I began playing in my first band at the age of 9 years old. It was with two of my good friends in the neighborhood where I lived. We had 2 guitarists and a drummer. It was Joey Madarese on guitar, Joey Develis on drums and myself on guitar and vocals. What a trip!

  We practiced all the time. Madarese's father was my father's best friend in Italy and they both moved here to the US. They actually started both of us with guitar lessons on the same day. He was about 1 week older than me and we are still great friends to this day.
Develis' mother used to run a talent show in our elementary school and we got to perform at the concert a few years running. We also got to play at the Powder House elementary school for a couple of years for their big school dance. Man, we thought we were the biggest rock stars playing our Beatles tunes and Rolling Stones, but our biggest number that we would play maybe 2-3 times during the dance, was the infamous "Wipe Out" from "the Coasters"! I can still remember Develis cranking that drum solo!

  Well, I then moved on to Junior High school where I continued to play my guitar and I remember starting a band with Joe Madarese and my cousin Sal Dell'Anno (who had also moved from Italy with his family). My cousin sang, and we used different drummers with Joey and me on guitar. We added bands like Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin to our repertoire. Our band was called "DUST" and we rehearsed in my basement in my parents home in Somerville. We got to play at some friends parties and had a ball. I continued taking guitar lessons and I was fortunate that my teacher really liked me and believed in me. I went on to win a nice black imitation Les Paul guitar for the "Best Student Contest" at Tufts Guitar Studio. At the same time I went on a local New England TV talent show called "Community Auditions" in which I won the first round. My teachers and father continued to expose me to as many musical situations as they could.

  I remember my teachers Vinny and Bobby taking me on professional gigs just to watch them play just to learn the ropes and let me sit in. I would also go down to the local Italian club where my parents belonged and sat in with the great Italian band there. Then I remember my father's friend and next door neighbor bringing me to a bar in Chelsea to participate in a talent show in which I won.
  I also got involved in my school band and orchestra where I played both the Cello and Trombone and I sang in the chorus. This was all happening at around the age of 12.At around age 13, I remember being inspired that summer to practice my guitar and I began a routine of practicing 3 hours a day through that summer so that I could hang with some of the other musicians around town. I would wake up early, have breakfast then practice my guitar from 8-11AM every morning religiously. I made great strides that year as a player.