a multihyphenate, or maybe just a dual-hyphenate, in that I have a huge interest in excelling in both music (mainly drums, but this has turned into composing and arranging) and writing.
balancing my interest in the two is difficult and sometimes i create too much pressure on myself about where my time is best spent. one is a wife, the other is a mistress. which is which? depends on the day. and both want their needs met yesterday.
i started this blog to think out loud about these things and more, and to be messy with it. i am also learning how to blog and use markdown, so it's pretty cool to learn how to do this in real time.
drums & music:
i've been playing drums for about 30 years. i had a huge interest in music from a young age, used to work up a sweat in my hulk hogan pj's, air-drumming john bonham on the zeppelin live album the song remains the same. as soon as they offered formal music instruction at school i jumped in head first. i played percussion in the school band and orchestra where i learned to read and at the same time i bought my first set of drums and cut my teeth on rock n' roll in the garages and basements of anyone willing to jam. drums have been a huge part of my life. every house or apartment, every country i've ever lived, every car bought, every baby born, came with the thought "how does drumming fit into this scenario?". it hasn't always been easy, and there have been long periods (2 years at most) where I didn't play for one reason or another. but i always come back.
in a way drums are my totem.
there's a physical aspect to drums (especially with heavier music), cognitive aspect (thinking about time signatures, constructing palatable and coherent music), and spiritual aspect (it's an art form). i've taught lessons off and on for years. played in dozens of bands and done some recording. i am currently in a band and we're working on original songs. i will probably share my drum tracks from those scratch recordings as I build them and any other projects I am working on or trying to learn (there's always something to learn). i am getting more into production work and film scoring, learning music theory, and loosely planning on staring my own solo project as an outlet for these ideas. i'll probably end up posting these somewhere (soundcloud? don't know). if you want to collaborate on musical ideas, or want a free lesson, or just want to chat about music and drums, let me know (contact button on the top menu).
writing:
around the same time as my interest in music also came an interest in writing. i used to write in journals, stories, bad poetry, observations. in middle school one of my poems made it into a national registry for poetry, which was pretty cool for me. as i grew older my interest in writing grew and i began to take it more serious (for me anyway). i began constructing ideas for bigger stories and non-fiction essays. it has blossomed over the years and that interest has turned into blogs and various unfinished manuscripts. now i am trying to focus on one at a time, and pushing towards finishing at least one, sometime before now and forever. i am always writing and learning how to improve.
misc:
i've lived in the US, sicily, spain, and crete. I speak italian, and a bit of spanish.
i was in the navy for 20 years. good and bad came from that, and i am still learning about myself. my transition has been more difficult than i thought it would, and i never would've believed that.
i like travel, riding motorcycles, and love coffee. i love film, painting (never tried it but i think i would enjoy). i have two sons and a wife.