I figured id do one about myself. Maybe someone will read it.
Q: What was your first encounter with guitar and/or pedals?
A: Ive been into music for as long as i can remember. But i really got into wanting to play in 1991, when i went to see bill & ted's bogus journey. the final scene shows Bill & Ted on a stage, playing in harmonics. It gave me chills. I later found out that it was actually Steve Vai who wrote that intro to "God Gave Rock & Roll to you 2" (in the movie). Around 1996 my brother's friend left his guitar in my house & never came back for it. It was a Yamaha Pacifica 112J. it sat there, collecting dust. about 5 years later, i decided to finally learn how to play. I searched for a teacher in the yellow pages (lol) and found a guy relatively close to me. He played jazz, but i wanted to shred like James Hetfield. He taught me the fundamentals for a couple of years. Eventually, i decided it was time to start learning the stuff i wanted to play, but i souldnt figure out why my tone didnt sound like Metallica. I went to Sam ash & they sold me a Boss SD-1 & a Crybaby.
Q: When did you start getting into building?
A: Ive always been a tinkerer. I started soldering mechanical keyboards around 2016. Right before covid, i decided to try my hand at pedals. I picked up a Distortion plus clone & went down the rabbit hole. I started Gear ant, because i loved the finishing aspect of the pedal. I wanted to offer enclosures to other diyers, as well.
Q: When did you design your first pedal?
A: in 2021! I used to cascade two distortion plus into each other. One day, i needed more space on my board, so i stuffed two circuits into one pedal. A year, and several iterations later, i came out with the Yellowjacket.
Q: What do you do for a living?
A: Im an operations manager. I know, its a very vague title. Basically, i make systems & SOPs.
Q: Any long term goals?
A: I would love to do this full time, but i would have to sell roughly 3000 pedals a year to make it worth my while. Right now, im thoroughly enjoying the process of designing circuits, troubleshooting, powder coating, graphic design, etc. for now, im a happy camper. Ill keep chugging away at it. :)
Q: Any other hobbies besides music?
A: Im not exactly sure when this happened, but it did. I love plants! I actually might have to blame Chris, from Swamp Witch for this. I just love watching them grow, and taking care of them. You know how, when you get old, bird watching kind of creeps up on you? Its like that, but with plants.
Q: Pets?
A: Oh man, yes. Here we go... I have:
A rex rabbit, named Ash
Two Russian tortoises, named Sammy & Beaker
A White's tree frog named Gandalf
Two geckos named Bert & Bilbo
Two geckos named Bert & Bilbo
Ten African Cichlids
One Tetra
My son is also trying to breed Dubia roaches (gross)
Notable mention; One of my frogs recently died. He was a yellow pacman frog named Hans Gruber. He was grumpy & he will be missed.
