About
Hey All,I have been in the music scene for quite a long time now! It all started with the Monkee's TV show and the Beatles 65 album. All I wanted was to be a drummer! So in 4th grade we got to pick an instrument. My dad firmly said NO to drums. I thought a bit and decided that the Tuba would be most annoying and so that's what I chose. I even used to wait for him to get home to practice! Luckily we had an amazing music department in White Plains that I credit with learning how to play ensemble and the art of listening to 100 other musicians while playing.
Well, I then got tagged to do the recording for Woody Russell's first CD "As Simple as That". A wonderful musician who has gone on to make quite a reputation for himself in Austin. After that came a long association with Creeping Time and Ken Nottingham. I worked and/or played on many of their CD's. I also did some work on my one time guitar student and Duo partner in the mid 80's Larry Murante's "Waters Edge" CD.
Finally, after years of producing others I put out my first solo CD "Acoustic Massage". Coincidently I connected with the "Seattle Guitar Circle" (before they became "Tuning the Air"). This led e to Steve Ball and Paul O'rear and a 5 year collaboration with the "Steve Ball Roadshow" (later called C3).
Since 2009 though I have been pursuing my passions for live performance playing 50+ gigs a year as a both a solo artist and with the local duo IvyLane featuring myself and the effervescent Elaine Skeffington! More to come in 2018 with Ivan Lee #5 and IvyLane #2 :-)
Obsessive Compulsive Guitar Player
By age 13 I had bought a pawn shop guitar and sweet talked my parents into getting me my first drum set. Ahh, Ludwig 4 piece with Zildjan cymbals. Within a few months I was getting sneaked into bars to play Proud Mary, Johnny Winter, Traffic and Doors covers. I also went to my first concert in NYC, Yes was the opening act then King Crimson and Procol Harum!
While battling an epic case of mono (6 months) I started playing acoustic guitar. Cat Stevens, Neil Young, Jackson Browne etc. My pawn shop special served me well for many years. Still all through High School I was much more a drummer than guitar player!
Fast forward to College (well first time that is :-).. I was playing drums in bar bands for money but really starting to switch over to guitar as my main axe! I finally bought my first Electric Guitar in 1978 (a two year old Stratocaster for $210!). At this time I was playing with the Vegetable Magnets who later turned into the Larry Talbot band. The group had a small but loyal following. In retrospect I think we had enormous potential and wrote quite a body of original tunes.
I finally left my East Coast home of 25 years and went on the road with a the band Beckwith. After half a year of touring all the worst hotel bars in the mid west I settled in the Seattle area where I still live today. I spent a few years playing in several casual and club bands (please no more takes of "Start me Up!"). Then came "The Escape" where once again original material was at the forefront. Spent the better part of 16 years playing all over the area with them.
In that time I got bit by the recording bug - Tape - then ADAT - then (in 1998) when I was designing mixers for Mackie got this great deal on ProTools...... First project on PT was engineering and playing guitar on a CD for the leader of The Escape (Michelle Molner) "All I Need".
