What's with all the instruments? When I was a kid, I played concert flute from the time I was 6 years old. All though school, I played both solo repertoire and in orchestras. When I went to college, I played mostly renaissance and baroque recorders in the Collegium Musicum at San Diego State University. One semester when I was in the Collegium, my wife-to-be, Linda, played the hammer dulcimer for a few months. When we graduated from SDSU, I found a used dulcimer in our local Reader paper and bought it for her as a present. During the next several months it turned out that I played it a lot more than she did and was starting to be able to play a few tunes. I found an instructor and for the next 7 years played and taught the instrument. I used to take dulcimers with me on business and pleasure trips but a few years ago the airlines started cracking down on what they'd allow people to store in the overhead compartments. I decided to learn an instrument that wasn't quite as big as the dulcimer, and since I loved the music of Robin Bullock, decided to take up the Mandola, tuned as an octave mandolin. I played for about a year with our local Mandolin Orchestra, and one day Linda and my friend Sandy took me to the local Irish pub to listen to a session. As I watched and listened, I kept thinking "I can do that...". The next week I showed up for the first time with a stack of music books and my music stand, and lasted about 10 minutes before slinking out completely embarassed. I came back the next week, and left the books at home. That was the beginning of what has become an central activity in my life, playing in Irish sessions in pubs and festivals. I sold the mandola, bought an octave mandolin, then a tenor banjo, and started playing the whistle. The whistle led to the flute, and the flute led to the Uilleann pipes. I also in 2002 I picked up a guitar to learn backup since it would really contribute to my group and recording sound. I play exclusively in Drop-D tuning figuring if its good enough for John Doyle (Guitar God), its good enough for me! In 2004 I traded Bob Tedrow a flute for my first anglo concertina, I'm really enjoying playing it as well, now on my third instrument, the final being a beautiful 30-key C/G by Wally Carroll. I play in several sessions each week and am an active member of the Southern California Uilleann Pipers club.

A typical morning practice...

What do hope to accomplish with your music? My primary goal is to be a serviceable session player on any of the instruments I play. I also very much enjoy doing public performances. These days, I'm enjoying being Mr. Substitute Band Member for several local Irish bands. I'm also looking at innovative ways to teach others to play. Are you Irish? No, my family emmigrated from Russia back in the '20s. What do you do? To pay for my hobbies, I'm a principal software engineer for Conexant Systems, working mostly on digital broadcast products for the PC. Are those pajamas? Why, yes they are. Flannel. Are you that guy on TV? No, I'm not related to Jerry Seinfeld, or "Fish" on Ally McBeal, or Gilbert Gottfried, or that squinty-eyed guy on Third Rock. Why donkeys? A couple of years ago I had a Arabian horse named Cooper. He used to go a little crazy whenever Linda would take her horse Sabrina out for a ride. We bought Eeyore to keep him company. Eventually we got rid of Cooper, and then Eeyore would go crazy when Linda took Sabrina out for a ride. So we bought a second donkey, Clementine to keep Eeyore company.