It's been over 36 years since I got my first Telecaster.

I started gigging professionally in the early 1980's in the Seattle area with Freddy Pink and the Hightops, a 7, 8, or 9-piece R&B horn band that I co-founded with Gordy Yancey. We played constantly (often 7 nights a week) all through the 1980's, opening for the likes of Sly Stone, Johnny Rivers and David Clayton-Thomas of Blood Sweat and Tears. They're still going strong!

At the same time (early '80's), I also formed The Thirsty Leaches, a punky/alternativey/rock/grunge band (before there were such things) with Max Hawthorn, Doug Owens and then Gary King. We finally made a CD in 1999 and still get together occasionally for gigs when I am able to get to the great Northwest.

I moved back East, to Connecticut, in 1989, and quickly fell in with the blues crowd in New Haven, playing with the Robert Crotty Band. We had the opportunity to open for Albert King, Johnny Winter, John Mayall, Albert Collins and more. I worked for a while at Toad’s Place in New Haven in the early '90s doing artwork and lighting and as a member of the Toad's Place Allstars, had the pleasure of opening for BB King.

During this time I had stints in The Whiskey River Band (southern rock) and Garry and the Moodswingers (swing blues/r&b). Also, I was in a band called The Housebreakers, playing original "rawk"—a Stonesy/Black Crowesish kind of thing. We had a couple of songs that got pretty good airplay on WPLR in New Haven.

From 1995 to 2001 I was in Steel Rodeo (Original tunes mostly by Eddie Seville—sounded like Bruce Springsteen meets the Rolling Stones meets John Mellencamp and AC/DC), playing all over the place, all the time—New York, CT, Massachusetts, Vermont, St Croix. A really good band, great gigs, and a good time. Plus we got to do shows with people like Steve Earle.

I also hosted the blues jam once a month at cafe nine in New Haven for almost 10 years—until I got sick of it and quit. There was also the Peter Blossom Band featuring JEFF SIMON on the keyboards. I played for four years with the Greg Sherrod Band, playing funk and blues in NYC, CT and RI.

For the last few years I've been playing with my friend, Travis Moody, in the Moody/Blossom Band playing old acoustic blues and hillbilly stuff—lots of open G tuning and slide gi-tar. I've also been doing gigs with The Forgotten Ones, playing classic country music, Once Removed, doing Irish and American roots music, and the Crickstones, playing bluegrass and rootsy stuff.

A new venture is the Crown Street Orchestra with me on guitar, Kevin Walsh (former lead singer of the Bernadattes) on vocals, Bill "Ice Bucket" Beckett on guitar, Travis Moody on bass, and JB Sutherland on drums. Also, I'm playing bass in a band called Tinker's Damn with John Hurley (guitarist from Once Removed) and T-Bone Stone on keyboards and others doing a sort of Jerry Garcia cover band of a cover band thing. And that's that.