1. What the heck is a Quahaug? Ok, I sometimes forget that not everyone is from New England. A Quahaug (kwah HOG) or (kwo HOG) is a hard shell clam native to the New England waters. The Quahaug takes its name from the Narragansett Native American word "poquauhock" (the word is similar in Wampanoag and some other Algonquin languages), and as New England tribes made valuable beads called wampum from the purple shells , the scientific names Venus mercenaria & Mercenaria mercenaria are related to the Latin word for "money".

2. What are your musical influences? In my younger years, I was a huge Who fan. I wanted to be Pete Townshend. However, in terms of my own guitar playing and songwriting, I was particularly influenced by the late Doug Hopkins of The Gin Blossoms. I lived in Tempe, AZ back in the late 80’s, on the eve of The Gin Blossoms success. I was fortunate to get to know Doug a little bit before his untimely death. He’s was a great player and songwriter. Another influence of mine has to be Billy Bragg. Billy is an amazing talent.

3. What’s in your iPod? What makes you think I have an iPod? I’m a HUGE fan of U2. I have every single U2 record, tape, single, and CD. Other CDs I’m listening to are Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Dredg, My Morning Jacket, Nada Surf, Foo Fighters, RadioHead, Johnny Cash, Guster, Better Than Ezra, and Spouse.

4. What’s the last concert you saw? I saw U2 in Boston on the Vertigo tour. They are simply the best live act in the world right now. Amazing show and experience.

5. What’s your deserted island CD? I’m tempted to say Venus mercenaria. Shameless self promotion! 

6. What’s your favorite Rock & Roll quote? ‘Pop music often tells you everything is OK, while rock music tells you that it's not OK, but you can change it. There's a defiance in rock music that gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Most pop music doesn't make you want to get out of bed, I'm sorry to say. It puts you to sleep.' - Bono

7. How does one go from being a teacher to being in a Rock band? Being a teacher and a musician are pretty similar. You need to be an entertainer in both cases. When people are having fun, it makes learning easier. However, as a teacher, I had one distinct advantage. I had a captive audience!

8. What's your favorite song on Venus mercenaria? I think I need to give a noncommittal answer and say that songs are like children. You have no favorites, but you love them all for different reasons.

9. Are you looking for a major record deal? Not actively, but I wouldn't rule it out. I'm actually more interested in securing a publishing deal with a dynamic company that believes in and shares in my musical vision. I got tried of waiting around to be 'discovered' so I took things into my own hands and founded my own label - Bathmetric Records. That said, I'm always interested in talking to professionals in the industry who can possibly take my music to a higher level. That includes other major or Indie labels, publishers, etc. If they're interested, I'd be happy to talk to them.

10. What's your favorite TV show? I can't say that I have one currently. It's all pretty mindless. However, growing up I use to love "Creature Double Feature" on channel 56 out of Boston. They would show two B-rated horror flicks back to back on Saturday mornings. I love this genre and remain a fan today. So much so, that I wrote a song called Mollusk Station that appears on Venus mercenaria. It pays homage to the B-rated horror movie.