I grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. At age 8, in the basement of the now defunct MusicWest, I began taking drum lessons from local jazz drummer Dave Storrs. He taught me the importance of improvisation, and how to listen.

Throughout middle school I played with the concert and jazz bands. In the seventh grade I performed an orchestral snare drum solo for our fall concert. I formed my first band, Felix in the eighth grade. In high school, I joined every band that I could; rock jazz, emo, funk, blues, pop- anything I could get my hands on. Only a few managed to gig regularly, but the experience of playing so many styles of music was invaluable. I continued playing with the school concert, symphonic, and jazz bands, and at the end of my senior year, ('99) received Corvallis High School's Louis Armstrong award for excellence and leadership. After graduation, I moved to Gresham to play drums for Dave Barduhn's elite jazz choir, Genesis.

Genesis toured constantly, playing a steady circuit of schools and jazz festivals. During my two years with the group I had the opportunity to play dozens of times with many amazing musicians. We recorded three albums, received critical acclaim from Downbeat Magazine, and in 2001, were invited to perform at the International Association of Jazz Educators Convention in Manhattan. I attended Mt. Hood Community College at this time, studying music. I was also fortunate enough to be able to study with Gary Hobbs, a world-renown drummer famous for playing with the Stan Kenton Big Band. I transferred to Portland State University in fall 2001 as a music Major and got back heavily into the local music scene, playing regularly with hiphop group; Money&Lovin, reggae bands; The Uprite Dub Orchestra and Earl & The Reggae Allstars, and soul group; L'via Lee & The Shade Tree. With these groups, I have played nearly every major venue in Portland including: The Roseland Bar and Grill, The Crystal Ballroom, Berbati's Pan, The Ash Street Saloon and The Mt.Tabor Theater/Sabala's. In 2004 and 2005 I toured the NW with The Uprite Dub Orchestra and toured the country with The Warsaw Poland Bros. I received my Bachelors of Music (Performance) from PSU in 2006, after studying drums with Ken Ollis and Allan Jones. In 2006 and 2007 I did the 'one city, seven bands' thing out of Porltand, playing with Sambafeat, SugarChamp, and Jenny Sizzler, Bombs Into You, Earl and the Reggae Allstarsand others I plan on being on tour full-time through spring 2009.