BIOGRAPHY:
(last
updated 6/1/2007)
I started out as a child....
Sometime in 20th Century God flipped the lights on for for me in
Boston, MA. When I was two, my mother and step father decided to
flock South. I'm not sure if it was the weather that caused it but
due south we headed. If you've ever spent a harsh winter in Massachusetts,
you understand.
My
parents had a cover band and an original band. That's basically
what paid the rearing costs of my first 10 years of life. I saw
my mom and my step dad rarely during grade school. First and second
grade were spent at several different schools. Second grade, in
fact, was spent in at least three different schools. I learned to
make friends fast or play marbles alone :) First grade was spent
in Tampa, second grade I can't even remember. The majority of the
time my parents were on the road we were cared for by a nanny.
ADOLESCENSE
When third grade started, my mom decided it was time to retire from
music and raise her kids. That was the most important decision she
made at that time of her life and I don't think I ever thanked her
for that. (Thanks mom!) We ended up in
Sebring, Florida. Now, what was Sebring like in last 70's and early
80's? Well, to give you a hint, I don't think there was more than
5000 people within 60 square miles of the place. That's counting
all the people in the neighboring towns, if you could call them
towns. It was definitely a small community that couldn't really
be called a suburb of any metropolis. Oh sure, they like to "say"
Orlando or Tampa, but trust me, Sebring isn't close to anywhere.
Several
years after we moved to Sebring, my mom smartly realized my step
dad wasn't going to quit the music biz. After all, it's all he knew.
So, they divorced and she ended up marrying someone I never felt
comfortable. I always felt my mom deserved to be with someone who
loved her every bit as she loved him.
SCHOOL
Speaking of which, how can I describe myself in High School? I was
pretty much like I am now. I really did things my own way. I didn't
fall into favor with any crowd and I got along pretty well with
everyone. I related better to the less fortunate because, well,
even though we didn't have a lot of cash, we never went hungry and
always had a roof over our heads. (thanks again, Mom!). I fell into
no-man's land. Not rich enough for the popular kids, not quite poor
enough for the poor kids. I was basically your average student.
I got A's but only when I wanted to. I had ADD and school, frankly,
bored me to tears.
When
my mom remarried I gained a couple of step brothers who both were
in the Marines. I had no place to go or nothing to do if I stayed
in Sebring so I signed up at age 17. I figured that at the very
least I would get some college tuition when I decided I wanted to
go back to school and I needed to see the world outside of home.
So, two days after High School graduation I was in Parris Island,
South Carolina being yelled at by some guy I never met in "dress
charlies", and man was he was ticked....
WORK
Hey, if I could survive Marine Corps boot camp, I would be able
to handle life, no problem. Well, I did just that. After 14 weeks
I was dubbed "Jarhead" and I spent the rest of my contract
repairing FA/18 Hornets. It was a brilliant airplane built by McDonnell
Douglas - who had stolen the design from Northup (muahah). Anyway,
I did my 4 years and decided I wanted to get out and try success
as your average "scrub".
After
bouncing around a few odd jobs soon after I got out, I scored a
job as a "Staffing Specialist" with a technical staffing
agency. Oddly enough, I have been a "recruiter" since
then. For three years I owned my own Professional Search Firm. That
was great but after so many years in the business I realized I didn't
enjoy the work anymore and was completely unchallenged.
In Feb of 2007 I accepted a position as a Storage Area Network Engineer
and am LOVING IT! It's a very rewarding, challenging position with
lots of room for upward growth. I love technology and this job is
chock full of it!
MUSIC
In 1996
I was tooling around the thought of playing music. I've always been
big into covers. I like playing the music we all listen to. It gives
me a greater appreciation for music as a whole. So, I decided to
join a cover band. The first band I joined was called "Cold
Fire" and we played just RUSH tunes. I sang but did not play
bass as I had not learned to play any instrument. I hung in there
for about a year. After
"Cold Fire" had gone through several drummers I decided
to go try something really hard: Old School Metallica.
There
was already one Metallica Tribute band in Southern, CA but at the
time I wasn't aware of that. I placed an ad in the Recycler and
I found a female bassist. She had a friend and they were interested
in doing the Metallica covers but they wanted to expand to cover
other Metal songs as well. Ok, no problem. I knew a drummer at work
so we all hooked up to jam. I practiced only twice with them before
I decided this wasn't the direction I wanted to go. So, off I go
again to do what I had intended in the first place and they, appropriately,
started an original band. A win/win situation for everyone.
After
auditioning many guitarist, one guy answered my ad that had the
stuff. He had excellent chops and could play all the Kirk Hammett
leads. I kept running ads and eventually found a bassist and drummer.
However, one thing was a major issue. While I can sing, I do NOT
sound like James Hetfield. So we ran ads again for a singer but
nothing was working. One evening I went to see a friend's band play
and an original band was playing. The lead singer kind of looked
like James Hetfield and he could sing decently. So I asked him if
he was interested. He auditioned and of course, got the job. Soon
after we started playing gigs.
The
band evolved over the next few years. Eventually I went from guitar
to bass because we needed to be more like Metallica our "Hetfield"
wanted a new challenge. So we made the switch and while the band
took a brief step back, we soon became one of the top Metallica
Tribute bands on the planet.
METALLICA
I used to frequent the MetClub message boards when I had the time.
In early 2001 a couple other fans had mentioned that if Metallica
got dolls they were going to have a convention, as that was James
Hetfield's answer when asked when there would ever be a Metallica
fan convention. Seeing this as a good opportunity for my band to
get some press and play in front of the most demanding Metallica
fans there are, I got myself involved as one of the original "four"
for the MetalliBash. Well, we worked hard, we worked long and it
finally came together. Half way through our set at the inaugural
Bash who should show up but Lars and Kirk. Jason had quit Metallica
earlier that year and James was in rehab so basically all that was
left of Metallica in 2001 was at the BASH. Lars and Kirk jumped
on stage and we played six songs with them. It was definitely a
thrilling highlight, but one I felt I deserved. After working hard
for many years keeping Metallica's spirit alive, through all the
Napster stuff, I felt this was one caveat that I and the band deserved.
FUNNY
MOMENT:
After the bash, we're backstage with Lars Ulrich. We rap about music,
Metallica and just generally shoot the breeze. As we're finishing
up Lars agrees to a few pictures. The final picture I take my wig
off. Seizing the opportunity, Lars grabs the wig and slaps it on
his head. Just before the shot is taken, Lars is stroking the hair
on the wig and says in a very funny tone of voice "Hey,
now that I have hair, I feel like I have my credibility back!".
We nearly died laughing.
From
left to right: Me, Lars Ulrich, James Moore, Jim Felt and Bill Warren
9/1/2001
In
January of 2003 whatever was left of Metallica in my blood was finally
tapped. Tired of the work, tired of the music, tired of arguing,
tired of mosh pits, tired of seeing small crowds show up to local
gigs...Metallica had run it's course with me. I quit the band and
while it wasn't the most amicable departure, I did what I felt was
right for me and I wasn't looking back. No remorse,
no regrets.
ANOTHER
BAND
A little over a year before I quit the Metallica Cover Band I started
PYROMANIA, a Def Leppard Tribute Band. This was
probably the first seed I planted in leaving the Metallica Tribute.
I knew I wanted to do something different and I wanted a project
that was equally as challenging. I noticed there were currently
NO Def Leppard tribute bands anywhere! Why? That's easy, while playing
Def Leppard's music is pretty easy, singing it is another story.
Mutt Lange used hundreds of layers of vocals so singing it live
is difficult. I had a few friends that were interested in the band
after a the first gig it became apparent that it wasn't going to
work. Time to re-think, re-tool and re-load.
The
next evolution of the band I ended up with an outstanding line up
of guys who sing as well as they play. Pyromania has been the same
basic lineup since then. With the exception of the bass player slot,
things have really been stable. We've managed to gain a strong fan
base and the band grows every day. In May of 2004 Pyromania headlined
LEPCON, a Def Leppard Fan convention to be held in Las
Vegas. It was an awesome event with a great turnout.
In December of 2004 I officially retired from live performing.
RACING
After having my fill of music (and not really liking what I had
written though one song in particular, which means a lot to me,
I can not make public) I switched my attention to motorcycles. In
April of 2003, after not having owned a bike in a long time I managed
to score a 1983 Honda V65 Magna to tool around on. It was soon apparent
that the bike did not suit my style of riding. I sold the bike and
in July of 2003 I bought a brand new Suzuki Bandit 1200s. This bike
was a better fit for me because I was doing some commuting and yet
it was still sporty enough to hit the canyons.
Ah
but power. Stock the Bandit had 101 rear wheel HP but I wanted more.
So the past year I have torn the bike down and in the process of
(and almost finished) of making it a truly unique bike.
Not
satisfied with the Bandit being down in March of 2005 I bought a
brand new CBR600RR (after reading all the mags, this was the bike
that fit me the best). I bought it with the intention of making
it a track only bike when the Bandit was finished. Well, the Bandit
is finally done!
In December of 2005 I converted the RR to a race bike only (more
details on my racing page)
and since June of 2006 I have been racing in the Willow
Springs Racing Club. So far I have broken a bone or
two, suffered a concussion and HAVE BEEN HAVING A BLAST! Racing
is all I thought it would be and more. Though I am in no danger
of winning any races, it's all about having fun and I'm getting
my fill.
As
a young adult, bikes were always in my blood and I used to daydream
about being the next Freddie Spencer, Kevin Schwantz or Wayne Rainey.
While I know that dream will never be fully realized, I am still
able to race and do what I love most - go fast, live fast and dream
fast.
To
be contined.... |
