Bio

I got interested in the guitar at about eleven years old after hearing a neighbour playing and singing tunes on an acoustic. I purchased a classical guitar with a cheese cutter action and rotten tuning pegs and struggled to learn my first chords. It was dreadful and I struggled desperately to piece together anything resembling a tune for weeks. After a while, I got to hear about a local player called Ray Uren .

We got introduced and later I ended up round his pad for some much needed tuition and moral support. That day changed my whole life! The guy was (and still is) an absolute monster player and, after helping me pick my jaw up from the floor, he went on to teach me some basic exercises and valuable practice techniques.

Well, I went back home on cloud nine and knowing that I wanted nothing else but to play guitar. I practiced for hours and hours. A week or two later I returned to show Ray the results and ended up arriving back home with a Yamaha SG1500 electric guitar to play on. I guess Ray saw some potential and parted with one of his own axes to help me along! I've always felt incredibly lucky to have met Ray so early in my playing because I owe much of my technique and knowledge to him. Without his guidance I would never have become the player I am today. In addition, he is still one of my all time favourite players.

The coming together ...

Over the next few years I started to listen to players like Knopfler, Santana Satch Vai, Vinnie Moore and later Carlton, Stern, Henderson and Lukather I developed a good technique and a rounded knowledge on harmony but on my real passion of improvising I just couldn't seem to piece together tasteful lines. It was after about seven or eight years that I started to get into Robben Ford's playing and the whole 'Blue Line' thing. His sheer taste and killer tone hooked me. I went straight out and bought all his albums and teaching videos and spent the next few years learning to improvise over blues and jazz blues progressions. That was finally the key that helped unlock my playing. Everything else I learnt suddenly began to fit together better.

The bands ........

I had been in a few bands but my best early playing/gig experience came from two Local blues bands - ' The Cadillac Blues Band ' and the Lee Ryder Band.

I met Lee at a gig where Ray was depping and was introduced. He let me get up for a number in the second set. Following that, when ever Ray could not do a gig Lee gave me a call, and before long I was depping regularly with the band. Lee used a lot of deps in those days and I got to meet some great players and get some much needed band experience. Around the same period I also met guitarist and singer Coll Michaels who fronted another great blues band called ' The Cadillac Blues Band '. Before long I found my self regularly playing with these guys too and was lucky enough to be with the band for just over two years. Cadillac was (and still are) an exceptionally tight unit with great seasoned players. The experience I gained from playing with Coll, JC and Rolly has proved invaluable.

Following this I heard another band - ' Soul Purpose' were looking for a guitarist. The unit was run by a well know local keyboard player called Hillary Briggs. Hilly was a really great player, and the thought of playing in his band was too much to resist. well I auditioned and to my utter surprise I landed the gig! It was a great band playing Steely Dan, and a mixture of original fusion like tunes. We played all over the gaff. Sadly it came to an end a few years later, but I still have very fond memories. Later I joined a function band called ' The Wright Brothers '. The guys netted some great gigs, and even a slot in the ' Four Weddings & a Funeral' film (unfortunately just before I joined!). We played weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, the whole works, playing everything from the beatles to REM and GUN.

The teaching.........

Around about the same time I landed my second teaching job in Watford. (previously i had been teaching at the Hammond's School of Music for two years). I started to build up students at the Tuba Talk School of music, and with the combined income of the bands and students I was able to go pro for the next five years. I also managed to land occasional local and London sessions which was great recording experience. Teaching was great for my own playing, but it was extremely draining, and with most of the work concentrated on evenings and weekends my relationship really started to suffer. For the first time in my life I started to resent music, so after much soul searching I decided to quit.

Reborn......

Well that was pretty much the end of my playing for a while. I settled back into full time work, dropped the practice schedules and concentrated on an alternative career. I was still with the Wright's playing the functions, but as the years went by we let many of the gigs slip and ended up really only playing the weddings maybe once or twice a month. My career went well and after a good job change I suddenly started to miss the busy band life. So here I am back again, hungrier than ever to improve my playing and catch up on lost time.