Birthdate: ??/??/????

Gear: 94' Soloist Pro (Dimarzio X2N - Bridge, SD Hot Rail - Neck), Peavey 5150, Mesa/Boogie Triaxis, Mesa/Boogie Simul 2:90 Poweramp, T.C. Electronics G Major, Marshall 1960V cabs.

History: I started playing guitar when I was 10. My parents bought me a crappy starter guitar and paid for lessons with one of their friends. After a few months I started taking lessons at the local music shop, and continued for the next few years. I was never really enthusiastic about playing, and contemplated quitting more than once, but my mom pushed me and pushed me telling me that I would get better soon, that I would start liking it soon. So I kept on playing, and one day it hit me, "Oh shit!

This is fuckin' badass!". And ever since then I've loved playing guitar. For a while I got really into video games, and slacked on my guitar playing. But then I met a kid at school, and the first day we hung out, we were sitting in my room doing nothing, and I asked him if he played guitar, and he said, "No, but I'd like to learn". So I started to teach him, and he became so motivated, he would play and play and play, practice all day long. After seeing how quickly he was improving, it inspired me to play ALL the time. After a while, I started to realize that playing guitar was my passion in life, what I wanted to do. Ever since then, it's been what I do as much as I can whenever I get the chance.

How I Came To Audition: Taking lessons from Instrumental Music, I eventually met Mike Bear, who teaches bass there, and have been a fan of Artisan for about 3 years. After a few years of knowing him, he and I began talking a lot, and helping each other out with recording and mixing. One day he mentioned them needing a guitarist, and me auditioning, and I jumped at the opportunity. But, I was still in High School, and wanted to graduate before I made a commitment. So I graduated and decided to audition for Artisan. And here I am.

My Musical History: It all started when I was about 11. My moms friend moved to Arizona, and was selling pretty much everything he owned, so he gave my mom a box of his cds, and gave me a select few. He gave me Rust In Peace - Megadeth, and a few others I don't remember. When I first listened to that album, I was completely blown away. It was just so fucking cool; I had to have more of it. I brought that album in to my guitar teacher, and he showed me Metallica, which I loved. Then I found out about most of the other thrash and heavy metal bands of the 80s and 90s. When I started high school, I met this guy, who saw my Megadeth shirt, and started talking to me about metal. At the time I hadn't heard anything heavier than Megadeth or Metallica, so he showed me "death metal", which was completely new to me. He let me borrow a few albums and I was HOOKED, I LOVED it. From there I just went heavier and heavier, faster and faster, and now I like just about every genre and sub-genre of metal. I'm into pretty much anything that's good, I don't limit myself to 'metal' only. If the music is good, I'll like it, no matter what it is.

Favorite albums: Decapitated - Nihility, The Negation, and Organic Hallucinosis; Death - Symbolic, Spiritual Healing; Megadeth - Rust In Peace; Arch Enemy - Wages Of Sin; Deicide - Serpents Of The Light; Obituary - Cause Of Death; Resurrection - Embalmed Existence; Vader ñ Litany; Opeth - My Arms Your Hearse, Deliverance, Still Life; Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor and Enemies of Reality; Extol - Undeceived and Burial; Helstar - Nosferatu.

Favorite Bands: Decapitated, Opeth, Death, Megadeth, Vader, Krisiun, Arch Enemy, Nevermore, Obituary, Amon Amarth, Deicide, Exodus, Extol, The Faceless, Loudness, Origin, Pantera, Sepultura (old), Belphegor, Dan Swano and all of his projects, Behemoth, Demolition Hammer, Meshuggah.

Guitar influences: Vogg (Decapitated), Mickey Flynn, Matt Corette, Mike & Chris Amott, Dan Swano, Chuck Shuldiner, Joe Satriani, Jeff Loomis, James Murphy, Mikael Akerfeldt, Dimebag Darrel, Paul Gilbert, and EVERYONE who I've ever played guitar with.