The real turning point came as I reached sixth grade. The move to middle school brought with it a big desicion. The chance to join the school band! The elimination process began. Guided by the shine of those six strings I saw when I was younger, my first request was for a guitar. Trouble there however. In the school band, or at least mine, no guitars. Saxophone maybe? Trombone? Nope, but low and behold, out of a large black case in the back of the storage room, a snare drum falls out and rolls to my feet, almost like a sign. As I recall, it was the oldest, most beat up thing i'd ever seen. The sound was horrible but it was available as a temporary loan and only required sticks, a book and a practice pad to take on. The decision was made and for the next week while my very own drum was located and purchased, I had the pleasure of playing the school drum. It was the start of something that took me on a wild ride. I progressed quickly moving from book to book, class to class. The time eventually came that I asked for a drum set. I still remember the day my mom told me, "If you can play wipe-out, I'll buy you one." A day or two later she ate those words… and most likely regretted saying them quite a bit over the next couple years. It's all worked out for the best though as the drums made it possible to expand my coordination and build my chops. As high school approached, drum corps and marching band were the focus with jazz band in between. It paved the road for me to get out there and gig.

    Without a formal lesson other then school, by age 17, I was playing in local bands. Childhood  garage  bands gave way to the cover circuit. I ran the gamut playing in almost any group I could get an audition for. It was quite a variety. Everything from show bands like Slim King's Carnival to tribute acts like The Blues Brothers, Face Value (a Phil Collins Tribute) and an all classic funk band called “FRO.” Thankfully, I was making money in music. Calls came in for sub work as my reputation grew. The heads up on Theme Park auditions also became available leading to various slots in the Disney parks, Universal Studios, Sea World and Busch Gardens. As I played, I also gained and interest in production. I would take gigs with various area sound/light companies. As the gigs progressed, they afforded me the chance to see some of my idols up close. The roles of stage hand, follow spot op, and eventually, monitor and FOH allowed me access to shows by The Rippingtons, Doubledrive, Phil Collins, Jars of Clay, Amy Grant, Sevendust, Creed, Kid Rock, and Metallica. Returning to performing, Mutual friends managed to get Kathy Palazolo, Mark McDowell, KC Kelly and myself together to form a touring cover band named Point Blank (eventually being renamed Downpour). We criss crossed our way across the country and made a decent name for ourselves acquiring opening slots for nationals the likes of Shinedown, Smile Empty Soul, Flyleaf, Damageplan, and Kill Hannah. We stayed in steady rotation at some of the country's primer "A" circuit touring venues. Piere's in Ft. Wayne, IN to the Thirsty Turtle in PA, Spinnaker & Club LaVela in Panama City Beach, The Swamp & AJ’s near Destin, Sloppy Joes down in Key West, all made the list.

    The demise of this band brought on the chance for me to head back down to the Florida Keys on a more permanent basis for a lucrative run in the house band at Rick's/Durty Harry's. Almost a year in this tourist mecca was tons of fun but the island is fairly small. Upon my return to Central Florida, I picked up work as a session artist performing with such bands as Eden, The Slueths, Everyday Things, Seventhfold, AK6, and Sol Season but inevitably found myself with an optunity to work with some great musicians. We managed to blend the stylings of Steve Savage (Lazy 8), Johan Rodriguez (NFI) and myself in the form of a reincarntion of Downpour. This band built a solid following in Central and Northwest Florida area but dispite such a solid support in Florida, there was a request in other areas to see, once again, a female fronted version of the band. This found the group swapping members adding Kevin Nayme and Jennifer McGill (of Mickey Mouse club fame) to the Downpour moniker for a fun filled  romp across the southeast.

    In the fall of '04 I joined the Orlando band dMANUFACTURE. Over the course of the next few years, this band, (featuring Downstem (Epic) members Brad Melton and David Rankin), produced two albums and amassed an impressive list of accomplishments. Alone I Fall, the bands freshmen release proved quite popular in the Orlando music scene. The insuing tour  privileged us with the opportunity to share the stage with many great bands. Bills compiling us with Dark New Day, 7 Mary 3, Silvertide in Pama City Beach and the cintral florida area. A solid year led to a low line up change eventually leading to Cider,  Burn Season or others were common. Our second release, White Noise, was backed by a self-financed radio push. The midwest/south-east active rock markets were extremely receptive and as such, the attention sparked tours and label interest. A label showcase at the world famous Viper Room (Hollywood, CA) and follow up NAMM after party along side legends Social Distortion are other highlights.