Greetings! It’s been a while since I posted or even updated my website. A lot has happened in the last 4 1/2 years. The unforeseen departure with the group Intronaut and of course the pandemic. After several bouts of depression and obstacles, I decided to move forward working with various musicians on new projects. 

AVITUS – Toward the end of 2018, I teamed up with Guitarist Avi Tomer of the group (Invalids) to work on a new progressive metal project of his called Avitus.

We released our first EP, “Machina”, in November 2019. This release included session musicians Nick Shaw and James Dorton of the group Black Crown Initiate. The drums were tracked at The Captain’s Quarters with recording engineer Armand John Anthony in Ventura, California. The EP was mixed and mastered by Jamie King who has worked with bands such as Between The Buried And Me, The Contortionist, and Scale The Summit. 

In January 2022, we released our second EP entitled “Pattern Recognition” with session bassist Ben Doyle. The drums were tracked again at The Captain’s Quarters with recording engineer Armand John Anthony in Ventura, California. Produced by Josh Newell (Linkin Park, Cynic, Intronaut) Mastered by Mat Leffler-Schulman.

O ZORN! – At the beginning of 2019, I attended a show of theirs in Ventura. I had already been a little familiar with the band from living in Long Beach. They blew me away live. Their brand of hardcore heavy doom rock with a dose of punk energy was what attracted me to these guys. After their set, I was approached by guitarist Billy Meyer and asked if I’d be interested in jamming with the band. I eagerly jumped at the chance to work with them. During this period I played a handful of shows with the group in LA and Ventura county while writing material for what would be their second album “Your Killer.” 

In April 2019 we tracked at Studio 606 in Northridge, California with recording engineer John Lousteau. We had the pleasure of recording through the infamous Sound City Neve board. Getting the opportunity to do a record at Dave Grohl’s studio was an amazing experience. After finishing up “Your Killer”, we continued to play shows and signed with Seeing Red Records. The album was released on March 20, 2020. we were scheduled to play a record release show but was canceled due to the pandemic. Between Covid, transportation, and personal issues the group went on hiatus and eventually formed a new lineup. 

BLIND JOHN POPE – After a year-long hiatus, the band reconvened to finish writing the 2nd album entitled “On And On…” Guitarist Sean McCormick was replaced by Christopher Nash Winner. The drums were tracked by John Haddad at Trench Studios in 2019. Guitars, bass, and vocals were recorded from home during the pandemic. Guest musicians included JP Bendzinski on Keys and Mike Brenner on on Lap Steel. Mixed and mastered by Sandford Parker at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois. “On And On…” was released September 14th, 2021.

BEN WOODS – At the beginning of 2020, I teamed up with Flamenco guitarist Ben Woods to track 5 songs on the album entitled “Robots From Outer-Spain.” this album was an experiment of Flamenco guitar playing (but a nylon string Stratocaster) and Metal drums instead of the typical flamenco percussion of palmas, cajon, and zapateado. Some songs are rooted in the traditional Flamenco song forms, others not so much. The drums were recorded with John Haddad at Trench Studios in Corona, California. Guitars recorded by Ben Woods. Mixed and mastered by Bob Kowalski. “Robots From Outer-Spain” was released on July 4th, 2020. 

Ben and I released a handful of play-through videos on YouTube. Sadly, Benjamin Woods passed away in 2022. I’m grateful to have known him and work with him. Not only was he a great musician; he was a visionary. 

LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS – By the beginning of 2019, I started collaborating with guitarist and composer Mike Darin (Circuit Of Suns.) During the pandemic, we wrote music together through the Internet. Trading files and building arrangements. During that year we completed writing material for a new progressive metal project called Language Of Flowers. 

In March 2020 I tracked drums at Backroom Studios in Rockaway New Jersey. Music was recorded and produced by Kevin Antreassian (The Dillinger Escape Plan) and Mikhail Marinas. The group went through a handful of lineup changes and the tracks for this album sat on the shelf for a while. We entered the studio again in 2021 to add another song and tie up some loose ends. in 2022 we released two singles entitled “S.I.I.” and “Aconitum.” We hope to finish our debut record in the next couple of months.

CIRCUIT OF SUNS – In early 2020 guitarist Mike Darin sent me material for the newest Circuit Of Suns album and we worked on the songs from home. In November 2020 I tracked my drums in Cape Cod Massachusetts, at The Brick HitHouse. This album is still in the works.