Gigging, Education, and Influences....

How long was it after you started playing that you played your first gig?
I started gigging when I was 15 years old.

Remember what it was?
My younger sister Jeannette (she was twelve) and I had a guitar/vocal duo modelled after Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. Our first gig was probably at the folk festival in Sudbury, Festival Boreal. We also played at a couple of coffeehouses. We had a review in the local paper that called us the Schwenkers.

Were you playing any original material at that time, or just standards?
We were playing mainly standards and a few bossa novas.

Did you ever study privately extensively with anyone?
I studied with Ben Rinaldo in Sudbury for about three years. He took me through the first Berklee book (Modern Method For The Guitar- William Leavitt) and a couple of the Howard Roberts books and got me transcribing. After that I could basically explore on my own. I also took some lessons in classical guitar, first in Spain with Eduardo Fernandez and then with Robert Hamilton at Cambrian College in Sudbury. But at a certain point I knew I had to focus on one or the other.

Did you do any formal post-secondary music education anywhere? What are your thoughts on music education?
No, but at the time in Toronto there wasn't much jazz in the colleges and universities. If I was starting out now I'd probably try to attend one of the jazz programs. There are many good programs and good teachers around. Plus, it's one of the best ways to find people to play with and to make professional contacts.

Was making a career out of music something you always knew you wanted to do?
I think so. I can't remember ever wanting to do anything else.

Could you name a few guitarists who have had an influence on you as a musician?
Django Reinhardt, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Tal Farlow, Lenny Breau, Ed Bickert, Sonny Greenwich, Rene Thomas, Derek Bailey, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, George Benson, John Abercrombie, Jim Hall, John Scofield... I could continue indefinitely...

Are there many active guitarists whose music you appreciate?
Very many. I've been listening to a lot of Brazilian music recently so I've been checking out guys like Helio Delmiro, Lula Galvao, Romero Lubambo and Raphael Rabello. And lately I've heard recordings that knocked me out by guitarists like Brandon Ross, Bobby Broom, Jimmy Ponder, Peter Bernstein, Russell Malone, Dave Stryker, Anthony Wilson, Ben Monder... not to mention all the guys I mentioned before. I could probably keep listing names indefinitely.

The future....