BEHIND THE CURTAIN.... Guns. Drugs. Booze. Broads. Cheaters. Liars. Broken bones. Broken dreams. Dead thugs in black Caddy car trunks. Fistfights on the corner. Prejudice. Bigotry. Misogyny. Oh, just a typical day in my hometown - North Providence, RI - where working-class heroes STILL hi-five to Mob rule, the Catholic church and a good Italian meatball. Down in the trenches, Aretha, Streisand, Sinatra, Bassey, The Isleys, Ray Charles, Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Hendrix, Joplin, Sarah, Ella, James Brown - their lives, their songs - my own personal declaration of independence. I soaked them up. Songs & lyrics - my I.V. tube, dripping knowledge no adult could provide, pearls of wisdom that guided & calmed me, fired my imagination, & helped me rise above and get the hell out in one piece. Next: from the fire to the frying pan. Pounding the gritty NYC streets, I fought TOOTH & NAIL for every gig, crumb and credit, while singing songs - theirs and mine - on sidewalks and in dark clubs. One VOICE of thousands, in the shadows, searching for meaning, truth, my sound, MY unique version of love & redemption. Then, a life changer happened: serving drinks at NYC's iconic Blue Note Jazz Club - an education no money could buy. More marination, incubation, trials by fire. NYC. Canada. England. L.A. I persevered. I pursued. I followed 'The Dream' ...which led me to: NOW.