I was born and raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, and formed a healthy respect for the character that cruddy weather and trashy rock'n'roll foster. Began writing freelance in my teens for various northeast Ohio weeklies; went to college at Ohio State University; formed a punk band (New Bomb Turks) that ended up releasing 10+ albums of material and touring around the world about 70 times; continued developing my writing/editing skills for various publications around Ohio; moved to NYC in 2004; wrote for the Village Voice, Time Out, numerous indie and major labels, and others, eventually becoming Associate Editor at CMJ; then released my first book -- We Never Learn (Backbeat Books, 2010), which was reprinted in an Expanded Edition in 2022.I became Managing Editor at CMJ.com from 2013-16. When a new owner ran that institution into the ground, I committed to freelance writing/editing once more, and have written for Please Kill Me online, Rock and Roll Globe, Creem, and more, including frequent blog updates. In between, I continue to set up various live music, DJ, and film events in town when the inspiration strikes. And in July, 2024, I started a bi-weekly DJ gig at the revived East Village Radio on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.I've sat in on and moderated numerous arts discussion panels at Lincoln Center, Anthology Film Archives, the Wexner Center, and others. And I've even done a little acting. I continue to pitch as a freelance writer. I love pretzels, and Nick Ray movies, and the Ramones, and SCTV, and Mondays. Seriously, Mondays rule because they're like a whole new start.