I've been playing music my whole life—starting with accordion lessons as a kid (yes, really), then drums in the 80s playing hard rock, then guitar at 16 so I could sing and accompany myself. By my early 20s, I was playing in working bands, doing singer-songwriter gigs, and eventually joined a Celtic rock band that played all over Western New York and into Canada. We played colleges, festivals, pubs, and private events. We wrote original music and even recorded an album. 

Playing in bands has been one of the most important parts of my life. There's nothing quite like the energy of creating music with other people—the chemistry, the collaboration, the moment when it all clicks and you're not just playing notes anymore, you're making something together. That's why I started The Chord Collective. I kept meeting kids and parents who thought there was this huge "wall" to getting into music—that you had to spend years taking lessons and "learn music" before you could actually enjoy it. And I watched so many kids burn out doing the lesson-practice-lesson-repeat cycle. It becomes work instead of fun, and the interest just fades. 

But here's the thing: music doesn't have to be like that. You don't play basketball alone for years before joining a team and playing actual games, right? You join the team, learn together, and play from the start. That's what makes it fun. I believe music can be the same way. Kids should get to experience the joy of playing WITH others right from the beginning—not years down the road, but right now. That's The Chord Collective. Real bands. Real music. Real performances. Fun first.