Well, much like my son I was kind of born into it. We are a bit of a musical family. My birth father was a Jazz Drummer during the 60’s in the NYC Jazz and Beatnik scene. A photo exists somewhere of me on his old Gretch drum set at 2 years of age. So music has always been woven into the fabric of my life. My mother was a big fan of the Beatles, Jazz, early Funk and R&B aka Sly and the Family Stone, and Broadway Show albums. So music was always being played in the home in a most eclectic fashion. As I got older, I received my first real drum set at the age of 12… no more making drum sets out of old coffee cans! LOL. I’m a self-taught drummer and would play to records by the likes of The Beatles, Paul McCartney and the Wings, Three Dog Night, and The Rolling Stones and Sly Stone initially. It just took off from there. Mick Tucker from Sweet, John Bonham from Zeppelin, Bill Ward from Sabbath and Neil Peart from Rush were all early influences and helped form my playing. But I always had a great appreciation for how “Groove” made you instinctively move. Perhaps from listening to 60’s and early 70’s funk and R&B.

Well, for better or worse, I think what separates me from other musicians is the fact that I am self-taught. Once you see how taught drummers play you see how unorthodox your playing is. But I think my lack of trained structure helped contribute to my “Outside The Box” mindset when it came to playing. I felt no restrictions, if that makes sense. Now that’s just speaking for me obviously. There are numerous technically trained drumming geniuses I greatly admire like Terry Bozzio, Bill Buford, and Mike Portnoy. I don’t consider myself in that class of player. But speaking purely as to what helped form my style.

Personally the most difficult thing I endured once pursuing music professionally was the fact that at the time I was making music throughout the 80’s and early 90’s, the reality became painfully clear that for the most part your talent personally and professionally was going to have very little effect on whether you succeeded in music. That was a tough pill to swallow. I was always passionate about the music and the making of it. More so than being a so-called “Rock Star”. I had no interest and still don’t in selling out my integrity for popularity. During the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s, as great as those decades were for music it was also such an Industry! There was so much “Music Industry” factors that prevented many talented individuals and bands from making it, while also permitting many less talented bands to flourish during that time. Now there are many stories as to how that happens with some bands which has been written about extensively, but at the time I was a bit naive to it all and wanted to believe if we were a good band that it would eventually pan out. It lead me to walk away from music entirely for many years when I left HITTMAN.

I don’t know that I have a process per say, but I do have my preferences. Whether that happens is another story. I have always enjoyed the collaborative process. Someone brings an “Idea”, not a fully written song to the band and we all develop that song from three or four prospectives. Each adding their own special touch from their own special talent. This to me is what formulates the unique sound of a band and not one or two members interests or influences. It was the process on the first TAKASHI record and following singles and it’s the fashion in which the debut HITTMAN record was written and recorded. Unfortunately when it came time to write and record the second HITTMAN record, the direction had drastically changed due to influences from only two members of the band. As a co-founder of the band with Jim Bacchi and Mike Buccellato, this mindset coming from Jim and Dirk was unacceptable for me and I decided to depart. Musical integrity has always been important to me, more than just playing for the sake of playing or desperately trying to be a “Star”.

Well, I agree there are many very talented musicians who don’t get the recognition you’d think they should have. But to be honest, for me that now becomes more of an ego thing. If you love what you do, you work hard at it and get fulfillment from it… people are going to recognize your effort. And again, the emphasis should be on your own fulfillment and pride of your project. And if a collaborative effort, pride in your brothers. How many “Hits” you receive on YouTube, etc., etc. is great for feeding the ego. But take pride in your accomplishment and what you give to the others involved and your fans. It has never been easier to build your career with that mindset than now! New guys getting into it now have no idea how easy it is in comparison to the way it used to be. You used to be completely dependent on the major labels. Which meant if you didn’t pander to an A&R exec, then you were not going to have your music heard. Now, with the advent of digital distribution and being able to record album quality music yourself and relatively inexpensive in comparison to Studio time and tape expenses, it has never been easier to get your music to the masses. I think this has led to the downfall of the “Major Label” as we knew them years ago. Unfortunately for them, when musicians were warning the industry to take this new wave seriously most dropped the ball. The industry fell behind and never really caught up. Now their primary purpose is to distribute and market.

The internet and social media is HUGE! As a band, as a musician being tech savvy can make your career. Even if it means just generating income from a YouTube video, or getting the music on the numerous digital distribution sites to sell your record. I don’t know if it will make you a wealthy Rock Star… but you can survive doing what you love to do. Social media doesn’t just get you heard locally, or nationally… it’s GLOBAL! Unfortunately it’s also a double edge sword. Organizations like Spotify net musicians very little in the form of monetary compensation. Granted your music can be accessed easier, and that’s probably why they get away with it but it’s not a short term money maker. With that said, yes if you’re just starting out pursuing music or any creative outlet, I’d say knowing everything you can about the internet and it’s tools such as website building and design, video editing, etc. is very important. The more you can do yourself, the more net income you can retain.