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From an early age I recognized that music had a deeply emotional and spiritual effect on me. Growing up in a musical house hold, where both my parents performed and recorded in semi-professional church groups sessions at which I would fall asleep inside my Dad's bass guitar or guitar case it was inevitable that I would develop a critical ear for good music and a passion for playing.

I picked up the guitar at the rather late age of 17 and there were several bands which influenced me and my guitar playing style and also seemed to be in tune with my soul. Where my lovely wife enjoys the quirky university garage band sounds in bands like Cake, I have always had a deep passion for richly layered music and highly melodic content. Part of this influence can only be attributed to my parents and in particular my Father's guitar playing.

My Dad grew up in the 50's learning to play Rock n Rock numbers largely by ear. With his brother they would play in the breaks professional bands took during gigs, in milk bars and halls in the suburbs of Naenae, Wellington. He played twelve bar blues and learned the "old style" rhythm techniques absent from a lot of modern music. Later he was heavily influenced by gospel great Andre Crouch [sp?] and his use of chord arrangements and jazz influences. My mother would play the notes of chords on the piano so my Father could work out the chords for guitar.

My father therefore was a serious influence on me due to his knowledge of chords and his fine ear for complicated rhythm strokes which helped me significantly in my own playing. I learned from him that good musicians don't play ordinary notes or chords. As the years went on I would share my own love of guitarists with him and I am feeling nostalgic now, missing playing with the old man and working out the chords for some song. Amongst many musicians who play with him, he is highly regarded as a great rhythm guitarist who is at home on stage or in the studio.

As mentioned, musicianship is one of the crucial elements which my soul craves for. Early on in my playing I was obsessed with listening to Dire Straits, as a friend at high school had introduced me to them and also Chris Rea thanks Andrew. I fell in love with Dire Straits and the first song I learned to play was Sultans of Swing, painfully shunning easier songs because I was determined to be that good. The quality of the songs, the phrasing of the lyrics and the depth of feel to the music has great appeal. It was an easy transition to

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