How would you classify your music?

I think my style of Music is diverse drawing on many musical elements and influences.  However, my music seems to fit best in the category of, “Inspirational Pop Rock”.  Instrumentally, I blend acoustic, jazz and fingerstyle guitar approaches and include arrangements with electric guitar, pop, blues and rock band ideas.  Vocally, I gravitate to strong melodies and harmonies.  I am striving for originality in my modern compositions melodies and musical arrangements without adhering to a singular genre. I write my music to be moving, memorable and joyous.   

Who are some of your top 5 musical influences?

That is a tough question because I have so many bands and performers who have greatly impacted me.  Really the musicians and bands that influenced me the greatest are the ones who pushed the boundaries of music and were innovators.

I will provide my top 5:

The Beatles – My first influence.  A short story, my uncle was very good to me.  When I was a teenager, I think I was 12 or 13, he bought me The Beatles Red Greatest Hits double album with so many great songs on it such as, “She Loves You” and, “Day Tripper:  My uncle then took me to see his brother’s touring rock band from Kingston Ontario when they were rehearsing.  I remember his brother had a huge drum kit.  I had just started Playing acoustic guitar. The band played songs by The Beatles, Toto, Kansas, The Guess Who etc.   I was blown away seeing a real band perform live in front of me for the first time.  I was totally inspired and hooked on playing guitar and live music from then on.  My uncle also had a Rickenbacker ¾ size John Lennon electric guitar and let me play it through his amplifier.  I wanted to be just like John Lennon at the time.  The Beatles music and their great melodies have forever stretched the boundaries of music and influenced my songwriting.

Edward Van Halen.  I was in my first rock band when I heard Van Halen One.  I was just starting to get going on the guitar and heard Eruption.  Eddie’s monstrous technique, picking, and sense of rhythm was fresh, new and so exciting to me.  His playing was full of surprises and mesmerizing.  I would slow the record album down on the turntable with weights and try to copy and learn his guitar parts.  This was way before guitar tablature or YouTube was available to help learn music.  I learned a lot of his playing note for note, by ear.  This approach has given me a great musical foundation and good ear for music.  Eddie’s influence has found its way into my playing for sure.

Rush and Alex Lifeson.  Canada’s premier power trio.  This band has moved me many times throughout their entire 40 year span.  Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee represent the best of Canadian rock music.  Rush was a great blend of progressive ideas and blues rock.  Led Zeppelin was one of their early influences, and Jimmy Page became one of my other favorite guitarists. Their musicianship and guitar playing was always stellar and innovative. The music was always fresh and cutting edge. I saw many of their live shows and their music had many great inspirational messages that spoke to me. 

John Mayer.  My wife and musical partner Dani introduced me to John Mayer.  I fell in love with his fingerstyle and blues playing.  He was influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan another great influence of mine.  I broke my left hand badly in my 20’s and almost stopped playing guitar because of it.  It took years and determination to recover but I was able to return to 100%.  During my recovery time I was limited to blues playing and learned a lot of SRV avoiding the use of my left pinky finger. I hear a lot of SRV in John Mayer’s playing and I spent a lot of time delving into his playing and singing approaches.  Songs such as, “Why Georgia”, “Stop This Train” and “Neon” pushed boundaries and were inspirational to me and moved me further as a guitarist.  His playing also shows the influence of great fingerstyle players.

My mentor is the Great Tommy Emmanuel. He is one of the top guitarists on earth. I began my journey into fingerstyle guitar learning, Kansas’, “Dust in the Wind” and Led Zeppelin’s, “Going to California”, and “White Summer Black Mountain Side”.  By chance I met Canadian Premier Fingerstyle guitarist Terry Tufts performing in Merrickville.  I was inspired by his fingerstyle rendition of The Beatles Blackbird and many others.  Terry helped me out and he gave me a study package on the amazing guitar playing of the late Lenny Breau, which helped him.  From this I gained insight into fingerstyle and found the Great Tommy Emmanuel on Youtube performing, “Classical Gas” live on acoustic guitar solo.  Everyone should see his videos and see him live he will move you.  I was completely blown away by his performance, technique and flamboyance.  He was by far the most intense and diverse acoustic guitarist I had ever seen and I was drawn to him and further into fingerstyle guitar.

I saw Tommy Emmanuel live for the first time in Quebec City in 2014 accompanied by Frank Vignolo and Vinny Raniolo in an acoustic “Gypsy Jazz” band format.  I was playing in a Gypsy Jazz band performing Django Reinhardt standards at the time.  I was so inspired by Tommy Emmanuel’s playing and meeting him for the first time.  He was so humble and such a gentleman.  I bought his instructional videos and delved deeply into his intense fingerstyle playing and I have performed many of his songs.  His playing touches me on a spiritual level.  I have attended two of his guitar camps and had several conversations with him.  His guidance and influence has shaped my playing. 

What do you want fans to take from your music?

I want to move people with my music and make them feel alive.  The power of music is profound and it has the power to change people.  My music carries positive messages and messages of hope. I want the listener to relate to my music.  I hope they can see themselves and their personal life experience in my lyrics and music. 

How’s the music scene in your locale?

I am in Eastern Ontario Canada.  Before 2020 I had 3 live bands I was performing with, then there was none.  The live music scene has been slow to recover with less venues to perform in, but it is improving.  Being easier to manage, I have shifted to performing live in an acoustic duet.  The last 3 years have had a silver lining, and given me much more time to devote to songwriting and recording. I had the time and created my own home studio at the lake, “JDM Studios”.  I do all my recording there. I am proud of my new 15 song album called, “Elevation”.  It is the culmination of this musical shift, influences and my new focus in music. 

What is the best concert you have been to? What do you like most about playing live?

That’s another tough question.  I have been to so many great concerts over the years that have inspired and moved me.  I saw Paul McCartney live in 2016 in Syracuse New York for my birthday.  It was the first time I have seen one of The Beatles who are one of my top musical influences.  I was in awe of his performance.  Paul McCartney at 70 years old was fabulous, playing guitar, bass, piano and singing like he has never missed a note.  The show was 50 years of Sgt. Pepper and he reproduced the music flawlessly.  His show was entertaining, playing hits from early Beatles, hits, Wings hits such as Band on the Run and Live and Let Die. His singing and range was spot on.  He is everything a musician could aspire to.  He totally connected with the audience throughout the show. 

For me what I like most about playing live is the connection with the listener and audience. I can feel the connection, interplay and energy with the audience when playing live and it inspires me.  I also enjoy the pressure of performing live because it sharpens my playing.  I enjoy seeing the music move people.  When I play a cover song that has impacted and inspired someone in the past, it takes the listener back to the time, mood and place where the song impacted them.  I can see their demeanor change.  For example, when it was a song that brought them happiness, you see them become happy and joyful reliving the moment they discovered the song.  In this respect music is like time travel taking people back to impressionable moments.

Is there a song on your latest CD release here that stands out as your personal favorite, and why? What is your song writing process?

I like all the songs on the Elevation album for different reasons.  Each song stands on its own and has its own feature such as melody, or fingerstyle or electric guitar work.  If I had to name just one I would say, “On My Way to Mexico” stands out.  My wife Dani and I travel to different countries throughout the winter.  In 2021/2022 we were traveling from Ecuador to Mexico for the first time.  I recall being particularly inspired at the time in January 2022.  The main guitar part for “On My Way to Mexico” came to me just after I woke up.  I could clearly see and hear the parts of the song playing in my head just like an “earworm”.  I had been writing lyrics steadily also.  I was able to capture those parts and ideas on my portable recorder as I heard them.  After returning home to my JDM Studios in Canada the final versions were developed with Spanish guitar ideas suggested by Dani. In my opinion the song is a fresh tasteful blend of acoustic fingerstyle, rhythm, vocal melody and electric guitar.  It is a good example of my music and my process in action.

How have you evolved as an artist over the last year?

As an artist I am constantly evolving and working at music composition.  Over the last 2 winters my wife and I have traveled to different countries and experienced new cultures and history.  Travel inspires me deeply and generates a flow of musical ideas.  I always have an acoustic guitar with me and my portable recorder.  I use them all the time or I will forget the idea.  This steady flow of guitar and musical ideas produces many song ideas.  Seeing places such as the Amazon Jungle and horseback riding in the mountains of Ecuador has generated many lyrics for me.  I now have a journal of lyric ideas to be worked with the musical ideas and melodies.  My songwriting process has evolved greatly in the last year.  I have expanded as a player too.  I perform and created all the parts for the instruments on the new album, acoustic and electric guitars, jazz acoustic, resonator slide guitar and bass, with the exception of percussion and djembe drum that my wife plays.

If you could meet, play a gig, co-write a song, have dinner, have a drink with any band or artist (dead or alive) who would it be?  

I would really enjoy meeting John Mayer and co-writing a song with him. He tours with Dead and Co and is really into improvisation.  That really interests me as a guitarist.  I would love to learn how he writes his music and gain insight into his playing.  I know we would easily work together and come up with a really interesting piece of music, and hopefully a friendship.  It would be great to know him personally. 

What’s next for you?  

I am going to spend the next several months promoting my new release “Elevation”.  I have just finished working up all the songs for performance on solo acoustic in duo format for live performance with my wife and musical partner Dani.  This will deliver the songs for an all original show in a more intimate format for now.  I plan on playing live regularly this summer and by the end of September starting to write for the next release.  We will likely travel again over winter, and I am looking forward to more inspiration and song ideas.