Solar glare

One morning I woke and knew I was out of coffee. Okay, off to the 1369 Coffee Shop in Inman Sq., Cambridge. I got mine to go and headed back to my digs.

Heading up Cambridge St was difficult. The…

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Valerie Allain and I

I was working a Saturday at Harvard Sq.'s Briggs and Briggs Music.
It was busy. CD's were relatively new.My manager asked me to get the tribal CDs by me (Pygmies of the Ituri Forest), I reached for them on a…

Fortune Cookie

Fortune Cookie

I certainly saw a lot of her, even though she had left me several months before. She soon discovered that the visiting professor she had left me for was a " major disappointment ".
As the most hellacious…

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An endearing nap

In 1984 I met a young artist from the Southwest working at a local restaurant. We began see each other on dates and I was falling deeply in love.
She invited me over and played Claire de Lune on her…

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Robert Plant and me

  had met Robert Plant on the sidewalk, a block away from my store, Briggs and Briggs Music in Harvard SQ. I pointed out our store and he said he'd be by. I got back to work and my coworkers were…

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I am where I need to be

I am happy to say that retirement, no matter how impoverished, has led to doors opening for me in music.
The worst thing I ever did to my career was listening to my mother (RIP) and making a day job…

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What is "What It Is"?

What is "What It Is"?
After playing together off and on for some years, I had the chance to jam with bassist, Mike Martone. He was between bands and I had been ever prolific, writing and recording.
We played that…

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Love's Mishaps, Part 2


"Love's Mishaps" spans 30 years with the bulk of the tunes from this century. 1984-2012.
"Be alright" (2003):
Acoustic guitars and mandolin back my vocals and lead guitar.
"What Memories" (1988):
A four track tape recording sporting electric mandolin and…

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Me and Alan Ginsberg


When I worked at Briggs and Briggs music in Harvard Sq., Alan Ginsberg walked in one day. I didn't let on that I recognized him, but helped him look for a CD of an early British composer.
"He was a…

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Love's Mishaps, Part 1

"Love's Mishaps" was conceived 1995 when a customer of mine from Briggs and Briggs Music ran into me in Harvard Sq.
I told James Herbst that I had gotten a CD player/recorder (this is before I had a…

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Bevy of instruments

My recordings are played with: 

*1968 Martin D28 *1949 Harmony acoustic jazz guitar *1940 Kalamazoo (Gibson) mandolin
*1908 Gibson mandocello
*el cheapo Kent solid body electric mandola
*nameless solid body electric mandolin
*Squire Precision bass
*Squire Stratocaster
*Chroma Polaris 1980's…

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My story and sound, Part 1

My story and sound

As a kid, I grew up learning tunes off the record. Beatles, Stones, Cream, Hendrix, Simon and Garfunkel.
Previous to starting guitar at 12, I had a very close relationship with the radio. The Everly Brothers…

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