This is a brief resume of musical stuff I've done. I've got plans to expand this over time and do a narrative of the whole thing, but I'm rushing to get the website up and running by a release-date, so this will do for now! :)

Guitar Influences:
Pete Townshend/The Who, David Gilmour/Pink Floyd (particularly in my delay and chorus effects), The Edge/U2, The guys in Pearl Jam, Lou Reed, Denisom Witmer, Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell, and a bunch of others.

Vocal Influences:
Pretty much whatever I'm listening to at the time. I'd say some of the recurring ones are David Bowie, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Frank Black/Black Francis of the Pixies (and elsewhere), Lou Reed, Craig Finn of the Hold Steady, and Dennis DeYoung from Styx--even though that's kind of embarrassing these days. Lately I've also found myself very influenced by Rufus Wainwright as well. And a bunch of metal guys like Corey Taylor from Slipknot/Stone Sour, Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden, and Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails. It's really a melting-pot. I try to learn something from every singer I like.

Bass Influences:
I get a lot of Geddy Lee comments, and yeah he's a constant influence, but there are lots of others too. Lemmy, Steve Harris, Chris Squire, Michael Manring, John Deacon, John Entwistle, and Tony Lombardo come to mind.

Other Influences of Note:
I'm very influenced by literature and movies. If I read or watch something that challenges me, it will come out in my writing and sometimes that changes my musical approach. And even though I don't know that you hear it in what I do, I love Jazz and Classical, and even show tunes. In my car, you're as likely to find the West Side Story soundtrack as you are the new Slayer record. Musicians, I think, NEED to have wide ears and an eclectic background. You take it all, boil it down into something relevant for YOU and how you do things, and add your own spin...and that's how you get a sound. It's sometimes frustrating to get a compliment where someone name checks another musician or band and tells me I sound like that, because there's all this other stuff going on in my head, too. But You say, "Thanks!" and move on.

Even if they aren't obvious in my music, it would be wrong not to mention stuff that I'm a fan of. There are great, well-known acts like Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Cheap Trick, The Rolling Stones, Roxy Music, Queen, Live, Alice Cooper, Leonard Cohen, Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, Nick Lowe, The Foo Fighters, Big Star, and even Led Zeppelin that all belong here.

It would be wrong, also, not to mention the punk acts I love like the RAMONES, Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Misfits, The Descendents/ALL, Black Flag, Husker Du, and so on and so on...

Or what about newer or lesser-known acts? ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Manchester Orchestra, Coheed & Cambria, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Frank Turner, The National, Old 97s, and Mark Lanegan all deserve a mention.

Or how can I ignore the country influences like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jack Ingram, and Hank Williams?

Or the handful of great Christian acts like Over the Rhine, Vigilantes of Love, Rich Mullins, Tree by Leaf, and so on?

This list still feels incomplete, even after that. There's just too many to list!

Current Bands:
I've been working as a solo artist since 1997.
Guitarist/Vocalist/Songwriter for The Social Gospel.

Occasional appearances live and in studio with The Michael Feldman Group.

Former Bands:
Blue Tattoo
Two Hangmen
The Michael Feldman Group (as a regular performer)
Uncle Dick
Awake
union jack
R.M.I.

Additional Appearances and Other Musical Employment:
I've shown up with a bunch of folks over the years. I was a music minister for a few years at a church that would probably prefer to remain nameless. I played with a bunch of worship-bands in college and high school, including Jeff Moody for a little bit. I don't really play much with Christian bands anymore (I like to cuss too much for most of them) but I do still enjoy engineering sound for my church, and will play on Sundays sometimes, too.

Regularly Used Equipment:
I've got a bunch of electric guitars, but the mains ones are as follows... ESP LTD--It's in a beautiful burst coloring with gold hardware, but I don't know the model number. It was payment for some work I did. Gibson Les Paul Studio in Wine Red. Fender American Strat in Natural. Fender Mexican Tele in Black with a D-Tuner, B-Bender, and humbuckers. Gretsch Electromatic in Orange. And a few other Electrics. My main acoustics are by Martin (from the D series, but not the top-end), Parkwood, Alvarez, and Takamine...and there's a few more of those too. My basses are all almost exclusively Ibanez. I've got a Soundgear that I use virtually all the time. Also have a fretless Yamaha and a 12 String Galveston. There are some other instruments in there too, but those are the main ones. I regularly use and support Dunlop Picks, Shubb Capos, Ernie Ball strings, and the E-Bow. I play through Fender amps, and my floor board is a regularly changing experiment--but it'll always have some Line-6 stuff on it and a MXR or two.

Personal Statement:
I've been playing for so long that I don't know how to do anything else. I'm in my 30s and still not famous, so I know I won't be...but how do you stop? I'll keep doing it as long as anyone wants to hear it. But I do hope I'm never that sad old man who thinks it's a big deal to play in church. I'll probably DO that...but I don't want that to ever feel like it's anything other than what it is. At this point, I'm in it for the fun and love of it, and to hopefully work some things out along the way. That's why I keep writing.

Hopefully there will be a more interesting bio here sooner or later, or at least some pictures or something.