I was fortunate to grow up in a musical household. All styles of music were played on Chicago’s WFMT radio, which was always on. We had a piano, guitar, trumpet, harmonicas, and banjo. I was always drawn to playing music.

My father was also a “hi-fi” audio buff, building his own amplifiers and reel to reel tape recorders. I figured how to do sound on sound multi-track recording on a 4-track tape recorder, like the early Beatles records.

Striving to get the best productions with the equipment I had was my childhood training in audio engineering and production. I lived in Israel for a year when I was 17. This was the only time in my life when I did not have a recording setup, but I did perform music in a power trio playing Led Zeppelin, Cream and Jimi Hendrix.

I have always been in bands since I was a child. Some were original music, but most were covering other people’s songs. I have literally spent a lifetime listening closely to songs and learned to hear, isolate, and replicate individual instrument’s parts and sound. This is at the heart of being a musician, audio engineer and producer.

I got a BA in psychology from the University of Rochester while also taking classes at the nearby Eastman school of music. I worked at Access Automotive, a shop that repaired and restored sports cars. I worked in the field of psychology, getting a MS. Ed. Master’s degree in education. I had my own practice and was certified by the NY. Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.

Leaving the cold of Rochester, I came to Maui in 1985 for ocean sports and have extended my stay to this day. I soon found wonderful work opportunities in music work on Maui. I had a regular gig for over 10 years on a dinner cruise while also joining Hawaii’s premier corporate show band, Jimmy Mac and the Kool Kats. I am still performing on Guitar, Steel Guitar and keyboards for almost 30 years.