I've been playing drums "officially" since the summer of about 1978, beginning with school concert band, a pair of sticks, and a rubber Ludwig "wedge" practice pad. Before that I was inspired my dad's Ventures records and Peter Criss's drum work on on "Detroit Rock City" by Kiss. I started banging on cardboard boxes with my mother's wooden kitchen spoons in my West Hartford, CT basement in the mid-70s. My grandmother's pot rack was another favorite instrument. At one point I lined up all her pots on the carpet in order based on their respective pitches and played with composing my own original percussion "pieces". At a very young age I figured out how to use two tape recorders to "overdub" and accompany myself. After recording one rhythmic pattern on the first deck I would then play it back and add a second part using different pots and pans while recording on the second machine. I was just playing around but little did I know Les Paul had done a much more advanced version of "sound on sound" decades before.

The first concert I was brought to was Shaun Cassidy in New Haven, CT on June 14, 1978. My parents heard he was coming and, since my grandmother had gifted me his debut album for my birthday (yes, the one with the dreamy poster inside), they figured I'd like to take some friends along to the show. My dad actually bought a block of tickets and my parents, my friend Mike, his sister, and their parents made the trek from West Hartford to New Haven. One of the most memorable moments was when Mr. & Mrs. Jensen's Cadillac broke down on the way to the show. Apparently they got the problem fixed and met us at the show with plenty of time to spare. The moment that stands out in my mind the most though was when Shaun Cassidy entered the stage by jumping through a paper hoop while wearing a blue lam jumpsuit. My friend Michael was fast asleep in his chair by this time. To this day he is the person solely responsible for turning me on to the group Kiss and the more "dangerous" side of rock music.

Shaun Cassidy may well have been the Justin Bieber of his day but I rapidly improved my concert schedule by following up with Charlie Daniels Band and Rush a year later. For the full list of "100 artists I've seen in concert" please click this link to my Facebook note:
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=110102324076

Currently I'm playing a 6-pc Sonor Force 3001 series kit with a honey maple finish. 10", 12", 14" rack toms,16" floor, 14" snare, 20" bass. For cymbals I use Zildjian custom A's, with a 16" medium thin crash, 18" crash/ride, 14" new beat hi-hats and a 20" rock ride. I'm also the proud owner of a custom Longo snare drum (14"x6") made of single-ply steam bent purpleheart wood. Of course, no drum kit would be complete without a cowbell...mine's a standard size LP. I also have added a DW 5000 kick drum pedal.

A pair of Meinl bongos, a vintage Ludwig cowbell, and a Remo Klong Yaw hand drum complete my current arsenal.

I can also rock a brown paper grocery bag with brushes.

Drumming influences included John Bonham, Neil Peart, Phil Rudd, Frank Beard and Peter Criss in the early days. I went on to discover Steve Gadd, Narada Michael Walden, Jeff Pocaro and Dennis Chambers. Later I pursued the funkier sounds of Clyde Stubblefield, Jerome Brailey and Keith Carlock.

Musical influences and inspirations overall include Elvis, The Beatles, Allman Brothers, Frank Zappa, Charles Mingus, Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, Shuggie Otis, Traffic, Herbie Hancock, Prince, Spike Jones, Jeff Beck, Norah Jones, Phish, Sly & The Family Stone, Rickie Lee Jones, Maceo Parker, Loudon Wainwright III, Delbert McClinton, Dick Hyman, Funkadelic, and too many others to list here.

Back in New York I played with Second Hand Blues (blues), Juice Junkees (original rock/alternative), Jericho Joe (90s covers), Frankie Lessard Trio (originals), Whitewater (country), The Green Mt. Pranksters (Grateful Dead cover band), The Ruddys (happy hour fun time band), Rudeke (jam band), and once or twice guested with Erin Harkes (originals).

Since moving to California a year ago I've thrown my nets out into the North Bay waters and here's what I've come up with in the order that I met and began working with them. The ones in parenthesis are not currently active.

(#1 - "Lola Paris" - a voluptuous bilingual (French/English) art funk project consisting of bass, drums, guitar and keys with a dynamically eccentric female singer. Currently on hiatus as of Spring 2012.)

#2 - "Soul Patrol" - a classic rock blues party band that features twin lead guitarists, four singers, bass and drums. We've already played in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg and Calistoga. Currently breaking in a new bass player but no gigs on the calendar. http://www.facebook.com/SoulPatrolBand

(#3 - "Blue Hotel" - an R&B, swing, and rockin' oldies band with guitar, bass, keys, drums, percussion and a front man who vocally resembles Ray Charles when he wants to. On indefinite hiatus at the moment. http://www.facebook.com/BlueHotelMusic)

(#4 - "Mariposa Express" - a Latin/R&B/Rock group specializing in Santana, Stevie Wonder and classic soul featuring guitar, bass, drums, congas and an amazingly soulful vocalist front man. Currently on hold due to member's health issues.)

(#5 - "The Powdered Sugars" - a quintet of ladies "of a certain age" that perform songs from the good old days by artists such as The Chiffons, Andrews Sisters, and other female icons. I played a couple freelance gigs with them in June of 2012. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Powdered-Sugars/313577555339924)

#6 - "DyaTribal" - my newest and by far most unique project, comprised of random musicians who had never met before Friday, July 13, 2012. We became the highest-scoring "instant band" at the Bohemian's 2012 NorBay Awards "24 hour band" contest. Names were drawn out of hats (guitar hat, bass hat, drum hat, etc.) and five bands were assembled. For more information on this truly unique world music project please visit our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/DyaTribal

#7 - "New Skye" - a country/Americana band featuring guitar, mandolin, fiddle and multi-part vocal harmonies, I was asked to fill in with them (despite no rehearsals) in October 2012. As a result I've been asked to play with them again in November and December.

#8 - "New Vintage Artists" - a recording studio in Sebastopol where I've been tracking drums on a couple new original projects, working with studio owner Chuck Johnson.

If I could jam with anyone out there at the moment, I think I'd choose Maceo Parker. It's an impossible gig, of course, because it's "all in the family" with his crew. His nephew is his current drummer and is fairly amazing in his own right.

Historically, I would love to have been part of the session when the Rolling Stones recorded "Can't You Hear Me Knockin". It's their loosest, funkiest jam. Santana's Woodstock performance of "Soul Sacrifice" is also right up there. The J. Geils Band also came close when they recorded "Give It To Me". I'd also be quite happy to replace Greg Errico in Sly & The Family Stone...before Sly started losing it.

The largest audience I ever performed to at one time was probably during the Troy River Fest a couple years ago when I played percussion with the Erin Harkes Band. Couldn't tell exactly how large the crowd was but we opened for Paula Cole (for what it's worth). The largest STAGE I've played on was for a "battle of the bands" contest at Empire Plaza in Albany, NY. One of my most memorable performances was when that same band (Juice Junkees) performed on a Schenectady cable access show. We were to perform live in the studio but were running late because of a traffic accident that blocked our way to the TV studio. We ended up backing up a one-way street to get there with about ten minutes to set up the entire PA, drum set, guitar amps, etc. and be ready to play. We did it in 15 but they had to delay their broadcast for five minutes for us! YouTube video of this still exists.

This question seems irrelevant with the advent of current technology but I get the point, I'm supposed to name the album I could listen to the longest without getting tired of it. I thrive on variety though. If I had a good wireless signal with a Spotify account or a 2Tb external drive I'd need not worry. On the other hand, if all I've got is a hand-crank Victrola I would choose anything by Spike Jones. I might be stranded but at least I'd be able to laugh.