I was born in Portland, Oregon USA in 1970. I am one of eleven children, which was not a typical American family at all. We were loud and chaotic. There was noise all of the time, coming from everywhere. Music became indispensable after leaving home to attend university. At first learning instruments was a way of filling the time in the absence of my family, but it quickly became a fundamental part of my personal growth and self-discovery. After studying music at the University of Oregon and the Mount Hood Community College jazz program I left for San Francisco in hope of finding a closer connection with a more diverse community of artists.
With a cassette 4 track recorder I learned the basics of music production and experimental composition. I quickly found these skills put to use in many contexts. Here I started working with transgender artists, punks, academics and creatives from many walks of life.
Much of my work was being used as film and theater music.
I was a live sound engineer for John Lee Hooker’s club The Boom Boom Room and famed underground clubs Komotion, Klubstitue and TrannyShack. A connection with the Mills College music program and the Bay Area underground scene soon gave birth to a wonderful time creating socially relevant work ranging from art and documentary films to community dance projects and more.
With Irish filmmaker Paul Rowley, I started a DIY production studio in the Lower Haight district called Crackerbox. This place would house the realization of work addressing issues facing the community; immigration, race, sexuality and gentrification to name a few. During this time I learned to play several other instruments and developed my skills as a producer. This time gave birth to my experiments in electronic cello music. I founded the music collective 1000 Pieces with my brother Tim Blue.
I relocated to New York in 2002 with the desire to grow and become more connected with diverse artists and was soon playing live music at art gallery openings and local festivals. At this time I was introduced to Berlin-based artist collective CHEAP by my brother Tim Blue. Then, based in New York, I started composing music for performances in Germany. I played with performance artist and CHEAP member Vaginal Davis at BrickTops New York 2004. Not long after I was invited to Berlin to compose and perform with Bruce LaBruce’s Production CHEAP Blacky. CHEAP, led by Susanne Sachsse, writes and performs politically inspired pieces which have led to many possibilities, including a range of community projects.
I am now focused on performing electronic cello music and recording an album to perform in live music venues in Berlin and hopefully throughout Europe.