My father was a career Army Officer, so we moved a lot. When I was 5-8, we lived in Istanbul, Turkey. I was drawn to liking music at an early age. My folks picked up on that and thought the accordion was the way to go.

While in Turkey, they found a great deal on a full-sized accordion, and while I didn't pick up on it while there, they hauled it back to the States, knowing great things were to come.🧐

The following family assignment was in the small town of Keyser, West Virginia. Before long, when I was 9 or 10, they signed me up for accordion lessons. I was going to be the future Polka King! Unfortunately, or maybe not, that was not to be. I don't know how long the lessons lasted, less than 6 months, and it probably disappointed them immensely at the time. Still, I finally convinced them it wasn't for me and stopped the lessons.

My Dad's next assignment was to Vietnam, now a nice place to visit, but less so back then. While he was gone, I convinced my mother to buy me an electric guitar from the Western Auto store, which sold everything, though their guitars could have been better. I don't recall what happened to that guitar, but it didn't make it to our next move, which was Japan.

I took bass and guitar lessons in Japan (ages 13-15). The bass lessons were first given in a Japanese music store outside the Army base. My folks had bought me a Hofner clone (Beatle Bass), and I set out to be the next Paul McCartney. I don't recall how long the lessons lasted, but I ran into something that would be a stumbling block for the rest of my life: I couldn't lock in on reading music. The teacher was very theory-driven. While the amount of theory didn't click with me, the lessons helped me catch on to the notes on the strings and frets, which proved helpful then and whenever I pick up a guitar now.