The Music

As I said on the cover of my home page. I was turned onto music from the first time I saw the Beatles on the telly in 1964, my dads old jazz recordings, and my moms singing. Any time I hear good music, no matter what the style is, I give it attention and the respect that it deserves.
   
Gibson Custom Shop Nashville Jam, 2008

I am absolutely insane and passionate over playing guitar, song writing, recording / recording equipment, and music production. I own a nice little project recording studio that I built into my basement.

Greensboro, NC 2008

Leaping Lizards Project Recording Studio.
It took almost a full year to build but construction wise, it's pretty damn good and it is built to true recording studio specifications. I have also started my own production company to insure that the copyrights to my songs remain mine,
De-Tunes Productions.
Going hand-in-hand with that is the label name that I assign to all of my songs,
Half-Baked Records.
The studio itself is chock full of old school goodies and it is where I derive my greatest artistic pleasures. My musical influences pretty much tell where my style(s) of music come from, if I hear something that I like, I remember it, no matter where it comes from.
  
    Greensboro, April 2007                             The New Studio, Loveland Ohio. 2007.

Life, college, moving home,
raising my daughter, and work (the day job).

I grew up on the west side of Cincinnati and lived there from 1959 to 1977. I went to school in the the Oak Hills School System until 1977. That year my parents uprooted us and we moved to Aurora, Ind. It was there that I took my last two years of high school, graduating in 1979 from South Dearborn High. Indiana was fine for the most part, but I am still, and always will be, a "west-side" guy. I have lived in Ohio for most of my life but I did live in Waco and Houston Texas for two years with my ex-wife. I spent 9 years in Aurora Indiana, on and off. In 1985 we moved to Hamilton, Ohio for 5 years and after that we moved to Landen/Maineville Ohio in 1991, where Michelle & I  have been ever since. I worked in the video industry for 23 years, doing everything from working in stores (The Video Store 10 years) and warehouse work, sales, office manager to sales manager for East Texas Distributors (E.T.D. 13 Years). After the demise of E.T.D. and working a host of crappy sales jobs for a very short time, I decided to take my future directly into my own hands.
On June 10, 2006, I graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Cincinnati's teachers program, one of the most rigorous in the nation. My G.P.A. placed me in the top 3% academically for the entire university. I am a fully certified teacher for the Pre-K through 3rd grades with a special education rider on my license. I am now special needs aide in a school just outside of Cincinnati. I am still seeking a full time teaching position in the South-West corner of the Ohio Valley

             New York City, Central Park, on a cold and wet JULY day. 2007

I am also a single parent who's daughter, Michelle, has just flown the coop to college making me an offical empty-nester (WOW, how did that happen?). She's been raised to the best of my ability and in my opinion is one FINEST people alive! Michelle is, as I will tell anyone who is within earshot, a fantastic, fabulous, witty, bright, and wonderfully talented artist and daughter. I dare you to find a better person. (Yeah, I'm severely biased  )

Scarifices: Did I have to make a lot of sacrifices to do all of this, hell yes I did, I made a bunch. I had to move back home with my parents to do all of this but it meant that I could go to college, provide my daughter with a solid roof over her head and there would few to no financial worries while I did all of this, which is just how it played out. I'd do it all again in a New York second too. You get one shot at life folks and I am not going to screw around OR worry about the short-sighted perceptions that people have of a full grown middle aged man moving back home to accomplish something that he really feels the need to do to make himself more complete and be able to provide for his child and when I finally meet that someone special that I want to settle down with for the rest of my life. When I graduated from UC Summa Cum Laude in 2006 I had all the proof that I needed to know that it was all worth it! 

I am now a full time Special Needs Aide/on-call teacher in a first grade classroom where I work with disabled/special needs children.

                                         Education

University of Cincinnati-Main Campus 
Degree: Candidate for Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education. Attended: From 2004 to 2006
Graduated on June 10, 2006 with Full Latin & Greek Honors, Summa Cum Laude

University Of Cincinnati-Clermont College. Batavia, Ohio.
Degree: Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education.
Alumni Dates Attended: From 2002 to 2004.
Graduation Year: 2004.
Graduated Magna Cum Laude w/Latin & Greek Honors

High School.
South Dearborn High School: Aurora, Indiana.
Degree: General.
Alumni Dates Attended: From 1978 to 1979
Graduation Year: 1979

Oak Hills High School: Cincinnati, Ohio.
Alumni Dates Attended: From 1976 to 1977