I was born and raised in Delaware County. Today I live in Ridley Park. I started playing guitar when I was thirteen. I took guitar lessons from Steve Zampino (orginal owner of Top Ten Music in Glenolden)for about nine months, and, after that, I used my ear to learn any and every guitar riff ever played by Hughie Thomasson of "The Outlaws", my guitar hero and my favorite band, respectively. I "jammed" with my buddies, playing in various bands ("Alpha Omega","Waterhole")until I finished high school.

During my college years (DCCC and West Chester University), as an accounting major (philosophy minor), I didn't play nearly as much as I had played in my earlier years, and I barely played at all during my first four years out of college. I was living in Brigantine, NJ, working as a manager in an Atlantic City supermarket and studying for the CPA exam. Although I passed the exam earlier, I didn't return to Delaware County until four years later. I took a job in Philly as a Certified Public Accountant, in the heart of "tax season" and realized that all work and no play was no way to survive, and that's where I met Ronnie Cummings (aka "Ronnie Rock Star") and joined his band, called "Classic". Along with Jimmy Dunion, Gene Morris and Steve Watson, Ronnie and I rocked Delaware County bars with the best "classic rock" we could come up with. We were fortunate enough to open for national acts like "Blue Oyster Cult", "Foghat", and, of course, my personal favorite "The Outlaws". After five great years in "Classic" I formed some of my own bands ("Don't Ask", "El Nino") and we played on weekends for "beer money" and, most of all, fun. I continued to work as a full-time accountant until about three years ago, when, after a "light bulb moment", I decided that "I want to rock" and make a living as a full-time musician. And, although it's not very easy, even though it's lots of fun, I've been doing just that for the past three years. I play acoustic solo's, acoustic duo's ("Magic Duo") and acoustic trio's ("Magic Trio"), and I give guitar lessons (shameless plug)! I also play in a "classic rock band" called "Magic", and, lucky for me, Greg Hume (Blackthorn Manager) happened to be out to see us play a little while back, and he informed me that, because Seamus was about to embark on a solo project, Blackthorn might be looking for a lead guitar player.

After a couple auditions the boys gave me the nod. Needless to say, I was estatic! My first gig was only five days away (Tom & Jerry's annual wingbowl after party), but, lucky for me, Seamus invited me to his house to give me the crash course I needed to get by. Rock and Roll!

Rob