Before I could even play an instrument, an influential jazz friend of mine, Dan Faulk, turned me onto jazz. I started listening to Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis and Wes Montgomery. It was hard listening, but eventually it made sense. I didn't pick up an instrument until I was 17, but fortunately for me Dan had brothers who also played the blues. They let me jam with them and gave me my first band experience. Dan's older brother Chris played blues guitar with the Hoodoo Kings, and was my first brush with a real live gigging musician.

My brother and I used to play coffee houses, open mics and frat parties. On my return to Prescott from a hiatus in Flagstaff  I met Freddie Cisneros, aka Lil Junior, Guitar Players Magazine' s - Best Unknown Blues Player for 1989. 

To my great benefit, Freddie asked to start a trio with me, The Leisure Kings, two guitars and drums. It was raw, tons of fun and an invaluable learning experience. Along with learning live music from him, Fred turned me onto other blues guitar masters, like Anson Funderburgh, Ronnie Earl, Frankie Lee Sims, Albert Collins and especially Freddy King. In 1998 I decided to take the leap from rhythm and lead player to front man/singer/rhythm/ lead player in my own band, Big Daddy D and the Dynamites. We started out as four guys scrappin' for gigs to a serious band in blues demand. The best part is that we continue to get better and strive for more. If you like the blues, then you're a friend of mine.