It was in 1972 at the age of 12 that Brian was formally introduced to the guitar in 7th grade music class. He was so taken with the instrument that after only a few weeks he had learned his first song on the guitar, The Beatles "Yellow Submarine". Much of his time during his teenage years were spent locked away with a guitar, learning from teach-yourself books and the occasional guitar lesson.

In 1976 Brian purchased a '74 Blonde Fender Stratocaster which to this day still remains his most-used guitar. One summer day that same year he decided to take his 100 watt amp out to the back yard to "crank it up a little". After awhile a guitar player from the far side of the neighborhood came wandering into the yard. He said he liked what he heard and had followed the sound to see where it was coming from. After a short discussion they decided they should get together and start a band. This eventually led to Brian's first professional gig as a guitarist at age 17.

Since that time Brian has been steadily involved in the Delaware music scene having played in a number of local bands including Audience, Driver, Sequence and Skyband. He also continued studying music with classes in ear training, classical, jazz and rock guitar. Over the years he has acquired a large collection of concert videos by many of his musical heroes which he uses regularly as a learning tool.

In 1985 Brian began his long tenure as the guitarist in Whale, becoming the 32nd person to join the band since it's conception in 1975. Playing a wide variety of music at nightclubs, proms, private parties and weddings in a horn band provided many opportunities to expand his guitar skills. Thru the years many memorable events have occurred. From his first gig with the band at the Bottle and Cork in Dewey Beach, thru the days of opening for acts like Dave Mason, Tower of Power and the Average White Band, life as a member of Whale has been one adventure after another.

Right around the turn of the century, due to the endlessly revolving door of musicians coming and going thru the years, the band found itself left with just drums, bass and guitar. Knowing that they were up to the challenge, Brian, veteran Whale drummer/vocalist Dave Adcock and recently acquired bassist Brownie Talford decided to carry on as a power trio rather than continue to struggle with the difficulties that are inherent with large bands. The new project would now be called "Killer Whale" out of respect for Whale's long history as a horn-oriented band. With the assistance of a guitar synthesizer the trio is able to perform much of the same type of material as before but the songlist now also includes some harder edged material that puts the musician's skills to the test. With the help, dedication and generosity of recording whiz Al Miller the band has so far produced 2 studio-quality CD's and looks forward to more recording projects in the future.

As if all this weren't enough, you can also see Brian performing with Acoustic Axis, a guitar duo with longtime friend Rick Reader or occasionally sitting in on a few tunes with local bands like Noxx and Squeezbox.

The Muthaship