I was about five years old when I appeared in my first film, a small production being shot by the stepson of a local camera shop owner named Habild. The shop was on the same block where I lived on Winham Avenue, and naturally, I had to find a way onto the set.

I practically forced my way into the production, sending my mother scrambling to put together a cowboy outfit. I already had the toy gun and holster that seemed to be a requirement for every boy in the early 1970s. She added a paisley scarf and a pair of jeans with the cuffs rolled up, and off I went.

When I told the director I didn't have a cowboy hat, he wasn't convinced. So, I told him I could be a better cowboy if I had one. Apparently, that was enough to get me in. He had me repeat the line, filmed it, and movie magic did the rest.

I only spent that week on the set, but apparently that was all it took. I never really lost the bug.

I picked up the guitar when I was 15, and in one way or another, I’ve never really put it down. It hasn’t always been an easy road, but music has been one of the most important and rewarding parts of my life.

Over the years, I’ve had the chance to graduate from music school, teach, perform, produce, create The Lollipop Guitar, help bring the Earth III Guitar Strap Company back to life, and even be featured in Guitar World magazine. I’m grateful for all of it, but the journey itself has always meant more to me than any particular accomplishment.

Of everything I’ve been fortunate enough to experience through music, though, nothing means more to me than helping my son along his own musical journey and watching him receive two Louis Armstrong Awards for jazz saxophone. That will always be the accomplishment I’m most proud of.

I was told more than once that I probably wouldn’t make it. I’m glad I didn’t listen.

Earth Three Pictures takes its name from the Earth III Guitar Strap Co., a Staten Island company founded by Richard Oliveri in the late 1970s. I worked for the company and had the opportunity to meet and work around many of the musicians whose work I had grown up listening to, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Prince, Keith Richards, Eddie Van Halen, and Jake E. Lee.

Earth III straps became familiar sights on stages and in photographs, with designs like the Musical Note, Lightning Bolt, Shooting Star, and Snake Skin showing up on the guitars of artists including Randy Rhoads, Steve Vai, Ace Frehley, and Metallica.

Richard Oliveri died tragically in 1989, and the original company eventually came to an end. But the name stayed with me. Years later, I wanted to find a way to preserve some of what Earth III meant and bring the name back to life.

When I started my own film company, Earth Three Pictures felt like the natural name. The connection between music and filmmaking also feels natural to me. Both are ways of telling stories, expressing ideas, and bringing people together to create something that didn't exist before.

For me, Earth Three Pictures isn't just a company name. It's a small piece of my history that I'm carrying forward into the next chapter.

Being on set for Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel was enough to reignite something in me that had been there all along. The Earth III Guitar Strap Company was still doing well, but after COVID, I decided it was time to step away and focus on getting myself back into shape after gaining nearly 50 pounds while running the company.

While working around the incredibly talented Joe Gorelick, I began shooting behind-the-scenes footage and found myself becoming increasingly interested in what was happening on the other side of the camera. It made me want to start filming my own projects, but more importantly, it made me want to learn how to do it properly.

And then there was my nose.

Even though only a small portion of my face appears in the music video for the song “Bitter,” seeing myself on screen brought something back that I hadn't felt in years. I knew then that I wanted to be back in front of the camera and working behind it. This time, I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass me by.

Actor. Filmmaker. Musician. Husband. Father.

And still learning.