I was born and raised in Half Moon Bay where my earliest musical memories are of my mother singing John Denver, Paul Simon, and Willie Nelson songs. At the age of 12 my mom signed me up for lessons with the local guitar teacher, George Hanepen, and by the time I was 15 I started the inevitable garage band with friends. After high school I studied with music at the College of San Mateo, attended as many live shows as possible and threw myself into music.  I then transferred to San Francisco State where I was a Humanities major.  During this time I was playing lots of gigs and teaching guitar. I was accepted into the graduate program in the english department but opted out, deciding that becoming a full time musician was "now or never."  I've been performing and teaching full time since 2001 and loving it.