It started from very humble beginnings. In fact, the first version of “Killer Guitar Control Secrets” was shot with a borrowed, broken video camera and a red king sized bedsheet I bought at K-mart as backdrop. (lol).
Despite the poor production, people loved that course and ordered it by the thousands. Thankfully, it was later reshoot with higher production values.
I first became inspired to play the guitar after hearing a cassette tape of Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. As a 17 year old kid (the year was 1990), a friend of mine and I were having our own “mind expanding experience” and I knew the next day I had to buy a guitar.
Later, I discovered other greats like Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Santana, Roy Buchanan and many more. I was always super passionate about trying to do what these guys were doing, which was basically to “sing on the guitar” and play just what I felt in the moment. Despite reading tons of books and magazines, I didn’t really find much information on how to accomplish that… So I began experimenting on my own. Fast forward a decade later, and I was playing in bands and performing all over the Philadelphia area.
I might not have been the most “technical” player, but I was intense. I was improvising all my solos live in the hottest bars and clubs like the Hard Rock Cafe. Sometimes I didn’t even want to know what key the song was in… I just wanted to play by feel.
Then in 2004, I decided to capture my ideas on DVD and share them with other guitarists. One of the other big things that I really enjoy on the guitar, apart from soloing, is just playing my favorite songs.
Some of my favorite bands and artists include Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, the Beatles, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, and many others.
I always had a blast learning songs and playing them for friends and family.
That became my next mission as far as sharing my teachings, and I put together some courses for beginners and also a song collection that grew over the years into over 200 songs.
Eventually I started hiring other teachers who were passionate about teaching so I could spread even more good information to guitarists.
I met some amazing people, like Silvio Gazquez from Argentina, who is a 2-time Guitar Idol finalist, and a true guitar virtuoso.
…Or Jimmy Dillon, a San Francisco based pro who’s played with everyone from B.B. King to Carlos Santana.
Over a decade into this thing, and I’m still just as passionate as ever about the guitar. We keep producing fine courses as well as publish a continuous stream of lessons on our blog.
I’m also one of those folks that believes that “laughter is the best medicine”. I always try to have a great time and spread the fun, and that’s why I do all these spoof movies like “Claustin Powers” and “Gulp Fiction” which you can find on our blog.
Anyway, I think i’ve rambled on long enough here. My mission is to empower you with unique and potent information to upgrade your guitar playing skills and I know we’ll have a lot of fun together. Thanks for being with me on this journey.