I started playing guitar when I was 15, though I wanted to start when I was 5 after I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. Since I’m now over 60, you could say the guitar has been my close companion for most of my life. For the first 15 years, it was all about rock and roll (of course) and playing really loud music with my friends.
Around the mid-1990’s, I fell in love with acoustic fingerstyle guitar music. I had many early guitar heroes and influences at that time, but I grew to love the beauty and challenge of fingerstyle guitar mainly from two skilled and patient guitar instructors in Ann Arbor, Michigan: Johnny Lawrence, jazz guitar instructor at Washtenaw Community College, and Shari Kane, Delta Blues guitar goddess. My repertoire includes original compositions, a few classical pieces, and instrumental arrangements of folk (particularly Celtic), rock, and popular songs. Some artists I cover include the Beatles (of course), James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Cream, Simon and Garfunkel, Van Morrison, Michael Hedges, the Grateful Dead, Al Petteway, Charles Mingus, John Prine, Martin Simpson, and Andrew York, among others. I’ve performed at a variety of events and venues around northern Michigan, including farmers markets, wineries, summer street festivals, libraries, and local concert series.
Ten fingers manipulating 6 steel strings to elicit the resonance of wood—this has always brought me a sense of peace and respite. It soothes my soul and worried mind. I hope my music does the same for you.