How I Got From There To Here

I grew up in a small suburban area of New Jersey called North Plainfield and
graduated North Plainfield High School in 1969 ( wow....how time flys -:).  My high
school years were pretty much filled with the typical things high schoolers do.....sports
and girls....girls and sports (ahhhh..those were the days)...oh yeah......and MUSIC.
Trumpet was my main focus as a musical instrument. I started with private lessons on
the trumpet back in 4th grade ( when i was 8 years old)....and continued with it
throughout my high school years claiming a spot on the All County...then All
Region...then the All State High School Symphony  Bands. These  were VERY tough
competitions as you are competing with the very best in your age group that the entire
state had to offer....quite cool experiences for me.

Also during these years, i enjoyed the company of fellow musicians from the
neighborhood in forming several "rock" bands.......but trumpet at that time...was not
an instrument that "fit into" the stuff heard on radio......so i self taught myself on the  
guitar, keyboard and drums and did well enough on these instruments to play in a few
bands and actually earn a few bucks playing out locally ( ie: high school dances, block
parties, etc.).

After high school----it was off to college for me.  I went to a small liberal arts college in
the midwest....in a  town called Tiffin, Ohio... which is home to Heidelberg College. I
decided i wanted to go for a liberal arts degree with a major in music......and after 4
"lovely" years, i graduated with a B.A. Degree in Elementary and Secondary Music
Education.

Of course...during that 4 year "stint" at Heidelberg.......i was totally into my
trumpet...but being a music major...and being groomed to someday enter the public
school system as a teacher.....one had to be trained on just about every major
instrument in order to be able to at least teach the basics...and let me tell ya.....it
wasn't easy....LOLOL....but i DID accomplish it !!

Oh yes.....there just happened to be a turn of events which took place along the way.  
ln my junior year (1972), i meet up with a few other musician classmates and we
decided it would be cool to form a band and go out just on weekends to gig in the
bars.........but not before TONS and TONS of practice rehearsals.  Bands like Average
White Band, Earth Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang, The Parliments ( funk-a-delics)
and numerous others were just starting to make the "scene"...and guess what.....they
were all bands that had horn sections in them.....well now.....being a trumpet
player....this fit right up my alley -:) and it was an easy "labor of love" to put a horn
section together with a good rhythm section....and that's exactly what
happened....thus the birth of "SilverHoof".  The band was so successful for the
remaining time i had at college that i decided that even though i earned my teaching
degree, i would instead devote full time ( as did the other members of the band) to
"SilverHoof". The band had a WONDERFUL  run... touring pretty much the entire
U.S.A. ( ahhhhh the stories i could tell -:) -:)  We made a good living at it and was
ALWAYS in demand.  Our little "weekend only" deal turned into a 5-7 night a week
tour for the next several years......however.....nothing lasts forever.

One of the drawbacks to being "on the road" was that although you meet a LOT of
people----you really didn't get to KNOW anyone...we were ALWAYS "on the move".  
We made good money....but had to spend most of it to live on the road (travel
expenses and repairs, booking agents, motels, food, etc.). Most people our age we
knew from college had already settled down with a "9-5" job...able to save
money.....and more importantly....were building their family......something that was not
going to happen for us as long as we were in the "bizz"......so a decision was
made...SilverHoof would come to an end so we could persue a "normal" life........and
we did !!  Everyone in the band wound up being successful in their unique endeavors.

For me....music was quietly "laid to rest" for about the next 20+
years........THEN------came the advent of the INTERNET and the COMPUTER for the
average person.......as well as the mp3 music file.......this changed EVERYTHING for
me musically.  Even though the music lay dormant for all those years.....the "fire" was
still burning from deep inside ( once you get a taste of the stage and performing in
public.....well.....i guess one can never shake the feeling entirely).  So i bought some
cool recording equiptment, a few really nice keyboards, mics and other music
necessities ( yes---i was able to SAVE money with my "9-5" job and have a wonderful
loving family).

I do not tour and do not perform out anymore------but i found a way to keep the music
alive for me by composing and recording my own original music....converting it to mp3
music files and uploading it to the internet.

Since 1999---i have written and recorded 60 ( and still counting) original songs...and
as i HOPE you read on the previous pages.......my material has been listened to
literally MILLIONS of times...and what's soooooo cool about THAT....is that the listens
come from all around the entire globe !!.......the internet has been the vehicle to
propel my material internationally .

So basically...now you know.....how i got from there to here -:)