Musician Bio
My interest in rhythm began as a child scraping a stick against the handrail banister slats while cha cha-ing up/down 3 flights of stairs to our apartment. And the slurping sound my feet made in the wet sand, or crickets, and car horns, and gunshots…
Rhythm is everywhere.
We had these friends that were musicians and they had this toybox full of stuff: triangles, claves, tambourines, finger cymbals, things that clacked, things that rang or jangled or whistled. That’s what/why my studio looks like now, except it overflows throughout my entire home instead of a mere chest…
The mother was as a prolific artist and had her work leaning up against every available space, pastels here, photographs there. Again, like my home today. The father sang and played piano. The older son (my brother’s age) played upright bass and eventually became a recording engineer very early on. Pre stereo. The younger son played piano as well, meaning I was often left to amuse myself.
I’d roll a ball down the hallway trying to bowl down green plastic army men. Or sometimes I’d play marbles with my steelies and cats eyes and moved by the music, feel compelled to join in.
I loved visiting them and consider these my first jam sessions.
I was 4.
Alan plays around 70 percussion instruments and has worked and/or played with artists such as Bryan Ferry, Madonna, Julian Lennon, Al Jourgensen, Brian Wilson, Sam Moore and Ian McDonald. The list also includes choreographers, poets, painters and filmmakers.
