Welcome!

Benvenuti!  Per gli appunti in italiano, cercate l’apposito pulsante di collegamento.  Inoltre, sotto l’area “News”, troverete diversi articoli di giornali scritti in italiano.  Grazie della visita!

Bienvenues !  Il n’y a que une chanson en français sur Feed the Illusion (On Dit).  Pardonnez-moi!  De toute façon, j’aime bien la culture française e je serais heureux di savoir que quelqu’un m’écoute dans la France ou dans un pays francophone.  Vous pouvez quand même m’écrire en français sans problème!  Merci !

Welcome to my website ; thanks for your time and interest ! 

I love languages.  When I was very young, I used to keep a notebook and write things from other languages in it.  I have lived in Italy since 1981 and Europe is a great place for different cultures and languages.  I am very happy here. 

My work is teaching and my passion is music.  I write the words to most of my songs in English.  There’s one in French on Feed the Illusion called On Dit.  I don’t write in Italian because it’s just not a good language for the kind of music I do. 

People often ask what kind of music I write and I never know how to answer, except to say it’s a mixture of stuff I’ve accumulated over the years: blues, rhythm & blues, pop, rock, country, jazz, musicals.  I grew up in the theatre (see bio) and at a time (60’s, early 70’s) when music was flourishing and growing.  I am very grateful for that. 

There are so many musicians who have inspired me and most of them are attracted to different genres of music.  A few of them are: Joni Mitchell (the complete artist), John Hiatt, Anggun, Van Morrison (Tir Na Nog!), Jimmy Vaughan (and the Fabulous Thunderbirds), Eric Bibb, Robert Cray, Costello & Krall, Tom Waits (the theatre!), Dave Matthews (the rhythm!), James Taylor, Alanis Morrisette, Tom Petty, John Frusciante, Susan Tedeschi, Crosby & Nash (the harmony!), Neil Young…  So much talent and so little time! 

It’s the groove, not the technique, that counts for me in my music, and I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with some talented musicians and technicians to elaborate on that groove and make it work.  Check out the various CD’s to find out who those people are. 

I also enjoy writing English lyrics for Italian artists, including Paola Folli, Danilo Minotti, Silvio Piccioni and Alessandro Bertozzi (Level 49). 

I have said my work is teaching and my passion, music.  Actually, I came to Italy with the idea of making films, another passion of mine.  

In 1983, I wrote, produced and directed “Quelli delle Voci”, shot in 16mm and shown at the Montecatini Film Festival.  Maurizio Zaccaro, now a successful Italian director, was my director of photography and a lot of people associated with Ermanno Olmi were involved with that project.  Unfortunately, the film was never shown on TV or distributed.  I worked eight years to pay back the debts I had accumulated to make it.  

Until a little while ago, the only thing I had to show for that experience was a copy in 3⁄4” video.  I had finished the film in video to save on costs; unfortunately, the work copy in 16mm was lost (a mystery...). 

Fortunately, the Cineclub di Piacenza, a group of people dedicated to making films and restoring and cataloguing old ones, transferred my video copy to DVD, virtually saving it since the videotape was rotting.  I cannot thank them enough for that. 

Under the “News” section of this site, you will find film and CD reviews, as well as newspaper articles documenting my teaching experience, cultural projects and work as interpreter for the Banca di Piacenza (in particular, for two American ambassadors during their visits to Piacenza: Peter Secchia, in 1991, and Mel Sembler, in 2004). 

Take a look around and enjoy!  How wonderful to be in contact so easily with so many people! 

Peace, love and all the best to you!

contact: e-mail