And then.......A song that Trik Turner had recorded called "Friends and Family" caught the ear of
the program director at The Edge 103.9 FM, an Arizona "alternative" radio station. Within a couple of weeks Major
Record labels started sniffing around. We got our first offer from MCA records and within a couple of days RCA stepped
in and doubled their offer. This was a lucky turn of events because I walked out of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
and quit my job to play a show with one of my bands 2 weeks earlier. So, jobless, broke, and in full pursuit
of an aviation career..... after years of failing to make a living playing music....low and behold.....a record
deal with a major (RCA) was plopped in front of me ripe for the signing! I was elated! Somehow, all the sweat,
and hard work seemed worth it! The parental pressures (out of love) to "get a real job" ceased. It was amazing.
We headed to L.A. to make a record with "Mudrock", our producer, in Smokey Robinsons old studio. The record took only
three weeks to make. I learned more from Mudrock about songwriting in those three weeks than I had learned in all my
10 years of previous experience. We finished the album on Sept. 10th 2001. I will never forget that date! We left
L.A. and headed back to Phoenix late that night; around 5:45am, Dave, who was driving all night woke us up and told
us something had happened to the Twin Towers in NY. It was surreal to say the least. The record was released soon
after and the song started get airplay accross the country and overseas. We hit the road for a solid year and played
shows as the headliner or opened for huge bands almost every day. We took a break to shoot a video for our first single,
"Friends and Family." The video was put into a "power" rotation on MTV and got three to four spins a day. The
song crept up the modern rock charts to number 3 and we made appearances on the David Letteman Show, Last Call
with Carson Daly, and Craig Kilborn. Crazy, I know. I wore my Cousins of the Wize shirt during our David
Letterman appearance just to let the guys in my old band back home know I missed playing with them. And wouldn't you
know i'm playing with them again today! We only sold 300,000 records, which gets you dropped by a major label really
fast these days. After decompressing for a while and trying to integrate myself back into a "normal" life (ie, not
on the road living the dream anymore) A couple of the guys from Trik Turner and i decided to start a new project and
try to get back in the game. It was called Signal to Noise, but the name was later changed to The Broken Sea. We
actually got some industry hype going pretty fast; we had a song getting radio spins in several markets, and we flew to Jacksonville
Fl. to open up for Yellowcard, Staind, and Sevendust. But we had a falling out with our management team regarding
creative control and like most projects, this one lies on the giant scrapheap of music memory. You can hear music from
Cousins of the Wize, Trik Turner, and The Broken Sea if you go to the links page. Around this time, one of the original
vocalists in Cousin's of the Wize (Chris Pengrazzi) died in a tragic car crash. For a while, we decided that without
Chris, there was no Cousins of the Wize. Soon after, the band reunited and that reunion was seen as a kind of tribute
to the life and music of Chris. Through us, he lives on! We are making a new record that should be done in the
summer of 2008. I have also formed a Motown, 70's funk, classic soul cover band that will be playing clubs, weddings,
and corporate events in Arizona. I am always looking for work and have tremendous musical knowledge and ability.
I am a "1 take" studio player with lots of studio experience and 6 basses to select from. I am the sum of my
experiences and yet still just a guy that loves to play music for music's sake! Feel free to contact me for any reason
at all!
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