Welcome to Bring Headphones

How it all began

Long ago in a land far, far away, while attending art college in New York, a friend asked me to help her pick up a keyboard she had ordered from a music store in Brooklyn. She ended up getting a Yamaha DJX Digital Piano/Synth. We took it on the subway back to her dorm in the Village, staying up all night making what we considered music. In reality, it was a mash of sounds, but it felt revolutionary to me at the time. We recorded everything onto minidiscs (remember those?) and spent the rest of the semester playing it for friends, laughing at how bad it was.

A yamaha djx synthesizer keyboard for music production. — The Yamaha DJX Synthesizer. A thing of beauty.

Until then, my music experience was limited to Philadelphia radio, MTV, and those music videos stitched between episodes of Beavis and Butthead. What we created with that keyboard was mind-blowing and opened a new world of creativity beyond my Fine Arts studies. Due to financial aid issues, I had to leave school and move back to Philadelphia, where I eventually bought my first keyboard: a RadioShack MD-1210. Yup, RadioShack. Laugh all you want, but it had al the GM MIDI and drum sounds you could ask for and six tracks of recording. I must have filled up about 30-40 Memorex cassette tapes in a few weeks with the most sloppy music imaginable. I remember playing them for friends and family and the look on their face……….whatever! They didn’t know where I was headed; only I could hear the symphony in those recordings.

The Radioshack MD-1210 considered a vintage keyboard but was a great to go musical keyboard for beginners. — Radioshack MD-1210. My very first piece of music gear.

Fast forward to RIGHT now

I consider myself a music hobbyist with no aspirations of releasing an album on Spofity or Bandcamp. I love making sounds and putting them together into what I call music. At one point, I posted everything I produced, but it became more about the process than the joy. I felt like those people who photograph everything they do rather than experiencing the moment. YouTube is full of such people—some for the right reasons, others cashing in on the platform.

To be clear, I do make music, record modular jams, sample myself fiddling with synths, manipulate sounds, and arrange full tracks. As I got older, had kids, and started paying taxes, I became less concerned with sharing my music and found joy in just experiencing it in my own musical bubble. This removed the anxiety and allowed me to enjoy my studio full of expensive equipment without worrying about justifying the purchases.

Okay! Good night folks, and remember to tip your waitress!!!

I started Bring Headphones to create a space for music enthusiasts and hobbyists to join me in experiencing music. I spend a lot of time on YouTube seeking inspiration and new ways to use my gear.

I’ve found many musicians who share my love for exploring music, diving into new gear, finding interesting techniques, and having fun making music. I'll cover new gear releases, reviews, and anything music-related that sparks my interest. I want to share these hidden gems and inspire others in their music-making journey with what inspires me and keep my candle lit.

I hope this gives you an idea of who I am and why I'm doing this. I'm here because I love experiencing music, and if you're anything like me, you'll connect with these:

Using more than one DAW because each does something indispensable, but none does everything.
Thinking Bitwig’s PolyGrid is amazing but preferring VCV Rack because seeing the modules makes it feel more real.
Owning a full modular system, selling it all, and then buying most of the modules again like a dunce.
Wishing FL Studio would let you double-click to reset knobs.
Believing an iPad is a viable music production studio.
You DO NOT think the OP-1 is toy.