I have been singing and playing music for as long as I can remember. I have vivid memories of singing harmonies with my cousin when I was about 7...it was a BJ Thomas tune if I'm not mistaken! I grew up listening to everything under the sun, but I was really drawn to music with a solid backbeat, jangly guitars and strong vocal harmonies. The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Four Seasons were my very first musical "instructors". Not a bad group of "teachers", eh?

My first musical "love" was the drums. I played from mid-6th grade straight through high school. And, on occasion, I still do gigs on drums, but those are very RARE occasions. I had toyed around with a guitar that my father had brought home for me when I was about 8, but I was never really interested. It was way too difficult to make it sound like anything musical back then. But, by the summer of 1982, that would dramatically change. Once I learned how to properly tune a guitar, I literally locked myself in my room and tried to figure out how to play basic chords and melodies.

Over time, I picked up more techniques from friends in high school and guys in my neighborhood. My main objective at that time was to accompany myself, write songs and play in a band. I succeeded with my goals because, by the time I was finished with my junior year of high school, I was in a band playing lead guitar (I use that term VERY loosely), and that band recorded a two-song original demo. I was officially a musician!

A lot has happened since that magical time! Over the years, I have been in a countless number of bands, both cover and original, and I've amassed a repertoire of music that, to this day, I still can't figure out how I know. Currently, my main project is 27 West. My writing partner, keyboardist Kevin Thomas, and I have been working together for over 20 years. Along with our original material, 27 West also plays lots of cover gigs, and we are joined by bassist Bruno Pezzulich and drummer Roger Murdock.

In Febuary of 2001, upon the suggestion of my good friend Kenny Forgione of Wonderous Stories, I was asked to audition for the Beatle tribute band Liverpool. Much to my delight, I passed the audition and I have been playing the lead guitar role ever since. Liverpool is the official "house band" for Fest for Beatle Fans which does annnual shows in New York City and Chicago. Along with playing Beatles songs, including much of their solo stuff, we also have gotten the chance to back up some amazing artists that were involved with the Beatles. They have included Donovan, Billy Preston, Ronnie Spector, Alan Parsons, Billy J. Kramer, Earl Slick, Joey Molland (of Badfinger), Micky Dolenz, Mark Hudson and Neil Innes, to name but a few.

Along with 27 West and Liverpool, I work with a multitude of talented musicians, playing a variety of great music, both original and cover. They include (in no particular order) Live and Let Die: A Symphonic Tribute to the Music of Paul McCartney, Marc Muller's Dead On Live, Stump The Band, Big Girls Blouse, Fatt Elizabeth (NYC's premier Thin Lizzy Tribute), The Bob Burger Band, Glen Burtnik & friends, Beatlestock, Bubble Do Beatles and "Three of a Kind".

My newest endeavor is a four-piece Beatles-inspired band called The Weeklings. Lefty (aka Glen Burtnik), Zeek (aka Bob Burger), Ramblin' Dave (aka Dave Anthony) and myself (Rocky, as they call me), have been the core band for many of Glen's Beatle Bash and British Invasion shows. Since we all love this music and have so much fun playing together, we figured why not form a 'real band' and do it outside of the big shows?? So, we did. At the onset, our main premise was to record Beatles' songs that were not originally released by the fabs. But, in the process, Glen and Bob, award-winning songwriters in their own right, have added their own contributions to the project, writing in the style of the early Merseybeat sound. Soon after, Marty Scott of JEM Recordings signed us to a record deal and away we go!!!

I have been blessed to be able to make a living doing what I love to do, and I am grateful for every day I can keep on performing. So far I have enjoyed most of what I have done and I promise to keep learning, keep improving myself musically and, most of all, enjoy every second I am playing music.