I like to play music. It makes me grin like an idiot.

My new record, Live at the BLUE LLAMA Vol 2, is available for pre-order on kickstarter. Please consider funding this vinyl only release! Just click the link above. If you don’t have a turntable you can still buy the record and you will receive high quality mp3s along with your vinyl, but there will be no streaming, no CD, and no digital release.

Hi. I’m Alex. I spend a lot of time thinking about music. I teach guitar (and lap steel, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and pretty much anything else with strings) for a living. I also perform regularly in a number of projects. A long time ago I got a degree in Jazz Studies from Bowling Green State University. More recently I received my Master’s Degree in improvisation from The University of Michigan. I consider myself an American musician. That means that I know a thing or two about how music that developed in the U.S. works. Jazz, country, rock, folk, punk, pop, and other American musical forms and genres have a lot in common and I’m comfortable discussing, teaching, and playing them (with varying degrees of expertise, of course). I particularly love music that involves improvisation and intergroup dialog (we all play together, interacting with each other to create some really amazing music).

This website is here to promote what I do, and also hopefully as a resource for other musicians. I plan to write on the topics that interest me as often as possible.

You should contact me if you are interested in lessons or booking one of my bands.