Music for me started in the womb with my mom singing and playing a mean stride piano in a band with her brothers. (I remember lying in bed as a kid, listening to some wild drunken jams at family get-togethers – my uncles played sax, piano, drums, banjo, guitars … my dad played mandolin, tenor guitar and banjo.)
My brothers and I all took music lessons when we were kids and my 3 brothers all went on to be professional musicians for at least part of their lives (one still is.) So our house was always full of drum kits, guitar amps, keyboards and various other instruments, often in the hands of a band practicing in the basement.
I played lead trumpet in high-school band and later took a year off for intensive studies of jazz piano and composition with the inimitable Lloyd Abrams. Played keyboards in a band for a while and was also hired to play my original tunes at private functions.
But I traveled the world a lot and a piano is a hard thing to get in a back pack, so taught myself guitar, Irish low whistle, harmonica and baritone uke to satisfy the urge for music on the road.
My main love, however, has always been writing the tunes rather than performing them (took songwriting at Capilano College and have been mentored by the legendary Craig Bickhardt). Have occasionally pitched my tunes to others (genres vary from pop to jazz, country, folk, rock and film) and had one tune, Over You, short-listed for a Diana Krall CD.
A sampling on the music page with a broad range of production values, from studio to a single cheap mic hanging over a piano. All just mock-up, pre-production; none mastered. Will post the rest (over 100) as I get time. (*All songs written and produced by me except How ‘Bout You and I Don’t Shine co-produced by the wonderful Ken Pendergast, and All Of My Forevers, co-written with Georgia Van Schie. Endless thanks to Georgia, Esther Hutton, and Bodra Alliya for the female vocals.)