BACKGROUND/BIO

I was born and raised in Los Angeles.  My family is very involved in the LDS (mormon) church, and I played basketball as a youngster.  In 6th grade I started to develop an ear for music as well and took a class in guitar at school after piano lessons failed to spark interest, I was hooked almost instantly.    I joined my first band as soon as I could drive, actually as a singer, but as I continued to write and grow, I gravitated towards guitar.  After losing the tip of a finger in a work accident I switched to bass for a year while it healed, switching back to guitar after that band disbanded.  A series of bands followed with very little success and by 1987 I was ready for a change.  I decided to serve a mission for my church and was sent to Munich, Germany  That was how the nick-name came about

I recieved a gift of a white teddybear with a guitar shaped music box that played "LOVE ME TENDER"   After tying a  ribbon on its head we christened the bear ROKTEDDY.  The nick name stuck (for some reason with me most nick names do).  The original bear was lost some time ago, and has been replaced a couple times, but  I kept the moniker as a reminder of those wonderful days when it seemed  any dream was possible.  As I returned from Germany at the end of  '89I had a new set of goals and passions alongside the old.

I met an wonderful woman, we married and started a family.  We have three kids together.  We experienced college, budding careers and eventually moved north to Fresno and then  Sacramento. Music slowly dropped off the list of priorities, but  like most things one is passionate about,  the fire to play always burned just below the surface.  We experienced more then our share of crisis and setbacks, including a house fire and a near crippling injury. Family issues and  9/11 made us both really began to evaluate, and we divorced. I realized that being a good father and husband meant being at peace with myself.   Teaching, performing, and writing music is a big part of me..  So once again I picked up a guitar...and found that while the Rokteddy of yesteryear had also matured,  he was as vibrant, creative  and full of life as ever.  I came accross a bassist  with the creativity & experience to match mine and we created a a set of music I'm really proud of.  After 3 years together we parted ways, but it helped me once again find my musical niche and I currently have a drummer and friend, Bobbie and the two of us have a couple of projects that we work on regularly. I remarried, and had another child, but the marriage itself turned out to be short lived.

I still work in the church, bobbie and I sill write and record and are working with a new vocalist, The kids all keep growing and are turning into wonderful young men and women, and most importantly, I have found  peace and serenity LIFE IS GOOD ....