Music dwells deep from within my soul. As far back as I can remember I've always had a song playing in my head. Totally self taught starting at age 5 with the family piano and Mom's ukulele, I followed melodies from records and went on to teach myself guitar and other instruments.
From the mid 1960s through the 70s I formed many garage bands with school mates, neighborhood kids and jammed frequently with my brother as a teen.
1976 - At age 21, I began efforts to organize Local 669 of The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Warehousemen and Chauffeurs of America to represent myself and the other employees at a bottling plant where I worked based on what I saw as unfair labor practices. Over the course of one year, I was harassed, threatened and even demoted for my Union activity. I persisted campaigning for Union representation and in October, 1977, a vote was ultimately held by the National Labor Relations Board and my efforts paid off with the Union being successfully voted in and all employees received retroactive pay for the difference in our substandard pay scale vs the Union pay scale over the previous year as well as Union scale medical benefits and prescription drug coverage. I was appointed Shop Steward by the Union.
1978 - I went through Chauffeurs Training School in Rensselaer, NY and earned my class 1 Commercial Driver's License (CDL). I resigned from the warehouse work at the bottling plant and at age 23 took a job driving tractor trailer over the road.
1980's - I went on to become the founding member and leader of several successful, high profile regional bands in New York throughout the 80s and 90s including Moxie, Jasper, Maxi-Dyne and The Refrigerators.
1980 - Simultaneously with my music career I started "EKF Transport Inc", a regional heavy freight trucking company specializing in heavy equipment and construction and demolition transport.
1984 - I opened Central Service & Tire Inc, a full service automotive repair and heavy truck service center on Central Ave in Albany, NY.
1990 - I started "Northern States Construction Inc"
1994 - I purchased the legendary “Bijou Nightclub” in Saratoga Springs, NY. After a complete and extensive remodeling, including adding two live music stages and two liquor bars, "Jasper's Nightclub" opened in November, 1995 offering the entertainment of the best regional bands as well as national touring acts.
1995 - I added “The Comedy Connection” which I built in the rear of Jasper's, which was an upscale comedy club specializing in national touring comedy acts.
1996 - Amid the machinations of my bandmates along with the chaos of steady performing clashing with my business ventures, I took a hiatus from performing music to focus on my personal and business life, during which time I wrote two books, “The Real World of Small Business” (2001) and “Change Your Attitude, Change Your World” (2002).
1997 - I purchased a mixed use building in Bolton Landing, NY, an upscale tourist village on Lake George. I completely renovated the building into a high end espresso cafe and bagel bakery that I named “Bagels & Beans”. Later that year I built an attached pizzeria that I named "Brooklyn's Best Pizza" in which we served homemade pizza, Italian dinners, burgers, fish fries, and soft ice cream.
1997 - I started “Lake George Underwater Recovery Inc”, an underwater commercial dive and SCUBA salvage operation on Lake George.
2001-2003 - I toured the country promoting my books giving Small Business Startup and Positive Attitude seminars at Adult Learning Centers and Community Colleges in 28 states.
2006 - I sold the Bagels & Beans and Brooklyn's Best Pizza restaurants in Bolton Landing, N.Y. as well as Lake George Underwater Recovery Inc and retired in Port Charlotte, FL.
2007 - I came out of retirement and started Sun State Properties, an investment venture, buying, improving and selling real estate in Florida.
2007- I bought an apartment building in downtown Glens Falls, NY. establishing "Grand Ridge Apartments" which also provided me with a summer residence apartment that enabled me to be closer to my aging parents in the area.
2008 - I built a state of the art recording studio in my winter home in Florida integrating a Roland VS-2480CD 24 track digital recording console and launched a solo career of writing, recording and performing my own original music.
2009 - I released my all original debut album "Full Circle" which won the international "Collective Works Songwriting Award" in the "Song Of The Year" songwriting contest in 2010.
2010 - 2016 - Multiple songs from the "Full Circle" album attained "Semi-Finalist" in the “UK Songwriting Contest”.
2013 - On Oct. 30th I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I chose to treat it with homeopathic/natural protocols. Details are here
2016 - I married my long time sweetheart, Sandy.
2018 - I bought five neighboring apartment buildings in Glens Falls, NY, collectively totaling 53 units expanding “Grand Ridge Apartments”.
2021 - Cancer became advanced stage IV metastatic to bones prostate cancer Details are here
2022 - I sold two of the Grand Ridge buildings and turned over operations of the remaining four buildings to my son, and I officially retired to Round Lake, Illinois.
2022 - I released my second all original music album "2.0 - Freedom, Flag & Faith" which achieved Semi Finalist in the "Song Of The Year" songwriting contest for 2022 and 2023.
2025 - I sold my winter home in Florida and built a new state of the art recording studio in our new home in Round Lake, lllinois.
2026 - My song "In The Park" from my Freedom, Flag & Faith album achieved Finalist status in the 2026 Song Of The Year songwriting contest.
I'm currently working on my third all original music album. Please standby!