Can you describe your sound to people who haven't heard of you?
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Well, the sound would be a collage of experimental ambient, structured
sound scape, mellow melancholy type material. Something you would put
on driving late @ night or really early in the morning.
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Tell me about your record Designed for Reading.
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It kind of came about from being bored with music. I wanted to start
doing music that I would listen to. Music that I would buy. I didn't
set out to do an album. I just wanted to something that excited me
again with music. I wanted to put my thoughts down on tape.
I needed something to keep me focused on the sound. "Blade Runner" is
my all time favorite movie. So I thought it would be interesting to
try & interpret my feelings from watching certain scenes from the
movie & try & capture them through music. About half the record is
from that thought process. The rest was just other inspirations I
tried to capture.

The record is not for short attention spans. It's not a "pop" record.
It's more for the person who wants to hear sounds, someone who's more
into experimental music. I wanted it to have a This Mortal Coil feel
to it.
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I noticed you dedicated the cd to your wife, Leslie. Were any of the 
songs inspired by her?
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Yes. Leslie was the one who saw this thing through. I was to
emotionally tied to the music & would get very frustrated @ times. It
was because of Leslie that the songs still have life. If I would've
let my feelings take control, there would hardly be any songs left. I
came very close to erasing some tracks because I couldn't find their
voice.

I was very insecure @ first trying to do something completely on my
own. But she was confident that I could do it.

Also Leslie is an amazing musician & I could hear her voice on certain
tracks. So the thought of her voice on something I was working on kept
me focused. Then having her come in & lay down some gorgeous vocals
was the pay off.
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Now for those that don't know, you self-released this album.  How has 
the experience been so far? 
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Like I mentioned, I only set out to keep doing music. I didn't say
"I'm going to do a solo record". As the songs came about & the people
that got involved added their parts, it slowly became a complete
record.
The experience has been a learning one. I found out some things about
myself. It's been a good experience. But sometimes growing will have
it's pains & this record was no exception.
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Was it very challenging?
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This was the first time I was in the drivers seat. So I had to learn
how to do all of this on my computer. Which was frustrating. I had
some close friends walk me through the process.
Plus everything was up to me to get it done. When you're in a band you
can have this person take charge of this & that. So learning to do
this by myself was challenging.
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I have really been getting into the song "Alice in December"of late.  
what was your thought process when you were writing it?  
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Thanks! People seem to be giving that track a real chance. I had my
niece speak some lines into a mini-disc & tried to build the music
around that. I wanted it to have a very sorrowful sound. Once I went
as far as I could go, I contacted Jan & Sarah (Glorybox) in Denmark &
asked if they would be willing to work on this track (as well as
"Replicant"). I told them the feelings I was going for & that was it.
I completely trust & respect them musically & knew whatever they came
up with would be outstanding. They are dear friends & extremely
talented & creative people! I think that track became theirs once they
laid down their parts.
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Is there a story behind the song?  
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There is, but knowing I had my thought in mind & Jan & Sarah had
another. I'll let the track tell it's own story. I think we both had
the same idea of feeling hurt or empty by a loved one being gone. I
just think we had different ideas that brought us to the same
conclusion.
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Or any of them for that matter?
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Like I mentioned half the record is from certain scenes from "Blade
Runner". "The Silent Ghost of Regret" explains itself in the title.
"1956-1980" is my thank you to Ian Curtis (Joy Division) for creating
some of the best punk & post punk music ever made! My Jr. high school
& high school soundtrack always had Joy Division playing.
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How is your writing accomplished?
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I don't really know how to answer that. I don't have a formula. I can
sometimes work for hours & come up with nothing except an awful
headache. I think if someone was to watch me work they would be very
bored & think I'm just faking all this. But somehow the music finds
its way.
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What inspires you to write and record music?
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One of two things, sound or feelings. I can hit a certain key on the
keyboard & be sent into the right direction. Tweak the right knob on
an effect & there it is. Or I can be going through something & I just
need to play my bass to relax.
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Do you like to collaborate with others when you write?
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On this project, absolutely! Eric Campuzano was the first person I
contacted. I'm a huge fan of Charity Empressa & asked if Eric would be
willing to lay down some guitars. All the people involved are good
friends & people I highly respect! They all made this record better
than it would've been if I didn't ask them. I think my favorite parts
on this record are the parts the others did.
They all are very easy going people & have zero egos. Which made for a
very creative environment.
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Do you find that writing is more of a struggle or a release?
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It can be a struggle at times, but it's always a release. I've been a
huge fan of music since I was a young boy & I take music very
seriously. So I've always been able to find peace of mind in music. So
to be able to lay down something your feeling in your music is a huge
release.
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As a musician, what do you try to bring to the listener?
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Something interesting. I love listening to all kinds of music, but the
music that hits me the most are the records I can put on & just stare
@ the walls or ceiling & lose track of time. That's what I tried to do
with this release.
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What cd's are in your current rotation?
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I'm on a huge Lustmord kick right now. That man is the master of dark 
ambient! 
For Christmas I got Randy Greif's "Alice In Wonderland" It's a master
piece. It's a 5 disc set of experimental music. He took the complete
story of "Alice in Wonderland"  being read by different voices &
completely tweaked it out. It's a serious head case. Haunting &
beautiful.
I'm also really into the new Donnas c.d. "Gold Medal". They just get
better & better with each record.
Then there's always my trusty favorites Joy Division, New Order,
Siouxsie, This Mortal Coil, The Cramps, Lisa Gerrard, Charity
Empressa, Glorybox, Echo & the Bunnymen, etc...
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What's coming up next for you?
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I'm putting the finishing touches on my 2nd release titled "phos". It
will be a "drone" record.  3 tracks clocking in @ 56 minutes.
I'm also speaking with some friends about doing some collaborations.
Which I think some people will really dig. But "mums" the word on
those things for now.
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In closing, is there anything you would like to say to those who will 
be reading this?
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Thank you for taking the time to listen to me babble on. I hope you
give this project a chance. Always look for art that's interesting &
thought provoking. I promise, you probably won't find it on main
stream radio/movies/magazines. But there are people out there that are
concerned with doing music that is made from their convictions, not
the media's. Support those people, they are the ones that you will
connect with.

Soli Deo Gloria