about me

Hi. My name is Jeff and I'm a guitarist, teacher, songwriter, and occasional session guy. I've been living a fretboard life ever since I got started playing guitar at the age of nine. Since then, my musical tastes have become widely varied, and the musicians I admire today span a broad range of styles. All of which have helped me become a more deeply thoughtful musician. As a player, my strengths lie within the realms of rock, funk, finger-style, neo-folk, classical, blues, rockabilly, classic metal, and -most importantly- being a versatile and attentive player.
Lessons
My teaching focuses on good technique, understanding the fretboard and fundamental theory, the basics of reading, soloing, expanding into different styles, song writing, the philosophy of being musical, and instilling a love of music. I believe each student is an individual so my agenda is to help students reach their own musical goals. I love helping people learn to play the instrument and grow their love for music. I have been teaching for over 25 years, and I bring a wealth of performance experience into every lesson.. Check out my lessons page for more info on my teaching or contact me to get started today.
On stage
I have played hundreds of shows in the greater Midwest market, toured regionally, and have opened for several national acts such as The Pretenders, Hall and Oates, Dave Matthews Band, Weird Al Yankovic, Huey Lewis & The News, Edwin McCain, Beth Hart, Jewel, 10,000 Maniacs, and G. Love & Special Sauce. In addition, I've performed with some of the Midwest's top-drawing cover acts and continue to write and record new music with various projects.
In the studio
My aim is to bring something to the project that helps move the piece toward the vision of the writer and/or director. My guitar playing can be heard on several artists’ recordings, the online video demos for Dr. Z Amps, the recent Mike Farley Band release Where We Stand, and the upcoming instrumental project, Plum. Some samples of previous sessions are available to check out as well. If you are interested in having me play on an upcoming project, get in touch to discuss the details.