Growing up in Virginia, in a non-musical family was a challenge. When I was eight or nine years old, I started liking a variety of music; Rock, Jazz, Motown and Country. It really didn’t matter. My parents loved music but did not sing or play an instrument. They attended a lot of concerts. I started noticing how they would go to see Tony Bennett, then the Allman Brothers and then Brazilian Gilberto Gil. I became open-minded musically and my eclectic tastes energize me. We used to go to New York City a lot, and I never felt intimidated by the “Big City”. Shortly after turning eighteen, I drove to NYC to visit my aunt and uncle, AND to go to Manny’s Music to buy a much-needed new guitar. So, I decided to go to Manny’s after a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty. Well, when I got back to my car from Ms. Liberty, I had a parking ticket on my windshield. Not deterred, when I got to Manny’s, I couldn’t find a parking space, and then saw an entire row of illegally parked cars. There was one spot left, just a few feet from a NO PARKING sign. I immediately thought, “I know what I’ll do”. So, I took out my Statue of Liberty parking ticket and placed it on my windshield so the cops would leave me alone. I proudly walked out of Manny’s with my black Strat and every illegally parked car was still there, except mine. The NYC Police told me that tow trucks work independently and can tow a car to the compound if it’s already been ticketed. My $1,050 Strat ended up costing me $1,350.