Don is originally from Boston, MA. Both his parents were involved with the church choir, and his dad was a non-professional accordion player who also sang Bass in a barbershop quartet. His older brother also played the accordion, and his younger brother was, and still is, an accomplished keyboardist. Don took accordion lessons as well, but it didn’t take long for him to realize that his real musical passion revolved around strings, and not bellows. So, by the age of 12, he started playing guitar, and by 13, had transitioned to bass. During the 60’s & 70’s, Don played in a number of local Boston area bands, doing the bar and club scene, playing whatever the crowd or management wanted to hear, from Classics to Country, Polkas to Punk, and just about everything in between!
In1985, needing to support a growing family, Don started travelling while working his “non-musical” job of designing printed circuit boards for companies such as Intel, HP, IBM, Motorola, and the US Government. After traveling, working and living in CT, NY, IN, MI, NC, GA, FL, TX, AZ and CA (just to mention a few), he finally settled in Gig Harbor, WA area. In 1999, he had the opportunity to sit-in on several occasions, with the legendary Jerry Millerof Moby Grape fame. It was during one of these sessions, that he met local guitarist/songwriter Billy Moss, and the two of them soon formed the band that would eventually become Rebel Storm.
Along with drummer Bobby Nesbitt, and keyboardist Joe Turnbull, Rebel Storm became one of the premier new southern rock/blues bands in the U.S. and Europe. They released their first album “Stormin’ South” in the fall of 2001. Rebel Storm performed at the Whitehorse Mountain Classic Rockfest in 2002, sharing the stage with legends Elvin Bishop, Delbert McClinton, and Little Feat. Shortly after this, the band received the 2002 GRITZ Southern Music Hall of Fame HORIZON award, and then organized, booked and financed their first European tour, performing shows in The Netherlands and Germany. In the spring of 2003, the band recorded their second album “The Hard Way”, and in the fall of that year, completed their second tour of Europe, performing in The Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland. Don was voted #7 Bassist of the year in 2002, and then #5 Bassist of the year in 2003, by the readers of Bands of Dixie magazine in France.
Don is currently recording with The Nite Café, an American “roots” music project, and occasionally performs with Blues Passage, a local blues cover band. He has been teaching Bass guitar at Allstar Academy for several years now.