Piano Lessons in Napa, CA

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
It was a gradual decision I wish I would have made sooner. Being a musician isn't just a career, but a full on life style. The sooner you commit to this life style the more fully you can experience it. Becoming a performance level musician takes time and commitment unlike anything else. I was never encouraged to be a musician because my family was not musical and did not understand the prospect of playing or teaching music as a profession outside of recording hit singles and touring stadiums. It took me well into adulthood to realize that there are other and more realistic ways to make a living through music such as teaching, performing in a small touring band, or a successful local band, and possibly working as a session musician in a studio, jazz, classical, or wedding ensemble.

If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
Coincidentally enough if I was not playing and teaching music I think I would want to be a school teacher instead. I really do love sharing my knowledge with curious individuals and working one on one with students to see them develop. I've always been very interested in history and reading especially so it would equally be a joy to share these interests with thirsty minds as well. Some times I even consider going back to school to become a teacher for a full time day job where I would still have nights, weekends, and summers off to focus on my art.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
Since I started I've always played some kind of rock music. First classic and alternative rock and now primarily a new style people call "jam". Jam music roots from 60s psychedelic rock especially the Grateful Dead and Alman Brothers Band, but also such popular acts as Pink Floyd, Big Brother and The Holding Company, and Jimi Hendrix as well as more contemporary and eclectic influences such as electronic, hip hop, funk, world, and jazz. The main feature of "jam" music is it's incorporation of improv and fluid transitions between pieces and styles to create a unique musical mosaic each performance. I prefer this style because it incorporates a wide range of influences from other styles of music I like while expressing genuine emotion in the moment more passionately then other current genres.

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
I've been saying for years now I want to do a cover of Pink Floyd's "Shine on you Crazy Diamonds". Pink Floyd have always been a major influence on my playing and thinking since my father first introduced them to me as his favorite band when I was a child. Since then this has probably become my favorite piece of theirs. It's a multi-movement psychedelic rock symphony starting from the depths of the void and taking listeners on an other worldly sonic journey through time and space guided by the piercing vocality of David Gilmore's guitar tone. The piece is incredibly cinematic in a sense and truly the peak of what I believe modern music is cable of.

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
I like to start by warming up, which really every player should. My routine includes scale exercises to practice fretting, intervals, finger dexterity, and reach as well as a variety of diatonic chord and strumming exercises to practice rhythm in different time signatures and styles including basic funk, reggae, and jazz patterns. Next I'll often move on to scale and solo work by practicing with TABs, recordings, and new scale charts. Finally I move on to song work and improv developing original material and solo ideas for my band or else practice on nights it is scheduled.

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