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LL: I like to start at the beginning! Please tell us what it was like to grow up in Sacramento CA,

what your family was like and what kind of music were you exposed to in your home?

ET: When I grew up Sacramento was a medium sized city. It’s the state capital of California. I made
the most of it when I began to play professionally at the age of 14. By the time I was 16 I began to
play nightclubs, parties, coffee houses. Wherever I could play I did. I learned a lot of styles of music
so I would play popular venues some nights, and blues, jazz, and folk clubs on others. I was working
most nights of the week.

The proximity was close to San Francisco and Lake Tahoe
and getting to Southern California was not too difficult.

The music scene was pretty dynamic at the time with
plenty of live music venues and several bands finding
national success. I wasn’t the most popular artist in the

area, but I was known in many genres which made me an
anomaly and allowed me to gain a reputation as one of the
leaders in the music community there.

I also played with many of the best-known artists in the
area in various performance situations, so I think the
musicians knew I could hang.

My family fell apart when I was young and the impact of it

was long lasting. There was a lot of pain there for quite some time. That’s about all I can say to
that.

Music was always around and everybody in my family appreciated music. As a result, I was exposed
to all kinds of artists and styles from an early age and that has helped me have a wide range of
styles in my own music.

LL: You started playing guitar professionally at age 14. What drew you to the instrument? Did
you study or were you self-taught?

ET: I’m not totally sure what drew me to the guitar. I suppose it’s a bit like why you find someone
attractive. Sometimes there’s just a spark and for me a guitar has that spark-especially electric
guitar! I liked a lot of music that featured guitar and I listened to a lot of guitar playing on the radio
and on records. A guitar just looks cool. When you sling one over your shoulder and hit a power

chord through a gritty amplifier it just kind of instantly gives anybody in a position of authority a
big middle finger and that still appeals to me to this day.

I started taking guitar lessons when I was 6 years old but stopped after a while. Then, when I was
12, I got an electric guitar, and I was both feet in from that time on. I played every day and I still
play almost every day. I took guitar lessons for a few months in junior high school and learned
some fundamentals of blues and rock. In high school I took some classical guitar lessons which

improved my reading skills and also my ability to play using my fingers instead of a pick. I am
comfortable playing either way now depending on the style I am playing.

I also studied jazz piano for a while to learn more about harmony. That study helped me really
understand how music is put together and helped me feel confident in most musical settings.

Most of what I learned, though, was in the streets and on the stage.