First guitars: I started out with a classical nylon stringed guitar, playing very simple note sequences and getting to grips with just playing it. I wasn't particularly into the guitar at this point and nothing really inspired me to pick it up, and I mainly saw it as an annoyance that kept beating me whenever I tried to play it! Then, a few years later, I received a Fender Squire Stratocaster and started listening to bands like Nirvana, Greenday, Oasis and The Offspring. These bands inspired me to begin mimicking what they were doing until I could copy them relatively accurately and be satisfied with the result!

Acoustic discovery: Another few years passed when I acquired a Yamaha acoustic guitar and found inspiration in Greendays "Time of your Life". For some reason I connected with that song, and found that its powerful yet simple chord sequences were very immediate and catchy to listen to. I promptly picked up my acoustic guitar and set about teaching myself the chords and the rhythm behind them. I eventually got the jist of chords to begin co-ordinating them with the vocal line, which wasn't easy! I spent a few dedicated days practicing this and eventually it all started to fit together, which was extremely satisfying. After this point I mainly focussed on covering Greenday, Nirvana and Oasis material and striving to play as many of their songs as possible, as accurately as I could.

Metal: I then found further inspiration in the more complicated guitar parts of the "Metal" genre, with my latest guitar at the time: A Jackson Kelly electric guitar, found out of a skip just outside heathrow airport!. With it, I tried my hand at copying Disturbed, Papa Roach, Slipknot, CKY, Deftones, Linkin Park, Mudvayne, Korn, Sepultura, The Lost Prophets and many other bands. Then later, I briefly delved into the darker but more complicated world of death and black metal trying to mimmick the likes of Cradle of Filth, Decapitated, Dimmu Borgir and others.

Full circle: The variety, difficulty and intricacy of these bands helped develop my guitar playing and pushed it to another level. During this time I began experimenting with these same heavier styles back on my Yamaha acoustic and started applying my new found heavy electric guitar knowledge to the world of acoustic. This was when my songwriting kicked off. My first creation "I Believe" got me hooked and it encouraged me to write more and more, and so here I am today.

Inspirations: I currently find my inspiration through all types of music, ranging from Alternative to Folk, and from HipHop to Rap. There are hundreds of bands and artists that inspire me today but here are just a few: Jose Gonzalez, Evanescence, Snow Patrol, Arctic Monkeys, Gnarls Barkley, Muse, Coldplay, Daniel Bedingfiled, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Eminem, D12, Howie Day, The Killers, Oasis, Jack Johnson, Smile Empty Soul, The Beatles, Shinedown, Staind, Damien Rice, Smashing Pumpkins, Massive Attack, Athlete, Hoobastank, Greenday, Keane, The Magic Numbers and many many others.

Other instruments: Although primarily a guitarist, I have dabbled with a few others instruments. I have worked with the piano/keyboard alongside my acoustic songs. I mainly use my Korg keyboard when a certain type of song or melody inspires me, such as Massive Attacks "Teardrops", the theme to "The Piano", or John Lennons "Imagine". I also had a few lessons on the Cello, but due to my age and lack of interest at the time, that didn't develop very far. I can play the bass, and can just about hold a rythym on the drums. Ultimately, the guitar, and acoustic song writing seem to be where I gravitate back to, but I like to stay open minded.