...a sun-dappled walk on a relaxing morning, a whisper of the breeze, rhythmic sounds of the sea, a lazy afternoon, drifting with the current...

There is an old adage: the space between the bars is what holds the tiger in the cage. I grew up in a town that was bounded on east and west by two sets of railroad tracks, so all of our lives were lived

...a sun-dappled walk on a relaxing morning, a whisper of the breeze, rhythmic sounds of the sea, a lazy afternoon, drifting with the current...

There is an old adage: the space between the bars is what holds the tiger in the cage. I grew up in a town that was bounded on east and west by two sets of railroad tracks, so all of our lives were lived between [and only tangentially connected to] the busy ways that led away from home.

When I got bitten by the “guitar bug” it was specifically to play fingerstyle guitar. It was 1973 and my mentors were on the radio. There was no one in my small town who taught guitar, let alone the style of playing with one's fingers. My friend, Keith Scoby, gave me his copy of Mateo Carcassi's classic Classical Guitar Method which guided my independent study. Mason Williams was playing his composition “Classical Gas” on radio and TV, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jim Croce, John Denver, George Benson, Earl Klugh and Dan Fogelberg were the artists whose radio cuts and recordings helped me to imagine and come to inhabit the world of my longing.

I continue to be moved by the tasteful arrangements of Dan Delancey and Jim Deeming and Mimi Fox and delight in the explorations of Jerry Palmer and the late Pete Huttlinger who each compose, arrange and perform in their own rich styles and to whom I owe a debt of gratitude.

I also thank my formal music teachers through the years: Marlyn Williamson (piano), Larry McCormack (school band, who let me explore jazz guitar with our Stage Band), Erik Christiansen and Richard Shoup (Men's Glee Club) and Dave Wheeler (arranging lessons and ear training.) Russ Hopkins helped me to move beyond my fears in the recording studio to discover the artist I longed to be by honing and sharpening my ears.

While the art may be conceived, shaped and polished in solitude, no one can accomplish the release of those compositions alone. I am grateful for these listeners and first responders: Ron Drury, Dusty Thorburn, Zach Eulberg, Katherine Genge, Jim Pierce, Kerry Patrick Clark, Jim Frye and George Francis. My gratitude is deep for my first and most loyal patron: my spouse, Connie Winter-Eulberg, and finally to the Author of all melody.