Resumé

Below is my full resumé . Got time? Read on!

Overview: 

I started playing guitar in 1991. I quickly became obsessed and practiced for hours every day. In time I formed many bands, mainly playing in the Chicago area. In 1998, I was hired to be a guitar set-up/repair technician for Washburn Guitars. There I learned a lot about guitar repair and construction, amongst many other things.

 In 2001, I got my first job as a music teacher. And in many ways, the rest is history.  Over the years I have taught for various music stores, schools, park districts and lesson companies. I have taken on hundreds of bass, guitar and ukulele students- in my home, their homes, online- one-on-one and groups. 

In 2006, I also opened and ran an all ages music venue/recording studio called Swing State. There I hosted artists almost nightly from all over the world. Many of the the people who performed onstage were either current or previous students of mine. And in the day, I ran the venue as a recording studio. Sadly, the venue was forced to close down in 2015 (the building was set to be demolished by the property owner). 

In 2013 I started my own lessons company, Lessons & Beyond ( www.lessonsandbeyond.com ) where we host music and art teachers all over the world. This company is still up and running to this day.

Some of the bands I  have had the pleasure of creating, collaborating, booking and performing with are also listed below.

 Resumé 

1998-2000 Washburn Guitars- Mundelein, Il

Guitar Set-up Technician

Set-up and repair of guitars to be inspected and then sent out to distributors. This included: Intonation adjustment. Crack filling/buffing. Saddle/nut/truss rod adjustment. Re-stringing

2001-2003 About Music- Libertyville, Il

Guitar instructor

2002-2008 Music Source- Grayslake, Il

Guitar and Bass Instructor

Here I became the top teacher between 2006-2008, with a roster of close to 60 students weekly

2006-2015 Swing State Ltd- Lake Villa, Il

Owner; Manager; Booking agent; Event Coordinator; Sound Technician; Recording Engineer

This was a music venue/recording studio that I created and ran for 8+ years. I booked bands/artists for almost nightly performances from all around the world. By day, I recorded musicians in the recording studio

2008-2011 Guitar Heaven- Grayslake, Il

Guitar, bass and ukulele instructor

2008- 2024 - Takelessons (online lesson company)

Guitar, bass and ukulele instructor

2009- Present- Musika (online lesson company)

Guitar, bass and ukulele instructor

2011-2012 The Music Store- Libertyville, Il

Guitar, bass and ukulele instructor

2012-2016 Veritas- (music school) Gurnee, Il

Guitar and bass instructor

2013- Present- Lessonface (online lesson company)

Guitar, bass and ukulele instructor

2013 - Present- Lessons & Beyond (online lesson company)

Owner; Guitar, bass and ukulele instructor

2015-2017 Guitar Fundamentals (online lesson company)

Guitar, ukulele and piano teacher

Personal musical projects (bands):

2000-2003 Mantra (playing throughout the Chicago area. We became residents at the Burkhart Underground Lounge in Chicago)

2002-2004 Gift of Tongues (residents at The Orphanage venue in Chicago)

2005-2006 Swing State (Winning the multi-national Emergenza music competition)

2007-2008 I (resident at Swing State)

2009-2011 Girl (resident at Swing State)

In addition, I have written hundreds of songs and recorded several albums- mainly with the above mentioned bands. I am proficient in multi-track recording, working for studios (and eventually running my own). Booking, promoting, playing shows. Starting and running a music venue. 

My life has been full of musical experiences!

My childhood (now we're really going deep):

I grew up like a lot of kids in lower/middle class middle-America. But one thing that was different for me compared to most people was that instead of watching tv or playing games as a family pastime, my Dad and I usually just listened to his records. He had a room dedicated entirely to his vinyl records that he had collected since his childhood. He made it a mission to have me not only listen to all of them, but to know an extensive amount about these artists and their music from his past. Almost nightly we listened to different records covering genres such as big band jazz, classical, British invasion, psychedelic rock, folk, blues- just to name a few. Just about every weekend we'd go to the record store to get something new to listen to. I owe it to my Dad for building  such a love of music within me from such a young age.

When I picked up my first guitar at the age of 15 (still to this day I'm not sure what took me so long but it is what it is), I felt like I almost already knew how to play. I knew I had found a love that would never fade. I practiced every day- reading every book I could find on the subject (this was before the internet). I studied the masters. A couple years later I put together a band that won the school's annual talent show.

Over the years, I went on to put together several bands. Some of which gained quite a following in the Chicago area. We never got famous per se, but I accepted that fate long ago. Most artists don't become famous for their craft (we only really talk about the few who do)- and honestly that was never my ultimate goal anyway. I have always created and played music because of my passion. If others liked it, that was a nice bonus- and many did!. I still live proudly by this same philosophy. I do it because of the joy it brings.

In 1998 I started working for Washburn guitars, doing guitar set up and repair. I loved learning about guitars and how to fix them.  In the meantime I kept learning and practicing diligently.

A couple years later, I heard a local music store was looking for a teacher. I figured I'd go talk to them and see if they'd be interested in taking me on. 

In the interview, the owner asked me questions, tested me out on several levels and hired me on the spot. I was thrilled. I wasn't sure how I'd do as a teacher but I knew I'd try my best.

After about a month in, and some adjusting, something clicked. I knew I had found my calling. I absolutely LOVED teaching. Not only did I get to have a guitar in my hand as a job, but the satisfaction I felt from seeing people learn something I loved was beyond compare.

A year or so later, the music store closed down (this is sadly the fate of many small time music stores). I went to another music store that was actually even closer to where I lived to see if they were interested in a new teacher. Again, in the interview I was hired on the spot. Over the next 6 years I threw in bass and ukulele and built a student base of about 60 students per week. I became the most asked-for music teacher in the store. Again, I credit this to my passion for learning music and passing on knowledge.

In early 2006, my band Swing State put out an album and it is still to this day one of my proudest musical achievements. Sadly the band collapsed under pressure and broke up shortly after.

Not long after that, something struck me. A vision, if you will. What if I opened a music venue in my area- for struggling bands and musicians much like myself? On a whim, I decided to do it. I found an old bar/house, managed to borrow a little money from my Dad, and opened a music venue.

I literally had no idea what I was doing but I was convinced that it would be so beneficial to the local music scene that the love of all the musicians and artists in the area would keep it going.  And I was right.

I named the venue Swing State, after my last band because it was the best band I had ever had. And I kind of felt like it was time to put my efforts into giving a stage to others like me.

I can write a novel about what would happen at this venue over the next 9 or so years, but I'll just say this: I made life-long friends and met musicians from all over the world. I learned how to record professionally (I eventually turned the venue into a recording studio by day). My life and many others has been forever changed by Swing State.

And all the while I never stopped teaching!

In 2015, I was forced to close Swing State because the building had been bought out by developers. I picked up my belongings and moved to the city (Chicago). I decided it was time to really get back into my biggest love: teaching- and take it to a level I had never done before.

I also started a lessons business in 2013 called Lessons & Beyond, featuring teachers all over the country in any and all forms of art and music. We specialize in sending teachers to people's homes and online for in-home lessons. I still run this to this day.

In 2018, I had a family I was teaching (it started as 2 sisters, then eventually another two other sisters and a brother jumped in!) ask me a life-changing question. I travelled to their house once a week to teach them all. After about 7 years of this, they told me they were moving across the country and asked me if I'd consider teaching them virtual lessons from then on.

I was skeptical at first because I had never done it. And at the time it was pretty unorthodox. But I decided, for them, I'd give it a try. As they moved, I prepped. The first virtual lesson we did went great and everyone loved it. And that's when I realized this was now an option. And so I started offering it to others. Over the next year or so, half of my students switched and/or started with virtual lessons.

In 2020, covid hit the world. I was forced to move all of my in-person students to virtual (I was quite lucky to have the option). And it wasn't long after that I decided that I may as well start travelling.

So towards the end of 2020, I got rid of most of my belongings. I kept my guitar, ukulele, bass, my computer and some essentials and started van-lifing around the country. 

As you can imagine, many stories to be told. But the whole time, I taught and it was a blast.

In early 2025 I decided to take a break from that and get a place in New Orleans, a city I absolutely fell in love with while travelling. And so here we are. If you're in the New Orleans area, happy to do in-person lessons with ya! Either way, I use this site to keep my roster full as much as I can. Happy to have you join in! And if you made it this far in reading all of this, kudos. Maybe you're almost as nerdy as me :)