During the Summer of Œ87 I had spent a few days in New York City. I had been feeling stifled in South Florida, working a warehouse job that afforded me the means to pursue numerous musical ventures but noticing a distinct lack of opportunities to build on what I was doing. It wasn¹t long after my return from New York that I decided to move there.

I devised a plan that, by staying with my parents for a year, I would be able to accumulate enough money that I could afford to make a decent stab at establishing myself in the northeast. So on December 31, 1987 I moved out of my apartment.

It was during this time that I became a fixture at that horrible, yet convenient bar called the Jockey Pub. For some reason Dennis, the owner, booked original music acts instead of the typical rock cover bands that peppered clubland in Florida. I befriended the band Bootleg and, along with other bands on various nights, would front the band for a "fourth set" lasting into the wee hours of the morning. I also continued playing with Ian "Rusty" Hammond and the DT Martyrs, whom Kevin MacIvor invited me to join as Bob Went Bad went, well, bad. Although we recorded an album and gigged often there were no tapes of the band available at the time of this compilation (I hope to one day add an supplemental CD to cover this and a few other missing facets of my career).

The year passed quickly and soon I was living in Long Island, New York. I joined a band called Desperate Moves and tried to find my way around the L.I. music scene. My musical outlets were mostly the band and endless hours alone in my apartment with my guitar writing songs and recording them on rambling message tapes to Kennedy and Moss. First I recorded demos with a regular tape deck, then with a four track machine of my own (finally!). I even learned some cover songs ("James" by the Bangles, "I Do" by New Bohemians) for my then-girlfriend Donna to sing.

I spent a few years on Long Island and landed a job at Guitar World Magazine in the city. This most perfect of jobs introduced me to a number of talented musical and visual artists and helped speed me on my way to attaining my ultimate goal of living, working and performing in New York City.