Hey Everyone,

Just joining the group, so I thought I'd introduce myself.

I've been playing music since I was five years old—nearly six decades now. My first instrument was an accordion that my parents bought from a door-to-door salesman. A fun bit of trivia: that salesman was Remo Meniketti, father of Dave Meniketti from the rock band Y&T.

I'm a multi-instrumentalist with a primary focus on guitar and keyboards. I also played trumpet and clarinet in my younger years, although synthesizers eventually replaced those instruments in my setup. I've been writing original material since the early 1980s and performing since I was six years old. By age fourteen, I was playing Top 40 music, and from eighteen through my early thirties, I was performing original music in clubs throughout Northern California.

One of the more memorable moments of my musical journey came in the late 1980s when I was one of five musicians selected to audition for Winger after Paul Taylor left the band. I didn't get the gig, but it was an incredible opportunity and experience.

As the music scene shifted with the rise of grunge, I stepped away from original bands and eventually moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to California's Central Valley, where there were fewer opportunities for the type of music I was pursuing.

In my early thirties, I spent about a decade performing Top 40 music with my father. It had always been his dream to play music with me, and I'm grateful I eventually said yes. Not many people can say they helped a parent fulfill a lifelong dream.

Later, I joined a highly successful Journey tribute band and spent about ten months traveling around the country performing. If flying into a city, playing a show, and flying home counts as touring, then we toured quite a bit. Since Journey was one of my favorite bands growing up, it was an easy decision. The audition was straightforward: “Can you come by tomorrow?” I showed up with a keyboard, played the songs, asked which vocal harmony they wanted me to sing, and got the job. Ironically, during that short period, I probably earned more money playing music than I had during the rest of my performing career combined.

Like many musicians, life eventually took me in other directions. Between family, a second career, and continuing my education, I no longer perform regularly. Professionally, I've spent the last sixteen years working in software development as a Backend API Engineer.

When COVID hit and I found myself temporarily out of work, I used the time to re-record and release music from my original bands. The songs definitely sound like they were written over thirty years ago—and that's because they were—but it was rewarding to finally give them a proper release.

Today, my primary focus is songwriting. Over the years, I accumulated a large catalog of songs that didn't fit the bands I was in, so I've recently been exploring AI-assisted production tools to help bring some of those songs to life. My goal is to pursue publishing opportunities, licensing, collaborations with artists, and other songwriting ventures.

I've also collaborated with other artists in a variety of ways, including ghostwriting songs, co-writing material, arranging music, and adding keyboard, guitar, and other instrumental parts to existing recordings. I enjoy helping artists bring their ideas to life and am always open to discussing new collaborative opportunities.

Musically, I've performed across a wide range of styles, including polka, country, funk, rock, metal, pop, jazz, and symphonic music. That breadth of experience has given me the ability to approach songwriting from multiple perspectives and draw inspiration from many different musical traditions. I've always had a strong ear—close to perfect pitch—and because keyboards were a major part of my musical foundation, I tend to think harmonically and structurally, which often leads me to approach songwriting differently than a guitar-first writer.

In addition to music, I'm also a video editor, working on documentaries, promotional videos, music videos, commercials, and creative content. Storytelling has always been a passion of mine, whether through music or video, and I enjoy combining both creative worlds whenever possible.

You can check out some of my work here:

Band Website:
[SVS XI (Mata Hari Music)]( )

Video Editing Portfolio:
[Ideation Sensation Video Editing Portfolio]( )

I'm looking forward to connecting with everyone, sharing ideas, learning from the community, and hopefully getting thoughtful feedback from fellow musicians and songwriters. One of the things that attracted me to this group was the opportunity to discuss songwriting, production, collaboration, and emerging technologies in a constructive environment without the negativity that often dominates social media discussions.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone.