I'd have to give my music beginnings to my grandparents. When I was 5 years old, they had a basement that was filled with instruments and old 45 rpm records from the 50s, & 60s, Motown and folk artists. My grandfather bought me my first Sears drum set when I was 5, then he bought me a real Slingerland drum set in 1972 (which I still have), meanwhile my grandmother started buying me Beatle records and it was all I wanted to do was play drums when I first heard "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and I've been at it for over 44 years now. I started playing snare my first year in middle school and made first chair in my first year. I was always made to play drums, and it came to me rather effortlessly, but what really set the wheels in motion was when I went to my first Rush concert in 1975. I'd never heard of Rush then at age 15, but seeing Neil Peart play changed everything for me right then and there. He has had the most influence on my drumming style, my kit and the way I approach it. In my early years many other drummers contributed to influence my style as well, including Ringo Starr, Phil Collins early work with Genesis and Brand X, and Allan White. In my twenties I started to take rudimentary drumming studies very seriously, and I stayed with that for many years which led me into teaching for 10 years. During those studies I was also exposed to jazz trap kit playing and reading, and in subtle ways those studies and my love of progressive rock created my over all playing style and rhythms as I grew. It was a natural progression for me to gain interest in other instruments, and in 1980 I picked up my first acoustic guitar and somewhere around that same time I got my first synthesizer. These days I still play guitar and keyboards, but drums is and always be the first love, and after all these years of playing drums I am still learning, improving and pushing my limits and testing my boundaries.
 
Equipment list:
DW Pacific, Platinum series, Tobacco burst Satin Oil finish maple shells.
22 - Bass
14 - Snare (DW Collectors Series, black satin)
8, 10, 12 rack Toms
14, 16 floor Toms
Sabian fusion Hi Hat & Ride
Paiste Crashes
Zildjian Chinas
DW hardware, stands and pedals.
 
Roland V-Drums TDW-20
1 - 10 inch Bass Drum pad
2 - 6 inch pads
2 - 8 inch pads
4 - 10 inch pads
5  - 14 inch crash pads
1 - 15 inch Ride pad
1 - 12 inch Hi Hat pad set
 
Fender electric & acoustic Guitars
Roland, Korg & Yamaha Keyboards
Line 6 Guitar Pod Pro XT simulator