Born in 1957,  Hopedale, MA, 38 miles from Boston. Started playing music very early on the accordion. Studied clarinet, guitar, bass, piano, and trombone before age 10. Had my first band, Sassy Brass, at age 8, with Tom Liberatore and Ken Crowthers (we rocked).

Music has always been my passion. I thrive on practicing, recording, improving, changing. There is no better feeling than a great rehearsal. Live performance is fun, but rehearsing is where it's at; 'honing your craft', 'sharpening your blade', polishing your shoes, building your style, and becoming the musician/artist you've dreamed of.

Notables & Thanks (in random order):
-Starting playing professionally at age 11, every weekend, with a Boston-area swing band. I played the trombone and made $30 per night. I was rich, at age 11.

-Studied under Jerry Seeco, New England's best of the best teacher and musician. Jerry let me play a trombone solo at the Highschool when I was in middle school. The song was Out Crowd. What a thrill. Thanks so much, Jerry, for giving me so many chances.

-Studied under George Robertson, who played for Dorsey and more. Mr. Robertson taught me how to be a musician and not just another trombone player.

-Formed AMF with Tom and Ken. AMF became a very popular band in New England during the early 70's. The band disbanded by 1977 as we all went off to college. AMF was versatile, playing Chicago, BS&T, Loggins & Messina, Edgar Winter, and EWF better than anyone. Tom and I are playing together once again. Awesome. He is also playing lead guitar in A Nation's Prayer, our first major release for Mia Music Entertainment, our new record label.

-Graduated from Boston University School of Music in 1979. Great classical experience. My final performance grade was an evening solo performance with the BU Symphony. It took me eight months of practicing 8 hours a day to acheive my successful performance expectations. My lips are still sore. Roger Voisen was conductor.
 
-I had the pleasure of organizing and conducting the first jazz band at Tanglewood, the summer home for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I was also a counselor to the young artists that attended the camp. Ages ranged from 13 to 17 and these kids were the best in the world. Really. If you have not been to Tanglewood in Lenox, MA, please go as soon as possible to experience the absolute best music in the world.

-Studied under Roger Voisen, the best trumpet player and musician I have ever known. I played lead in the wind ensemble and the BU Symphony under Mr. Voisen. He was at Tanglewood outing where our Jazz Ensemble performed for the symphony teachers and parents. I will always cherish his handshake after the concert, and his words of praise as he was so impressed that eighteen young classical musicians could be so good while playing their second and third instruments. Thank you, Mr. Voisen, for giving me the opportunity to learn.

-Performed with numerous jazz and big bands, on the trombone, bass guitar, and piano. Played numerous shows on bass guitar for John Baboian, known as the premier jazz guitarist and faculty member at Berklee School of Music. (thanks, John, for referring me to Carmen Cannavo for the Vegas show gig).

-Performed with the Harvard-Radcliffe Symphony Orchestra from 1976 to 1979, as lead trombonist. We performed regularly at Havard and throughout Boston. Certainly a great musical experience for me. Everyone should visit Harvard Square and Harvard University, pronounced Harrr-varrrrd.

-Performed at the Americana in NYC in the Spring of 1978, with the Boston University Trombone Ensemble (21 trombones), for the International Brass convention, featuring the best trombonists in the world. Ronald Barron, principlal trombonist with the Boston Symphony, was our conductor and leader. He actually gave me my first taxi cab tour of NYC. What a great trombonist and teacher.

-Travled for one year immediatley after college with the Carmen Canavo Show, a vegas show band following in the footsteps of Louis Prima. Traveled the USA and was fortunate enough to meet my bride-to-be Suzie.

-Moved back to MA in 1980 to teach school and perform with the Jerry Secco band, made up mostly of Berklee School of Music faculty. Jerry Seeco has been considered the best trumpeter, arranger, and band leader in New England and has been on the Berklee Faculty for decades. Jerry was one of my most influencial teachers from the time I was 9 years old. Thank you, Jerry!

     Many of my friends and business associates have asked why I did not make music my main career. Simply, I wanted to earn more money than was available to me through a full-time music and teaching career in 1981. I also listened to my mentors who are the best in the music business. They were teaching full-time and playing five nights a week just to make it.

       So I went on into a business career and provided for my family, still keeping my hands in music, you know, weddings, gigs. I really didn't get back into my music career until I invested in my digital studio beginning in 1993.

          There are many musicians like me who are multi-professional. Our new Indy Label, Mia Music, is seeking such multi-professional artists. And we will be publishing these artists' great music for all to hear. You can read more about Mia Music at our studio web site found at www.landenstuios.com.


Musical strengths:

• Producing: My objective is to match the lyrical and musical moods. I strive to blend digital samples with live intruments so that no one can tell the difference.
• Arranging: Excitment abounds when I take an existing original tune and 'Quincy Jones' it. I really love to commercialize music.
• Collaborating on original music: bringing musical life to words on a paper is the biggest and best challenge. So far, our efforts are working well. JF and I have already performed 5-6 originals in concert and they were very well received. Time will tell when Mia Music rolls out our work in mid-2007.
• Digital engineering: I started my home studio in 1992 and turned pro studio in 2004. I have accumulated the ultiate sample library and update it constantly. My closest musician friends cannot tell which instruments I am playing. My Live backing tracks are better sounding than most pro bands. What a ball! I have a very strong PC and software background, which is a fundamental part of my business (EmployShare).
• The Business of Music: Being a business partner (10 years now) and successfull musician/producer is a unique combination of skill sets. My perspectives on music include style, technique, presentation, mood, orchestration, instrumentation, performance, marketing, distribution, and so much more. As such, EmployShare has become very successful over a large geographic area. Consequently, Mia Global Publishing LLC (our new Indie lablel) will also be very successful over a larger geographic area since music in universal.