Crushing Krisis is not primarily a home to my music but music has been one of the predominate topics of CK for nearly 30 years.
I have been writing original music since 1997. When I first started to play guitar I took a handful of guitar lessons, but I quit when my teacher wouldn’t show me how to play the B-minor in “Ziggy Stardust.” Other than those lessons, I am a self-taught musician, though I later received my minor Drexel’s Music Industry program, which expanded my knowledge of songwriting and production.
I have a category that is comprised entirely of music related posts. A major subcategory of that is my podcast Trio, which featured over ten hours of original audio over the course of this blog. You can also find dozens of streaming and downloadable demos posted during the lifespan of this site. I have a separate page that details my recording setup, including the details of my instruments and equipment.
As a solo artist my songwriting is largely influenced by the artists I covered the most in my early years of playing, which were Ani DiFranco, David Bowie, and Peter Mulvey. At various points I have also been influenced by Madonna, Tori Amos, Garbage Garrison Starr, Juliana Hatfield, Weezer, The Beatles, Rufus Wainwright, and many others. As a result, my catalog runs the gamut from percussive folk/rock to huge pop hooks to A/C ballads to hard-rockers. I could field entire albums in each genre.
People are still most likely to compare me to Ani DiFranco, partially because I use a many alternate tunings – primarily variations on Open D (DADF#AD) and C/D5 (DADGCE), but also more unusual ones like CGDF#CD and DA#DDAD. However, I sound much more like her former drummer, Andy Stochansky. I have also been compared to Maroon 5 and Jason Mraz, both of which I find flattering. I think I sound more like a solo version of The Honorary Title, or maybe Death Cab for Cutie.
I also perform as part of a duo called Arcati Crisis with my best friend, Gina Martinelli. We have been lucky to play in many of Philly’s best venues, and with an awe-inspiring array of Philly’s local talent. We sometimes sounds like a pop-oriented Indigo Girls, or a boy-girl Sleater-Kinney, or an acoustic Rilo Kiley, or a pianoless Mates of State, or an unplugged Human League. Mostly we just sound like us.
Finally, I am sometimes a guest-member of my wife’s band, Filmstar – typically as their bass player and backing vocalist.
Finally, I am the Director of Communications for Lyndzapalooza, a Philly-based, non-profit music promoter that has been producing yearly festivals since 2003. In 2008 we expanded our schedule to include seasonal mixers and weekly open mics, both of which have introduced me to some of the best musicians in Philadelphia.
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