I have gotten to know a lot of you over the years via email and I have even had the good fortune to meet some of you in person. To give you a little more insight into who I am (there is more than the classical guitar) here are seven things you didn’t know about me.

#1 I’m in a band and I play Mandolin, harmonica and steel string guitar.

I love the classical guitar, but I would say I love music in general. When I listen for pleasure the music is all over the map. A few years ago I was performing in a Festival in Australia where I saw the Punch Brothers perform. This is an amazing group that has bluegrass roots and at the helm is a bonafide genius by the name of Chris Thile. He is a mandolin player that inspired me to take up the instrument and pretty soon after I recruited some friends in New York to form a band.

I usually write the music and Caroline (the singer) writes the lyrics. Here is a sample

The band is called “Cathedral Parkway” (the street where I used to live) and the album on iTunes is “Howl at the Moon

#2 I am a professional photographer

One time, several years back, I performed in Oslo at a human rights conference. I didn’t know anyone so I ended hanging out with the photographers. I was quickly bitten by the photography bug and began teaching myself by learning online (which incidentally is how I became aware of the effectiveness of online teaching). I have shot at New York Fashion Week, been published in books, Weddings, festivals and had many portrait sessions including the Juilliard String Quartet. I think my favorite moment for photography was walking down Broadway in New York and seeing one of my photos used at Lincoln Center.

#3 My first instrument was brass

My first instrument was the cornet, and I was cute as a button when I played it. I have no idea if I was actually playing the right notes back then. By the way, that grumpy guy on the right is my brother. He ended up being a musician too…

#4 I Danced in the olympics

I will spare you the lead up to this one, but when I was a high school student in Australia I was part of a group selected to dance in the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Sydney. I am pretty sure it will be the biggest audience I will ever perform for and the only audience I will ever dance for :)

I do have a photo of this, but for the life of me I can’t find it! I guess you will just have to trust me.

#5 Hablo Español

When I was at Yale I had a bad habit of taking on too many classes. One of these was Spanish and every morning at 8am I would spend two hours learning Spanish with a group of undergrads who where ten years younger than me and ten times as smart!

The Spanish language is a beautiful one with great poetry, films and music. It also helped me greatly when I traveled to South America to teach and perform.

Here is an interview on Buenos Aires radio.

#6 I love soccer

Simon SoccerWhat is a good sport that won’t break your nails?

Soccer!

I played all throughout university and now I am passionately involved with a Premier League Fantasy team…

and Evita is beating me with a team choses solely on hairstyles.

#7 I am marrying for money

Just kidding, I am marrying a dancer.

I am engaged to the best Lindy Hop dancer in the world. Many of you have heard her on the podcast.

Here is Evita (Eva Maria)