The band was tight and the guys were great fun to be around. Sometimes I laughed so hard I got dizzy. We toured Scandanavia three times. I have family there, so that was very cool. And if I never see Canada again.. it'd be too soon. You don't know cold, until you've been to Grand Prarie in February. We played Alaska, too. But that was in the spring. It's hard being away from loved ones and I had some lonely, lonely nights. I also had some nights that, well, you know.

Of course, the week I leave the band to concentrate on other endeavors, the bastards go to New Orleans and Florida.

The guitar I used for those shows was a Gibson SG 1962 Re-Issue. Seymor Duncun Full-Shred pick ups. Strung with .10s. A Nady true diversity wireless rig sent the signal through a Korg DT-10 tuner and out to a Mesa-Engineering Triple Rectifier Solo head. Down to a Mesa 4 by 12" oversized cab. This is the greatest Rock sound I have ever been able to create. It was fun playing the Twisted Sister tunes thru this rig. The Twisted tunes are fairly pop-y. Great melodies over straight-ahead power chords. The Mesa is more of a Pantera/Metallica sound. It was a great "updating" to already well-written songs. That amp got plenty hot during our grueling sets. It really was an amazing, powerful, crunchy, ballsy sound. I woulda loved to have this set up while I was playing in Carnivore. Damn, was that really 13 years ago? I played on the first record and that was a lotta fun. Pete went on to form Type O Negative, and had great success. I am lucky enough to be endorsed by Mesa Engineering now. Working on that Gibson endorsement, but they're tough.

My main guitar is a Paul Reed Smith. A gift from my Dad for my birthday. A beautifuly flamed maple top on a mahogohny body. Ebony fretboard with the traditional "Bird" inlays PRS is known for. It's sweet.

But it's way too "sensitive" for the heavy style I sometimes play. That's very heavy on the right hand action and the PRS is a guitar I don't wanna hit too hard.

The Gibson, on the other hand, took a major beating and kept on ticking. Rarely lost tune and survived 3 years of heavy abuse.

The PRS is perfect for shimmering open chords and out-of-phase tones. Running it through a Boss ME10 (a trade with my Dad), gives me access to any sound I'll ever need. And I love playing with eBows. I have all the software I need to set up a full-on digital recording studio, but I lack the hardware. For the moment. I look forward to blending the two "crafts".

Another musical passion of mine are Hand Drums. Djembes, Taikos, Congas, frame drums and a whole slew of others. Here are photos of some of the drums in my collection.

Each one has it's own voice. I've never taken any lessons, but I've played for hours at a time in my shop. The stereo cranking Santana or Micky Hart, or solo. It's very theraputic and relaxing. And it really is related to the heartbeat. The drum was the first instrument, the UR instrument.

As far as the music I listen to goes, at the moment it's a mix of trip-hop, ambient, acoustic guitar and soundtracks. Here's a partial playlist. I really enjoy choosing the music I listen to according to the task at hand. Or the mood I seek to create.

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