About Me

I got my first guitar in the summer of 1980. It was a 1966 baby blue Fender Mustang along with an old Univox tube amp. I began learning from my father who had worked as a professional musician playing guitar and bass in different bands from 1963-1968. Later I studied under various private guitar instructors. Some of my early influences were Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, David Gilmore, and Peter Frampton. In my late teens I became inspired to study blues after I heard the playing of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Around this time I also started listening to and studying the styles of Eric Johnson and Allan Holdsworth.

In 1989, at 19 years old, I enrolled in the Atlanta Institute of Music, graduating with honors in 1990. Studies included Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country, Classical, Music Theory and Harmony, Scales and Technique, Sight Reading, Chord Melody, Composition, Ear Training and Transcription, and Studio Recording. During this time I had the privilege to study under such world class musicians and instructors as Jimmy Herring, Steve Freeman, Bill Hart, Robben Ford, Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker, and Ritchie Kotzen.

Upon graduating from The Atlanta Institute of Music in 1990, I taught guitar lessons as a substitute teacher for Howren Music Company in Charlotte, NC. In 1991 I moved to St. Louis, MO, where I played music professionally and taught guitar and bass lessons at Eberhardt Music. In 1992 I moved back to South Carolina where I began playing gigs locally. During this time I also taught guitar lessons out of my home in Lake Wylie, SC.

In 1994, I began teaching guitar and bass full time for Howren Music Company in Charlotte, NC. I typically taught 50+ lessons a week to a wide variety of students of all different ages, skill levels, and backgrounds. I continued teaching there for a period of eight years until finally quitting in 2002 in order to work full time at my own guitar school.

While successfully running my guitar school, I developed a vast curriculum for all different levels of students and wrote three different instructional books. During this time I also worked as a studio musician, laying down guitar tracks as well as writing and recording jingles for various television commercials.

In 2011, I launched the music transcription company CustomGuitarTabs.com. As the primary transcriber for this company I have since provided over 2000 different musical transcriptions for clients from all over the world. These transcriptions have been in every imaginable guitar and bass style ranging from simple to highly complex material.

In 2013, I began teaching 1-on-1 Skype guitar lessons. This started out with just a few students but eventually grew into a busy schedule. I was having tremendous success teaching this way and seeing and hearing such noticeable improvement in each student made me especially enthusiastic about teaching private guitar lessons online. Now I could help students from anywhere as long as they had an internet connection. Since starting the Skype and Zoom guitar lesson program it has been incredibly exciting and rewarding to instruct musicians from all over the world and to see their amazing progress as guitar players.

I still continue to practice, write, record, transcribe, and teach to this day. I am constantly seeking new guitar players to listen to and be inspired by. I have an equal passion for acoustic and electric guitar and I listen to and practice just about every style of music. I am, and always will be, obsessed with becoming a better guitar player. But, far more importantly, I am obsessed with helping YOU become a better guitar player.