I was born on the Delta......of the Cooper River in Camden NJ,  and I've had the blues ever since.

 I've has been playing guitar and other stringed instruments since @ 1966.

Like Mississippi Fred McDowell, the Music teacher at the local Roman Catholic school 'did not play no rock and roll', and I wasn't fond of the "Folk Music" that was approved for usage in the Philadelphia Diocese. 

 

I came back to the guitar in 1970 when my brother Steve introduced  me to the music of Duane Allman.

In the days before the internet, one had to go by guess work and asking questions to more experienced players.....

It took me a week to figure out opening tunings, it took Dad a few weeks to miss that 3/4 inch socket wrench.......

   

High school years were spent making loud noises in basements and garages, wearing out multiple copies

 of Allman Brothers,  'Live at the Fillmore',  'Eat a Peach' & 'Derek and the Dominos', and ​haunting legendary

venues  like  The Main Point, The Tower Theatre and the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

 

The next big epiphany was seeing 'The Seldom Scene' at a bluegrass festival near Gaithersburg MD.

Mike Auldridge changed by understanding of slide guitar as much as Duane Allman and Mr Johnson.That it all.....

  

I've played in Western Swing and Classic / Retro Country bands, Mainstream Jazz and Swing Bands,

Spur of the moment Blues Bands, Grateful Dead style jam Bands,

backed up Singer Songwriters and Spoken word Artists.

 

In 2015 I started concentrating on composition and writing. My originals show all my influences, ranging from John Prine, Guy Clark, Tom Waits and Randy Newman [with a small dose of Tom Lehrer] to Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus and Billy Strayhorn.

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