Jeff was born in June 1973 and raised on Long Island, New York, where his interest in music started very early. "My grandfather was an amazing musician, and when I was about 7, he had me playing the guitar."
Jeff went on to become an accomplished guitarist and played with several bands through high school and college. In 1995, Jeff formed a progressive rock band called DARK AFTER with long-time musical friend, Eric Van Wickler. Between May 1995 and December 1996, combining elements of Dream Theater-style progressive metal with Iron Maiden-style traditional metal, Dark After wrote the yet-to-be-released 75-minute progressive epic entitled "The Life of the Crier." When Eric moved to Virginia in January '97, Dark After disbanded.
In February 1997, Jeff joined San Francisco-based Magna Carta recording artists DALI'S DILEMMA, who had been searching for a lead singer to complete their lineup for a year. An over-the-top progressive metal band, Jeff found himself honing his vocal skills to the nth degree. "Gave up smoking, gave up drinking, and concentrated solely on my voice." Jeff helped Dali's Dilemma gain worldwide recognition, winning praise from some of the most discriminating music fans. In the words of the Progessive Metal List, "The thing that sets [Dali's Dilemma] apart, though, is some fine vocal work. Music of this technical nature always turns out singers that are hard to understand, yet here every single word he sings is easily understood. He is an excellent choice..." Unfortunately, even though the band was gaining critical acclaim and negotiating their record deal with Magna Carta Records, things started to change in September 1997. After the abrupt departure of drummer Sean Flanegan, the band's musical interests began changing and creative differences ensued. It became obvious that it was time for Jeff to move on.
After leaving Dali's Dilemma, Jeff joined up with UNHOLY WATER MEN, a New York-based hard rock quartet, led by ace drummer Andy James. Jeff remarks, "The time I spent in UWM was one of the greatest experiences. The band was playing kick-ass, straight-ahead, no-bullshit rock and roll. No egos. No attitudes. And a hell of a lot of fun! Andy James and I were like brothers... hell, we still are like brothers!" Unholy Water Men began shopping their demo in Spring 1998. While several offers came in, none of the deals that presented themselves met with the band's approval, and the band eventually broke up when Andy James moved to Seattle.
Jeff spent most of 1998-2012 cutting back on music to focus on his "Day Job" as SVP of Consumer Technology at HBO. During his tenure at HBO, Jeff was a co-founder of HBO GO and led the team that built the extremely successful HBO GO site and applications for iPad, iPhone, Android, Xbox, Roku, and Samsung connected TV's.
During that period, Jeff did manage to squeeze in some session work and as he learned his way around the studio, he also began tracking sessions in his Purple Dream recording studio. During the HBO years Jeff also tried to squeeze in time at Purple Dream tracking vocals (and some guitars) with EMPHASIS, a pop/rock band, that represented a marked a departure from Jeff's typical hard rock and metal roots.
Recently, Jeff returned to the Dark After project, which has been shelved
since 1996. However, when he set out to record "The Life of the Crier,"
Jeff realized that the music needed significant changes. Jeff explains,
"The concept is fully developed, but music is currently in a
rewriting/updating stage, as our skills and influences have changed
significantly since 1996." Although no formal plans have been
made to release "Crier," Jeff isn't ruling it out. "There are a couple
of leading independent prog labels that have expressed interest after
hearing some of the old 1992 demos," explains Jeff, "but we'll have to
see how it goes as we update and record the material." Stay tuned to
dibart.com for updates!
Jeff lives on Long Island with his wife, Carmen, and his daughters, Jamie and Jessie.