Page 12 - ION Indie Magazine JanFeb 2020 Issue

MH: How did you get started in music? Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

MGS: As an infant, I was adopted into a family that nurtured music. I was very, very fortunate. I
expressed an interest in playing drums at a very early age. Around eight-years-old, my mother told
me that if I wanted to learn drums or anything in music for that matter, I have to start on piano. She
was right in the sense that in learning music, piano offers an amazing foundation for visually seeing
all the notes right in front of you and understanding music as a whole. However, when you are eight-
years-old, that is not exactly the thing you want to hear when you want to beat the crap out of a
drum. Nevertheless, I did what mom told me and did not really start playing drums until about 12-
years-old. I took lessons from a variety of teachers, including jazz great Sal LaRocca and the great
A.J. Pero of Twisted Sister. It was truly valuable to gain insight from different worlds of music to
incorporate into my playing. Concentration on wrist development and musical playing from different
genres certainly help build some primary chops that I incorporated into my regular style of playing.

I was exposed to a wide spectrum of music and drew influence from many unlikely places. I had
many drumming heroes, like Alex Van Halen, Robert Sweet of Stryper, Jason Bonham, Tommy Lee,
Simon Phillips, Billy Cobham, Tico Torres of Bon Jovi, and so many others. But it was also people
like David Lee Roth, Angus Young, Gene Simmons, Evel Knievel, Burt Reynolds, and the Six Million
Dollar Man that also helped me develop a unique style. It wasn't just drummers. It was people with
certain attitudes and passion that ultimately helped me create my style.

MH: Evel Knievel? I love Evel! Were you a songwriter first or a musician? And was being an
artist always one of your goals or did it just happen?

MGS: I was definitely a musician first -- learning piano, then trumpet, then drums. But just because
you learn an instrument doesn't mean that you are a full-fledged musician. While still a sophomore
in high school, I attended University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music during summer sessions off
from high school. I got the rare opportunity to learn from their faculty and play with some of the most
talented kids in the whole country. We studied under celebrated conductors and made three double
albums of classical music. I had a full curriculum that included music theory, composition, scoring,

and was exposed to so many different styles of music including jazz, classical, rock, chamber music,
and fusion. Truly an amazing experience that expanded my horizons musically and offered an
education that was second to none.

I guess I might have toyed around with songwriting but I certainly was no songwriter. Definitely not

anything good. I collaborated just a little bit with Trixter, but as far as having any quality material on
my own, that did not come until much more recently. It was never really one of my goals to be a
songwriter. It wasn’t until I got older that I really developed a passion for putting something down in
words and able to do it effectively. To have something from your heart that you want to bring to life

and produce in the studio is something really amazing. Yet another gift from God.

MH: On what kind of music were you raised and how has it shaped the sound of your own
music?

MGS: The earliest recollection I have is my mother playing piano and attempting to inspire me to
play myself. From time to time she would take out her old LPs and show me what she listened to as
a kid. The first record she gave me was ‘Elvis's Golden Hits,’ and ‘Hound Dog’ started me off! Then

there was the ‘Grease Soundtrack’ and Meat Loaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell,’ the first LP my father bought
for me. Soon thereafter, I learned about KISS and bought my first LP, the Gene Simmons solo
album! From there, the field was wide open, but certainly a strong direction with rock and roll.