Biographical
Information:
I started learning how to drum by watching my father. Some of my earliest memories in life are watching when my father would practice. I would sometimes sit on his lap or stand next to him to watch and listen. My father would put the sticks in my hands and show me how to hit the drums. He showed how to play basic rhythms, some rudiments, and he taught me to listen to the bass line. In the house we listened to a lot of blues, rock and pop music. Sometimes my dad would play congas in the park with a group of fellows from Puerto Rico while people would gather for picnics and to dance. These were some of my first memories of the overwhelming joy that music can bring.
Throughout my elementary school days I was in some form of choir. The music program in my school was very strong. We had some gifted teachers who cared about the students and cared about music. During these years I learned a great deal about folk music, historical music and spirituals. The teachers would teach us not only the songs, but the stories and the history that go with them. I started taking formal drum lessons in junior high school and joined the symphonic band in ninth grade. During high school I was in the Senior High Jazz Band, which was a full-fledged class with grades and auditions. Throughout high school I would play every chance I got. I played with the theatrical productions, with the choir, the orchestra, a couple of different rock bands, small jazz combos and even a couple of beauty pageants! I played my first paying gig with my friends’ father’s jazz combo in the basement of their church on Mardis Gras when I was in tenth grade.
After I graduated high school I took a year to gather my resources and played with a party band that played mostly weddings. I went to college majoring in Physics, but I never stopped playing music. I used to play gigs on the weekends in rock bands and jazz combos for fun and extra money. While I was there I took a few courses in music history, theory and composition. I also sang in the men’s a cappella group and played drums with the theatre and with the gospel ensemble. When I graduated Union College in 1991, I decided to focus on making music. For the next six or so years I worked in numerous settings including rock, jazz, funk, punk, reggae, folk and theatre.
In 1998, I moved to the Boston area and began working with the Boogaloo Swamis through August of 2006. Since then I have worked with Jesse Lége and Bayou Brew, various Kenny Selcer groups and joined The Squeezebox Stompers, including an original member of The Boogaloo Swamis, Ralph Tufo.