About Me!
When I was ten my clarinet teacher in Pittsburgh made a point of telling my parents I had no musical talent whatsoever. Later that year my aunt found an old guitar from the 1890s in her attic. It was the color of bourbon and smelled like the past. I loved it. It was missing some strings, so I hijacked the guts from a badminton racket and began to strum. I was no better than anyone else, but I was smitten with the smell and the sound and we became friends.
When I was in high school, I heard Bob Dylan and thought maybe I could follow in his footsteps. I wasn’t a great singer, but neither was he. I began to play cover tunes and folk classics for free in coffeehouses and such and quickly realized I wasn’t very good. The only songs I did that generated any interest were the ones I wrote. They weren’t very good either, but they offered a glimmer of musical hope, but only a glimmer.
So, I entered the real workforce as a lackey in a newsroom. I promptly realized it wasn’t my thing and left to make music with my girlfriend and travel the Midwest. She was very talented and supportive, and we started writing songs together.
We called ourselves Street Pajama and landed in Tucson in the late ‘70s.
We recorded three albums of our own material and were fortunate enough to get quite a bit of local airplay. It was nice but did not translate into money or wider renown of any sort. After about ten years of diminishing returns we broke up, hung up our microphones and guitars, and both went to grad school.
I became a mental health therapist at the state prison where I met some colorful survivors, some scallywags, and some hapless souls who never had a chance.
I also wrote a book which was no more lucrative than my music. So, what the heck: I began writing songs again. After being apart for 20 years, we got together and recorded a fourth album: Steel Friends.
And here I am, optimistic and none the worse for wear. Sometimes I look at my guitar and realize what a privilege it is to commune with this beautiful thing of ebony and pine and turn it into music.
Full Discography
Street Pajama Discography