ShrimpTunes.com ~ Rhythm from the briny deep

Rhythm from the briny deep

Biography

A very long time ago, an eight year old boy decided he wanted to learn to play the drums. This was fine with his folks, music fans who appreciated the arts and tried to instill similar values in their children. From a stage show closing in Boston, they purchased his first drum kit.

The young man studied drums in the public school system, then privately with a U.S. Army Sergeant. When the opportunity to take piano lessons presented itself, the little guy grabbed it and ran. A few years later, having been bitten by the rock 'n' roll bug, Shrimp started to plunk the guitar strings, eventually learning enough chords to play along with Elvis and Ricky Nelson recordings.

While plodding through the public school system in Canton, MA, he maintained a love for music of all kinds, amassing a collection of records that included rock, jazz and folk. The family always had an ample supply of show tunes, jazz and pop vocalists in their record library, and this continued to make an impression.

High school dance bands and rock groups were followed by paying gigs in local nightspots. Working his way through college, he finally decided to make a go of it as a professional musician. Lots of road work was interspersed around a family life in the Greater Boston area.

Sadly, the family split in the late 70s. Shrimp pulled up stakes and headed to sunny Florida, where pounding out a disco beat finally took its toll. So it was back on the road to good old, familiar Massachusetts. This proved to be a wise move because shortly thereafter, he hooked up with one of his most enjoyable bands, playing New Orleans R&B and second line tunes all over the Eastern and Southeastern U.S.

In the late 80s, the lure of a “real job” convinced him to move to Connecticut, where he put musical performance pursuits on the back burner for several years. During this time, Shrimp honed his engineering skills in a comfortably appointed and equipped home studio. Gradually, gigging became more of a priority, and payoffs included gigs at the Lincoln Center, NYC, and several local college concerts.

Fast forward to Fall 2006, and Shrimp and the family (both human and feline) are trucking up North to the stunningly beautiful Northeast Kingdom of VT. After a couple of months, he started to elbow his way into the local Montpelier music scene, making musical and personal friendships with several of the area’s most talented performers.

This is where we are today, shoveling snow, providing a solid backbeat, mowing the acreage, plunking six strings, tending the garden, pounding the ivory, hugging the loved ones (both human and feline, of course) and, in general, enjoying life in the most beautiful corner of the world!