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Biography The past. Fertile, Minnesota. Population approximately 800. My home town. I always joke that I grew up in the Beaver Cleaver household. My Dad, Daniel, is a teacher and my Mom, Bonnie is a piano teacher and teacher's aid. I have 3 brothers, all younger than myself, Brant, Christopher( we call him Cisco), and the baby, Eric. We grew up on a farm 7 miles outside of Fertile. Dad would go to work everyday and Mom stayed home with us boys. As kids, we were all heavily involved in music and sports. Wrestling was the big sport for us. You know, my parents never missed a wrestling meet, band concert, or anything that any one of us boys were in. Looking back now, I am very thankful for the effort they made to provide a wonderful home to grow up in. They did that for 25 years. Thank you Mom and Dad. My musical vision was formed somewhere in my teens. To be honest with you, I wanted to be a rock and roll musician. That is why I started playing the guitar when I was about 13. I thought I could get a band together, write some songs, play loud, grow my hair, and BOOM!!, I'd get discovered and become famous. Thankfully, because of my parent's strong suggestions, I went to college instead. Moorhead State University. There I discovered more than I could have ever dreamed. Music so wonderful and diverse that I had no idea ever existed. So, with the help of some wonderful instructors, I studied classical, jazz, world, blues, and yes, even rock and roll. I even got to go on a tour of Spain!!!!! My world broadened. Now, anyone who knows me will agree that I am a bit of the stubborn variety and once I get an idea in my head, I pretty much have to see that idea through. So, upon graduation from college, actually, as soon as I took my last final test, I went on the road with a rock group I helped to form called Mata Hari. It was another education for me. My parents were thrilled (NOT!). We toured from Canada to Florida to Ohio to Idaho, mostly in a 1972 GMC school bus that we converted ourselves. Eight long haired rock and roll musicians crisscrossing the country. We opened for some pretty big names, did a CD of our own called "Feel The Fire", and in general had about as much success as a club band could expect to have. Now, besides the musical education of performing in front of an audience for 6 nights a week, there was also a certain amount of worldly education for this Minnesota farm boy. That is all I got to say about that. My parents are relieved. Mata Hari broke up in the spring of 1993. That is when I met violinist Malcolm Watson of "Watson and Edge" fame. The story is actually interesting in a strange fate kind of way. Mata Hari had just finished a gig in Denver, CO and we were headed to Kansas City, MO to play our next show. We left on a Wednesday morning on I-70 headed east. Strangely enough we ran into a snowstorm about Limon, CO. The storm was so bad, they closed the interstate and were not going to open it for 2 days. We had the choice of staying in Limon or going back to Denver. Since I was dating some one in Denver at the time, I lobbied for a return and we did. Now here is the strange part. We had talked about breaking up the group in the spring, so I was casually looking for another gig. That afternoon browsing through one of the local music papers I saw an intriguing add, "Wanted: Classical/acoustic guitarist for semi-national new age duo." I was intrigued, so I called. It was Malcolm Watson's manager and through a brief conversation I arranged an interview and audition. Well, needless to say, I got the gig and proceeded for the next 2.5 months to play in both groups. Quite a variety of music, huh? Rock one night and fly out and do classical the next. Finally, in May of '93, I moved to Denver, CO and spent the next 2 years performing all across the nation with Mr. Watson in "Watson and Company". I guess I was the company. In January of 1995, I left the duo to pursue my own musical vision as a soloist. The Present As of th
