I remember the day quite clearly. I was visiting my brother, Burgess, out in San Diego. It was the summer after third grade. He pulled out his Martin D-21 and started playing a Peter, Paul and Mary song as I sat on the couch in awe. He was working an alternate thumb on the bass lines while picking the melody on top. I thought that was so cool. And from that moment on, well, I was hooked. I bugged and begged my brother to show me how to play, which he did -but not on a guitar. He gave me his Silvertone baritone ukulele and showed me a couple of licks. I wore that uke out for the next three years until I broke it, literally. I think the first songs I ever played were "Satisfaction" and "Happy Together." Although I eventually performed for many years with different duos and trios, playing cover tunes in clubs up and down the California coast, I've always had a love for acoustic fingerstyle guitar. Artists such as Alex Degrassi, Billy McLaughlin and Leo Kottke have influenced and inspired me tremendously. I now play guitar for the pure love and joy of it - and with the same passion that ran through me that day long ago listening to my brother. I'm very excited to have released my very first CD, "Ooboo's Pancake," a collection of what I love playing the most - acoustic guitar instrumentals. JR