Jake? Who Is Jake?

I was born in central New Jersey on February 10, 1978, during a winter blizzard. Maybe that's why I love the cold so much more than the heat.

I was raised in an extremely musical environment. There was always music playing when I was young, as my dad himself was a bassist in various bands, and my mom was an avid music lover herself with a great ear. Tons of records (yes, vinyl), cassettes, and 8-tracks played their way into my heart. Posters of my parents favorite bands were the wallpaper of my earliest memories. I can see the images of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Boston, ELO, Elvis Costello, Styx, and many others almost as clearly as I can recall events, friends, and family. All of these factors ultimately sealed my fate as far as my motivational factor being musically driven.

After being seen with toy guitars in many of my baby pictures, I finally got a real guitar at age 5. My dad gave me 3 books to use to get started with: The Guitarist's Picture Chord Encyclopedia, and The Compleat Beatles Vol. 1 & 2. The prospect of learning tons of chords, and lots of Beatles' songs held me over for a little while. Being able to play chords helped land me my first gig; playing guitar while the kids sang at my 3rd grade spring concert. I also started picking up my Dad's basses, and learning songs on them here and there as well.

Shortly after that, I started to expand my musical horizons. With the input of suggestions from my Dad, as well as choosing records at random, I started to learn other music by ear. I started to get into more classic rock stuff, such as Led Zeppelin, Queen, Yes, Boston, Deep Purple, etc. Learning music by ear came extremely easy to me, as well as retaining it, and as such, my repertoire of music began to grow rapidly. This contributed to me beginning to contribute to the jam sessions my dad would have with his musician friends. I quickly took to this as well, and ultimately became the main lead guitarist in various incarnations of lineups in bands with my Dad. Throughout middle school and early high school, I was regularly rehearsing and gigging playing various classic/hard rock covers.

In 5th grade, I began to take up alto saxophone in school. Throughout school, I became a music teacher's pet, playing alto & tenor sax in concert band, stage band, and marching band. I also took up upright bass, electric bass, and even some arranging for school plays/drama club pit band. I was also called upon to play guitar and bass in stage band, and jazz band. In the earliest incarnations of this in about 6th or 7th grade, it was discovered that I had perfect pitch. I had no idea this was an exclusive phenomenon, I thought all musicians could identify a note's pitch just by hearing it. It did explain why music came so easily to me though.

At age 15, my family moved from NJ to Tucson, AZ. I went to 3 more high schools over the next 2 years in AZ, and participated in each of the schools' music programs. In the 1994/1995 school year, I even auditioned for All-State Jazz Guitar and came in 2nd place, which put me in the "Clinic" band. I also won a Jazz Soloist award in state jazz band competition at NAU.

In addition to playing in school groups, I also began playing in groups outside of school with my peers in various incarnations. We played a few different shows at parks, for friends, and even pep rallies at school.

At age 17, with the aid of a Yamaha 4-track recorder, a Roland TR-505 drum machine, and eventually a Yamaha RY-10 drum machine (on loan/donated by great friends), the aspect of home recording got tacked on as well. I recorded many a home demo with these devices, and developed a new ability and new love.

When I wasn't playing in some various bands, home recording kept me going. From about 1999-2004, I actually wasn't committed to any serious bands, and recording my own songs was my primary musical outlet. I would jam with various friends here and there, but at home and recording was the meat and potatoes of it all.

In the summer of 2004, I once again relocated back from AZ, to central NJ again to further my musical voyages. I worked for a year at Sam Ash music building up a clientele of students, and making connections to begin a whole slew of new musical experiences. From 2005 to the present, I've been a full time private guitar & bass instructor.

From then until now, I have participated in numerous musical projects off and on, many of which are chronicled in various places throughout my website. I've also acquired much more in terms of experience, recordings, and gear. But the one thing that hasn't changed is my desire to expand myself musically, whether it be performing, recording, or the newer challenge of teaching. No matter how the musical frontiers seem to unravel, the one thing that I never lose sight of, is the factor that has motivated me since my childhood: I absolutely love music. Whether I'm playing in front of a crowd, recording scratch tracks for my latest song idea, showing a new student how to play an open E chord, listening to music as I drive, or even organizing my MP3 collection, the utmost love and respect for the power of music is what makes me have the strength to go on from day to day.


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