He started playing guitar at the age of 8, and joined the Cleveland band Element when he was 13. While attending Ohio State, he was a member of a Van Halen cover band, and composed and recorded music for a number of student film projects. He performed for 3 seasons with Playback Columbus, an improvisational theater group, as their guitarist/keyboardist, and along with Pat and Renilda, founded Loosely Strung, an eclectic bluegrass-based band. His musical influences include: Toto, Little Feat, Brent Mason, Michael Landau, Bryan Sutton, and Jerry Douglas.