Music and Songwriting

I grew up sailing and surfing, and in my early twenties in Honolulu I was writing jingles and scoring a surf film. I had paid publishing deals with Flying Island Music from 1978 to 1981 and Sony Music Publishing from 1981 to 1984. At 22, I was hired to score the feature film “Crystal Eyes.”

In August 1981, the Honolulu Advertiser profiled me under the headline “A voice on the phone gets a foot in the door.” I told the reporter that writing songs is no business for the timid.

At 23, I was cast as “Mr. Pibb” in Coca-Cola national TV ads, which earned me my SAG card. I moved to Los Angeles in the mid-80s to write songs. From 1989 to 1992, I worked as a staff songwriter at Chrysalis Music Group on a salaried contract.