eyes cast down (Ambient-Atmospheric music)

1. Background music: you're looking for something serene, light and pleasant - music that doesn't demand attention for itself, quiet enough so people can converse without having to raise their voices. For this, I use a minimal setup of one or two guitars and/or a keyboard, along with the computer.

2. Concert: We can take the serene and light route, as above, or go into "Fasten your seat belts" mode. The full-on concert experience involves the full setup: guitars, keyboard, drums, percussion, bowls and more - and goes deep into... someplace other. Places of mystery and imagination, if you like. It's a sonic ritual of personal discovery.

In either case, this will be a musical experience entirely unlike anything else to be heard in Chicagoland.

My discovery of the ambient-electronic music world around 2000 inevitably birthed the eyes cast down project a few years later. My musical roles before that ranged from rock drummer to acoustic guitarist in a vocal trio to dabbling in the classical world.

My first album, The Separate Ones, was released to critical acclaim in Feb/13, and was followed by Divinations (June/14), Memory Palace (w/ Chris Russell, Dec/14), Souls Adrift, in Disrepair (July/16), The White Island (Oct/17), Pastimes of Creation (Mar/18), We Once Were Lost (Jan/20) and Ecstatic Light (w/ Mathias Grassow, Feb/20). Several other albums are in progress.

Based in Chicago, I have performed in concert (indoors and outdoors), art shows and personal workshop settings. My career concert peak so far was a Philadelphia double-bill: The Gatherings Concert Series, followed by a late-night broadcast on Star's End Radio.

While music is too commonly viewed these days as superficial entertainment or (even worse) amusement, I hold the live performance as a special event, transcendent - a magical ritual of discovery. While I enjoy playing background music for suitable events, in the concert setting I like to go deep - that's where the real fun is.

Depending on your venue, I can work with as little as one guitar or one keyboard - or the entire rig: several guitars, keyboard, drums, percussion and bowls.

I need one three-prong outlet. If your venue is small enough not to require a PA, my monitor speakers will suffice. Otherwise, I will plug into the venue's PA. I just send one stereo pair to your mixer, which needs to be within 45 feet of my location.

My footprint is 6x6' minimum and 8x8' max.