I started playing guitar at the age of 16. My early influences were; John Norum, Ritchie Sambora, Ace Frehley, George Lynch, Warren de Martini and Mick Mars. Obviously the music I was listening to at this time was late 80's hard rock, and I wasn't satisfied just listening to this music, I wanted to play it. Looking back, this was good music to be influenced by, as a lot of the emphasis as far as the guitar was concerned was on technique. People like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert were just beginning to make themselves known when I started playing and although their playing didn't influence me, their dedication to the instrument did. This soon prompted me to learn scales, arpeggios, chords and music theory and devote countless hours to practicing them. 18 months into my playing, people in my neighborhood started talking about my playing and I remember some of the local guys knocking on my door and asking if they could come in and watch me play. One of these guys became my first ever student.
Teaching guitar was not something I'd thought about, but i was asked on a number of occasions and eventually gave in. The experience however was soon to be a positive one and would shape a large part of my musical career. Soon after starting to teach I put my first band together, called “The Rock Pigs”, we played only one gig of cover tunes and then spent countless hours, week in, week out, rehearsing our own material, This was also to be a learning experience.
In 1991 I enrolled at Crosskeys College to study Performing Arts, majoring in music. I spent 3 years there and met some talented people, I learned a lot from my tutors and fellow students. While I was in college I was introduced to Jazz guitar and then went on to study it for 4 years. While in college I also developed more of an appreciation for lots of other music styles and began to listen to artists like Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, The Beatles, Charlie Parker and Lenny Kravitz.
College was great for me as a practicing musician because I was practicing 2 hours a day, playing all day in college, practicing or jamming during free periods, learning to play other instruments and playing gigs with my band at the time, "Lazy Dog Jack" in the evenings and weekends. I also took extra theory lessons in the evenings. Being in college, I had grown a lot as a musician but needed to take all I had learned and apply it to my practical playing. I left college passing my course with 5 distinctions, 6 merits and 1 pass. I soon formed a new band "Zest" with a friend/singer I had met in college and began to mix rock with jazz. Musically this band was very fulfilling but each band member would soon drift into teaching as a way of making a living. although I had now been teaching for 6 years I began to make a real living out of it, I have continued to do so to this very day. Around this time, I also began to undertake a little session work. My students have made me so proud so many times, from landing record deals to becoming top of their class in guitar studies in university.
Over the past few years I have spent more time recording/producing, playing low key gigs, selling/demonstrating guitars repairing instruments and writing my own material. Over recent years my goals as a guitarist have changed. Writing a song that provokes a positive reaction is what drives me as opposed to being a virtuoso player. I do however like to add some technical/flashy playing where it may suit or enhance a song. All of the songs on my brand new album 'Variant' are about experiences that have taken place in my life and are important enough to me to commit to record. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as i enjoyed writing and recording them.
Bio 
Teaching guitar was not something I'd thought about, but i was asked on a number of occasions and eventually gave in. The experience however was soon to be a positive one and would shape a large part of my musical career. Soon after starting to teach I put my first band together, called “The Rock Pigs”, we played only one gig of cover tunes and then spent countless hours, week in, week out, rehearsing our own material, This was also to be a learning experience.
College was great for me as a practicing musician because I was practicing 2 hours a day, playing all day in college, practicing or jamming during free periods, learning to play other instruments and playing gigs with my band at the time, "Lazy Dog Jack" in the evenings and weekends. I also took extra theory lessons in the evenings. Being in college, I had grown a lot as a musician but needed to take all I had learned and apply it to my practical playing. I left college passing my course with 5 distinctions, 6 merits and 1 pass. I soon formed a new band "Zest" with a friend/singer I had met in college and began to mix rock with jazz. Musically this band was very fulfilling but each band member would soon drift into teaching as a way of making a living. although I had now been teaching for 6 years I began to make a real living out of it, I have continued to do so to this very day. Around this time, I also began to undertake a little session work. My students have made me so proud so many times, from landing record deals to becoming top of their class in guitar studies in university.
Over the past few years I have spent more time recording/producing, playing low key gigs, selling/demonstrating guitars repairing instruments and writing my own material. Over recent years my goals as a guitarist have changed. Writing a song that provokes a positive reaction is what drives me as opposed to being a virtuoso player. I do however like to add some technical/flashy playing where it may suit or enhance a song. All of the songs on my brand new album 'Variant' are about experiences that have taken place in my life and are important enough to me to commit to record. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as i enjoyed writing and recording them. 