I am first and foremost a musician, having studied piano when I was in elementary school as well as voice. Also, I studied Spanish from the age of seven until fourteen, then German in high school and university, and French at the University of California, Berkeley. My father emigrated from Belfast, UK, and my mother's father emigrated from Donegal, Ireland. Song was central to my upbringing, and I sang in choirs and later in rock bands. Guitar and bass are my main instruments. I studied the tabla for several years and have performed with groups on tabla.

Painting was something I longed to do and did for many years. Somehow I felt that cinema might be my calling, given that composition and color were my strong point and not necessarily drawing. My first films rely on original music and story lines. My first camera was given to me by an older intellectual whose public access television program in San Francisco caught my attention. I then became a 'regular' on this show, and followed the star of the show around the city in various forums.

My master's thesis at UC Berkeley is online. It has to do with 'The Semiotics of Power' in Shakespeare, Milton and Keats.

I followed film relentlessly at university, with Godard, Truffaut, Fellini, Pasolini, Rondi, Syberberg, Fassbinder, Bunuel and Dali my greatest influences.