Update: 1 July, 2010

If you are a first time visitor, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and ask that you bookmark this site for future reference. As we continue to develop content, a slow process for us as we are a small outfit and actually work for a living in the music business as recording and live sound engineers, performers and teachers, there will be a steady increase in offerings once we are in full swing.

Video lesson production is once again progressing. We have encountered some incompatibility issues and hope they will be solved soon. Again, your understanding and patience has been and continues to be appreciated. We are not a big organisation and funding is based on our ability to invest in solutions that will produce results.

I have added a new series of three articles on Business as it pertains to musicians, and it can be found here. Be aware, it is not a comprehensive business plan, but rather a guide to possibilities and pitfalls. I hope you find it informative and helpful.

We are preparing a number of regular features in addition to video lessons, including gear articles, written lessons, reviews of equipment and other similar fare. It is understood that many "guitar and bass" sites have this stuff. Sure. And they have famous people writing some of the articles. Fine. What we hope to accomplish in our efforts is not necessarily something "new" or "edgy" (whatever that actually means), but which will be of interest to you, the aspiring to professional level musician. To that end...

For those of you in the Worship and Christian Contemporary Music field, we are preparing a regular feature column that will address working in this arena. The column will predominantly feature a good friend, Jeff Batson, as the principle columnist, but occasionally have guest writers fill in. Jeff is a long time Worship leader and Christian musician who has consented to provide us with his insights and experience in this ministry work. I'm sure those of you in the Christian music field will find his offerings most helpful and enlightening. Stay tuned. The first column will appear around the beginning of August, 2010.

The newest installment in the Philosophy column is available here. The beginning of the Series is here. Our thanks to everyone who has commented on these columns and the support we have received for what we're striving to accomplish. If you wish to contact us, write to us here. We encourage any and all comments, positive, negative or otherwise. Believe it or not, it is all helpful. Stay tuned.

If you are interested in being included in our mailing list, please contact us here. We will not be sending out endless drivel. Nor will it necessarily be a "regular" weekly or bi-weekly thing. We will send out a kind of newsletter with announcements and actual news as we deem important. So it may be irratic for a while.

"Live" lessons via web-cam are now available. You will need broadband access, a decent web-cam and Skype. Lessons are $30.00 USD for a full hour, far less, but no less valuable, than some teachers are charging. To set up a lesson, contact me: here.

How it works: contact me and we will decide on a day and time. This becomes your appointment. Write it down put it where you'll see it every day. We don't want you to forget. If you don't have a Skype account, get one and then give me your user name to put in my Contact list.

I will give you my Paypal info at that time. You will then transfer payment to my account. The deposit must clear before the lesson, so if you use an e-check, make sure to account for the 10 to 15 days it will take for the check to clear. Then on the appointed day and time, I will contact you via Skype (a Skype account is free). Again, you must have a broadband connection for these lessons to work. If you cannot make the lesson, contact me at least 24 hours beforehand and we can reschedule at no additional charge.

If you miss the appointment due to neglect, forgetfulness or other reason not related to technical problems (such as your Internet connection being down or an electrical power failure), or emergency, just as a doctor will charge you without 24 hour prior notice - so too will I. This is my business and I invest my time preparing for your lesson. It's nothing personal, it's business. I run my in-person lessons the same way with no complaints. So, too, if you are in the greater Portland, Oregon region, you can come to my place for lessons, whic run $40.00 per full hour.

I have had good success using Skype. Sometimes there are glitches; I allow for that and it does not charge against your time. Once a solid connection is established, you will get your full hour (good connections can last up to two hours without a problem). If we get bumped off during the lesson, we will reconnect and continue, compensating for the time lost. Allow for about an hour and a half for just such occurances. Even well established connections sometimes get bumped.

Got an interesting "war story", a tale of a gig that went all wrong or some amusing anecdote about real life musician experiences? Send them in here: War Stories

My Credentials:

As the head of musical development on staff here, I bring over twenty two years teaching experience to the table. Why should this be important to you? You want to know that any teacher you consider actually knows what they're doing, that they are directed and focused and have a system of teaching that actually works. You want your teacher to be passionate as well. And you want them to be available to answer your questions. That's me. And that's my staff.

You also might like to know that I have over thirty years of ongoing professional musical experience, having toured extensively. I also have a long history working in recording studios (as a guitar player, bass player, drummer, tracking and mixing engineer and producer). I'm still out there making it happen.

I was the Director of Music Ministry at a church in Los Angeles, California up until May of 2004. I then moved to Hillsboro, Oregon, where I directed the music side of worship services at local church until July, 2006. I also ran a worship band at another church from early 2007 until the end of 2008. Additionally, I am involved with prison mission outreach, with the invaluable support of PMA, since 2005.

You don't get these kinds of responsibilities if you don't know what you're doing!

Thank you for your time and attention in visiting our site.