I'm
a thirty-something2 male practicing heterosexual (I'll get it
down one of these days), never married, with a beautiful teenage daughter
named Stephanie Beth, who
used to live with her Mom in a place that was about a 3 hour drive from
here (19 by camel), but who is soon moving back here! Woo-hoo!
(*Ok... I'm FORTY-something.
For you math flunkies, that 2 means "squared", alright????!!!
Crucify me for a little AGE humor here, geez...)
At only a few months old, it was obvious to most people that I
was going to be trouble.
My
parents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1996. Dad said,"60
years... and I don't regret ONE YEAR of it... I think the year was 1948."
I'm a few pounds overweight right now, but I have started my new water
diet. A few years prior to the diet, I realized I was fat enough to
perform here.
I
describe myself as an "unpopular song writer", and also a solo artist,
playing keyboards, guitar and even a little electronic drum kit.
I basically do the 'one-man'band' thing, but I can do solo piano
(piano-bar) stuff. I use computer backing tracks (MIDI) that I program
myself- and it's a lot of work, by the way. I get a bit miffed
when I hear derogatory comments about 'the band in the background'. Yeah,
that's ME playing that stuff. And if you think it's easy... here's
the sequencer and a cassette of the song- let's see YOU do it, Einstein.
I
play locally around NE Pennsylvania, any place they'll pay me. This
area, however, seems to be lagging behind the rest of the country as far
as economic recovery- I have it on good authority that Fridays in Scranton
will soon be cancelled due to lack of interest. Check my Performance
Schedule.
I play Bermuda (Rum
Runners) and St. Thomas
(Frenchman's Reef) when no hurricanes are imminent. I also play
abroad occasionally- from December 1993 to February 1994 I did a little
European 'tour', starting in Tonsberg,
Norway, continuing in Basel,
Switzerland to Davos,
Switzerland, and finishing on a Silja
Line cruise boat (the Europa)
sailing the Baltic Sea between Helsinki,
Finland and Stockholm,
Sweden. It was a blast. (see map)
I
just returned from a 2-month tour of Europe, visiting Scuol,
Switzerland and St.Anton, Austria.
My
band, Dakota, has just finished yet another new CD, called "Little Victories".
I have no item to list here, but there was an extra green ball, and I couldn't
figure out how to get rid of the damned thing.
I also record, manufacture and release my
own albums (yes, it's still called an 'album', whether it's on a CD,
cassette or LP- 'album'refers to a collection of songs. Just thought
I'd clear that up once and for all.) And I own my own record label,
confidential records.
And I operate my own little radio/TV jingle company called closet productions,
which I started in a walk-in closet in downtown Scranton in 1987. The company
also owns my 16-track recording studio, called, strangely enough, Closet
Studios.
If
you're REALLY hard up for entertainment, there is a brief synopsis of my
life, starting from high school up through the present. I would suggest
taking up knitting...
On a sad note, one of my heroes is no longer with us- Kevin Gilbert
was a musical giant. He was the driving force behind the band Toy Matinee,
and
was once described as "the kind of musician that makes talented people
jealous". That was a precise description- I recommend his work to anyone
with a taste for incredible, label-defying, amazing music, and the gray
matter to absorb truly brilliant, resplendent lyrics. He died May 18, 1996,
and will be sadly missed at this house. I spent many an evening
marvelling in jealous awe over his genius. Thank you, Kevin. (Just what
I needed- another debt I can never hope to repay...)
Personal Stuff 
