masakowski was born in new orleans, louisiana, on september 2, 1954. the beatles influenced his desire to play guitar. when he was fourteen, he played bass guitar and co-founded the band truth, which was based on the rock band cream. in high school he became interested in composing, and he started taking guitar lessons to learn about harmony. his teacher introduced him to the music of jazz guitarists joe pass, wes montgomery, pat martino, and lenny breau.