I came into this world on August 23, 1974. The good Lord did not bless me with any musical talent whatsoever, but he did give me an ear for the stuff. My earlist musical memories are of my older sister who would blast DEF LEPPARD, MADONNA, and DURAN DURAN on a daily basis -- naturally her musical tastes became my musical tastes.

My taste for DEF LEPPARD soon branched out into a love for bands like TWISTED SISTER and VAN HALEN. One day I heard PEE WEE DANCE on the radio and my eyes were opened to world of hip-hop. Somehow I started listening to CHUCK CHILLOUT, MR. MAGIC, and RED ALERT on the radio and thirsting to hear more from RUN DMC, WHODINI, B.D.P, BIZ MARKIE, and the likes. I was torn between the worlds of hard rock and rap. VAN HALEN's "1984" and WHODINI's "Back in Black" were the first two tapes I ever bought.

My sister's friend was a genuine punk (the only one in our town at that time probaly), she let me borrow SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' first album and I listened to it every night. I soon picked up skateboarding, built a half pipe in my yard, got introduced to S.O.D., D.R.I., and MINOR THREAT. Metal/Hardcore crossover music was my bread and butter. I got really into IRON MAIDEN and METALLICA, which soon led to heavier stuff (SODOM, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, CELTIC FROST, etc). But it wasn't until high school at my school's "Spring Jam" where the local band HUMIDIFIER played. HUMIDIFIER played "melodic" punk and I was hooked. Jim Wilbur was the bassist for the band, and also an intern at the school itself, and he is also now currently playing in SUPERCHUNK. It was HUMIDIFIER that gave me that feeling in the pit of my stomach -- ya' know, that feeling you get when you hear your favorite song and your hair stands on end. I got word that they hosted a radio show at a nearby college and I immediately became a devoted listener. And that's where I first heard DAG NASTY, DESCENDENTS, MISFITS, etc.

The first DAG NASTY song I ever heard was "Under Your Influence" and immediately went out to the store to buy their album. Although the Dave Smalley version was the one I heard on the radio, I unknowningly bought "Field Day" -- but was pleasently surprised. That album got more play than any album I've ever had. That album changed my life. From that, I started down the hardcore road and began listening to GORILLA BISCUITS, SICK OF IT ALL, WARZONE, etc. But the melodic stuff like DAG NASTY, VERBAL ASSAULT, SOUL SIDE, etc. -- that's the stuff I lived for. And on the flipside, with stuff like TRIBE CALLED QUEST, PUBLIC ENEMY, and DE LA SOUL coming out in those days -- I also kept close ties to the hip-hop world as well.

For awhile, I jumped on the "grunge" bandwagon. MUDHONEY, PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN, etc -- I was big on them for awhile, but not because everyone else was. If I liked the sound of something -- I listened to it, plain and simple. PEARL JAM's "Ten" album is still a masterpiece in my mind.

Eventually, I ended up DJ'ing at my college radio station. Got exposed to a lot of techno and electronica and went down that road for awhile, but still stayed true to my roots. I was also big into the EARTH CRISIS, ONE KING DOWN, the whole "metalcore" thing for awhile and my radio shows strongly reflected that. Somewhere in there, I was also big into ska -- went to a few MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES shows and got hooked on them. If you've never seen them live -- YOU MUST, they are incredible.

It all leads to where I am now. I've amassed a HUGE music collection and listen to so many different styles (except country -- I don't care how good an album DRAG THE RIVER puts out -- I won't give in).

MY VIEW ON TRADING, BOOTLEGGING, ETC ...