.J. Cale, Beck, Wilco, Bluegrass of all styles, Ben Prestage, John Lee Hooker, Big Bill Bronzy, Yonder Mountain String band, Citizen Cope, Will Oldham, Beta Band, The Kinks, Taj Mahal, Broken Social Scene, John Spencer Blues Explosion, Junior Kimbough, R.L. Burnside, White Stripes, Gomez, Model T Ford, Bob Dylan, Fleet Foxes, John Prine, Toots and the Maytals, G. Love, Pavement, Sun Kil Moon, Mississippi John Hurt, the Shins, Zed Zeppelin, Steve Earle, Rolling Stones, Gillian Welch, John Butler Trio, Widespread Panic, Velvet Underground, Neko Case, Bela Fleck, Bukka White, Xavier Rudd, Vetiver, The Shins, Radiohead, Earl Scruggs, Ben Harper, Blue Scholars, Ali Farka Toure, Ry Cooder, Sun Rah, Bob Log III, Sam Cooke, Black Keys, Two Gallants to name only a few off the top of my head...

The time in between traveling, music, and work is spent reading, running, remodeling our home, recreating outdoors, and relaxing with my wife Kate. I have also put lots of creative energy into making stringed instruments and other musical oddities (see photos of Cigar Box Guitar, Battery-Powered Amp Stool, Acoustic Lap Steel).