Like the rest of the Rockers, I was fortunate to grow up in a town where there was an active and vibrant music program in the public schools. I credit two women with teaching us the love of singing and giving us the skills to do it well, June Jetter (middle school) and Janice Farnum (high school). Janice just happens to be the mom of two our our best singers, Jamie and Chuck, but she did her best to train the rest of us in the fine art of three, four, and five part harmony. To this day, I think it is vocal harmony that is a trademark of the Rockers. We live for it.

Concurrent with this schooling, we were immersed in the lively music scene of the 60's and 70's. So we tried our hand at folk music and later rock & roll. As per one line from my song A Major Boogie:
We had a little rock band, I think we paid our dues,
When we played our music in those old country schools,
When we'd get rolling they'd dance holes in their shoes,
And we learned the truth from Dylan and the Moody Blues!
Yeah, we heard the word from Hendrix and the Beatles too!

Talk about a rich background!! I say ours has been the greatest music generation. As we went our separate ways to college, the music maintained an important place in my life. I was in choir and madrigals at Cornell College and loved the classical stuff and, again, the harmonies. And I began to write my own music. The first few pieces that came forward were like major revelations for me. I had made something that I enjoyed out of pure nothingness. It captured my fascination and I have been writing songs ever since. For me it has mostly been a chronicle of my thoughts, feelings, and emotions. A year after graduation from college I completed my song cycle Pictures from Life and with friends as performers, we presented this multimedia production on the stage at King Chapel on the Cornel campus. It included film, slides, dance, voice and instrumental music to depict the full circle of human life from birth, through childhood, adult relationships, aging, death and rebirth. Although there was no college credit or guidance, this was, in fact, my thesis presentation.

From A Major Boogie again: Then I moved up north where the pine trees grow,
Up to Minnesota where the St.Croix flows,
I played in the river while I lived in the town,
Just a little slice of heaven,
Love those folks all around,
I sang new lyrics and I made up a tune,
When I sat & played guitar for the sun & the moon.
Yeah the forest and the river were my teachers too.