I played drums in some bands back in high school and college, but put music aside when I started concentrating seriously on my artwork in undergraduate school. I always wanted to get back into playing music, but could hardly find the time while pursuing my MFA and teaching. When I moved to Chicago I picked up a guitar and started writing a lot of songs. I occasionally recorded them and even performed on my own a few times. It was fun, but I really wanted to play in a rock band again, so I returned to playing drums. I still didn't have much time for music, but I decided that life was short and I'd better just make the time. So in 2000 I started playing with a good friend from grad school, Erik Trojnar, and a friend we met in Chicago, Rob Kent. And we formed Avocet. Avocet is an indie-rock trio (me-drums, Erik-bass, Rob-guitar) that plays a mixture of heavy rock and atmospheric grooves. If I had to compare our sound to other bands I'd say we sound like the Pixies, Yo La Tengo, Archers of Loaf, and Superchunk.

My favorite music to listen to is independent label rock. Among my favorite bands are Superchunk, Poster Children, Built to Spill, Quasi, Yo La Tengo, and Rainer Maria. I'm really lucky to live in Chicago where we have a very active music scene. Some of my favorite local bands are Nymb, Alkaline Trio, Smoking Popes, Dianogah, and Danger Adventure.

Also, the best indie-rock station in the world is here in Chicago, WLUW 88.7FM