A songwriter and musician with a focus on acoustic finger-picking and electric lead guitar, Drew is also a skilled drummer, bassist and performs on keyboard as well. He began his life with guitar more than 30 years ago, and began writing songs in his early teens. His songs are powerful, moving, fun, and sometimes humorous, and his music is a dynamic blend of rock and power-pop with melodic lead guitar and crisp rhythms.
Drew was born in Japan and raised in various places stateside as his father moved around with the USAF. They eventually paused in Dover, New Jersey, for a time (where he took drum instruction) before finally moving to the Sussex County area where he attended high school and rehearsed or performed with different musicians and bands, eventually joining up with a keyboardist friend and forming a duo, performing cover tunes around northern NJ. He now resides in West Chester, PA.
In 2010 Drew put together a recording studio on the third floor of a row house in West Chester. He went to work writing new songs, and reinventing older ones, to include on a new CD. In contrast to his previous release, “No More Waiting,” which was recorded with guitar, keyboards and drum machine sequences, the fresh sound of “It’s All Timing” consists entirely of real guitars, bass and drums, no sequenced or triggered samples.
Music styles range from the light reggae-pop feel of the opening track “Adam Sandler Movies” to hard rock ballads like “That’s All” featuring emotional, raw, lead guitar work and dynamic arrangement. Softer songs with layered acoustic textures, like “No Disguise” and “Barrel of Beauty” provide a calm pause between the driving rhythms and power-pop attitudes of “I’ll Be Me” and “Boris and Ivan,” the latter sadly inspired by the suicide death of one of Drew’s former band mates.
Drew is heavily influenced by songwriters and musicians like Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, the rock trio Rush, Tom Petty, Jackson Brown, Peter Gabriel, and Rob Zombie, to name a few. He also composes instrumentals and has a passion for creating atmospheric soundscapes.
