My professional career began in 1990. While in college, I began developing
a love of breakbeat music, through albums by Eric B and Rakim, Tribe called
Quest, Guru and De La Soul. Inspired, I dove deep into the history of jazz, blues,
& and funk. My love of music history is a lifelong pursuit and has been greatly
beneficial in maintaining a beginner’s mindset. From there, I followed the love into
the dance clubs of the early 90’s Seattle DJ scene. I started playing drums
alongside some groundbreaking DJ’s, recorded 12” dance singles, and by the mid
90’s, I had a handful of great little records under my belt.

The promotion company I was playing for had encouraged me to start my
own band. I started the band Maktub in 1996. We blew up locally and, before we
had made our first record, we were being courted by just about every major label
in the U.S. They flew us to Los Angeles and we played a couple shows for them
and had private audience with Rick Rubin. It was all very surreal, and they all
passed on us.

Able to improvise and adapt, we headed back to Seattle, quickly pivoted,
and started our own record label, putting out our first record in 1998.

That record was a huge success. We won local awards, and many doors
were opened for us. I was asked to play on records and record radio jingles for
local businesses. We were touring so much that most of us couldn’t hold regular
jobs, so we went back to the dance clubs, improvising with DJs and hosting weekly
open-mics for up-and-coming vocalists. The nights we promoted became
incredibly influential, and provided a meaningful source of income for us. Touring
jazz musicians like Brian Blade, Joshua Redman, and Roy Hargrove would sit in
with us, and we would routinely fly in musicians from Philadelphia, New York, and
Los Angeles.

Maktub recorded and released our second record in 2001. The Washington
Post called it a “soul-rock masterpiece”. We toured extensively over the next 2
years, playing 411 shows over the course of 365 days at one point. We signed a
record deal with a small label in NYC, and were given our first significant budget
for our third album. We recorded with producer Bob Power, who engineered the
albums by De la Soul, the Roots, and Tribe Called Quest that had such an impact
on me only a few years earlier.

It was a massive learning experience, but ultimately, we sacrificed our
musical integrity in the pursuit of a hit record. A multitude of mistakes, from writing
songs with L.A. staff writers, to overly meticulous recording, and the final straw
being the failure of the record company to promote our first tour. Burnt out, and in
debt, the band reached a tipping point. We went back to our roots, recorded our
4th record in 2006, a beautiful album aptly named “Start it Over”. We played our
last show, and walked away debt free.

From 2007 on, I have played on over 30 records, a few movie soundtracks
and dozens of radio jingles.
Following the end of Maktub, I was asked to play for LeRoy Bell, a singer-
songwriter who had a top-ten hit in the late 70’s, and had written an EP for Elton
John. We made several records together and played hundreds of shows,
bolstered by his success on The X-Factor.

During the course of my career, I had been occasionally invited to teach a
few drum clinics, and while taking drum lessons at the Seattle Drum School, I was
asked to substitute teach. I loved the culture Steve and Kristy created there, and I
helped open up their second school in Georgetown in 2007, teaching until 2023,
when I left to help my wife move out of her beloved restaurant on Capitol Hill, and
relocate to our home town of Edmonds.

A generous spirit, integrity and a beginners mindset, lessons I have learned
over the course of my career, are the core components of my teaching philosophy.
Learning music necessarily teaches you the “soft skills” which are so important in
any career, especially now. In order to play music with others, you are required to
actively listen. Active listening leads to sensitivity, creativity, adaptability; the core
components of leadership.

I’ve taught all types of abilities, from beginners to a member of the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame. From ABBA to Zappa, I love it all. I look forward to meeting
you!