About Me

I am a composer, performer, writer. I’m also a pent-up curmudgeon. I vent on political and economic matters in both my writing and my music.Some highlights of my intellectual life so far:

1984	Acquired drum set for 10th birthday
1988	Acquired guitar for my 13th birthday
1989	Grew hair long Learned to play every track on Iron Maiden’s Live After Death
1990	Recorded first original rock tunes with my teenage basement band. Silly little things – now long forgotten – inspired by Rush, King Crimson & early Genesis.
1992	Premiered my first legit composition – “Sommertime” – for the New Canaan High School Jazz Band. A wretched, derivative work borrowing heavily from a China Crisis tune
1995	Won a concerto competition playing the “Stairway to Heaven” of the classical guitar repertoire: Concierto de Aranjuez Won a composition competition with an original piece for Piano Trio (him, her and her). A good piece I think, with just a few embarrasing moments.
1996	Gave up on a promising classical guitar career over tendinitis Succeeded in a 2-year long quest to get cured Grew a beard, tried hard to look jewy
1997	Learned to hate the state by working as a substitute teacher in various government schools Cultivated a scowling, contrarian world view, suitable for my going-nowhere music career
1998	Full-on obsessed with minimalism (Reich) and neo-third stream hacks like Louis Andriessen Composed many works in the style
1999	Half-hearted attempt to write post-modern literature Self-published a book of short stories & poems, distributed to <10 friends and family
2000	Graduated from Graduate School as a “master of composition” – a pleasant 2-year distraction that’s taken nearly a decade to recover from
2001	Became self-taught technologist Bluffed my way into my first legit day job
2003	Produced first full-length art rock album – “Super Brain”. Immediately shelved as “too un-commercial”
2004	Wrote a follow up to “Super Brain” full of political & social rants – code-named “Right Wing Fiend” Recorded first track – “Speekie Engrish” – before being leveled by a tsunami…err…the birth of my first child
2005	Spent all free time between baby-this and baby-that either A) napping, or B) discovering radical, free-market economics
2006	Emerged from near-drowning (tsunami #1) just soon enough to record the rest of “Right Wing Fiend”, then leveled by aftershock (child #2)
2008	Mortgage, day job, family 34th birthday – early mid-life crisis Gained then lost 50 pounds Swung at – but missed – a half dozen get-rich-quick ideas Began chewing on two Zoloft pills/day
2009	Kicked self in pants and got back to music Completed tracking and recording of “Right Wing Fiend” – renamed “america’d” Learned the basics of music mixing & mastering from an online Berklee College course Completed first mature mix – “Adult Children”
2010	Set 5-year plot in motion to dominate the niche of edgy, political prog rock Came out of the musical, social and political closet to all my friends & family