Paul first fell in love with the guitar when he was 10 years old.

As a kid, Paul would frequently travel from his home in Queens, New York to visit his cousin Gregory in New Jersey. Gregory was an enthusiastic guitar player, and his passion rubbed off on Paul.  “It was fun,” Paul recalled. “It wasn't some academic thing.”

Paul went home and started practicing rock songs on his family’s guitar.

“It was this horrible steel string, it made my fingers hurt. I think it cost 20 dollars,” he said as he strummed a G chord.

But Paul’s passion outweighed his discomfort and by the time he was 12, he formed his first band with other kids he had met playing in the local area. 

The band would practice in basements and travel to gigs in a fish truck that they would borrow from their bass player’s dad.

“We smelled like fish by the end of the night, but it didn’t matter.”

He then started performing covers with his band at school dances, churches, and even bars.

Paul sits back with a smile, remembering his first gig back in 7th grade. His band, lacking a singer at the time, performed instrumental rock songs for a group of senior citizens.

 “They were very kind listening to us play,” Paul joked. “We were awful.”  But he loved the thrill that came with it. 

The band was able to get lighting and smoke machines for all their gigs free of charge. 

“Everybody was just so into it. It wasn't about making money.”

The group would sometimes play so loudly that their pay for the event would be docked. 

After years together they were a good band, but the group had to split when everyone went away for college.

Paul’s college journey was not necessarily smooth sailing.

He majored in guitar, and attended Manhattanville College for his freshman year, before switching to NYU for his sophomore and junior years. For senior year, Paul attended Bridgeport University for a semester, before taking a semester-long break and ultimately finishing at Mercy College. Each college offered different things that he was looking for.

“It took me six years to get my Bachelor’s degree running all over the place.”

After college, Paul started playing at Figaro Cafe on Bleeker Street. 

“They would have instrumentalists come in. They wouldn't pay you, but you'd go around to the tables with the basket and get tips,” he said. “They’d give you a free meal and you'd play for two hours.”

But because of the low pay, Paul would work all kinds of odd jobs, just to support his passion for guitar.

“I had to do things like wait tables in a restaurant or deliver newspapers in the middle of the night,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t even want to mention some of the things I did.”

Still, Paul had the ultimate goal in mind of making it big with a band.

“Supposedly you're playing in these places to connect with people that are in positions that can give you a playing career.”

In his late twenties, Paul got a glimpse of fame, with a new band he had joined: Clilly and East of Urban.

“The group got to showcase for Columbia Records and we opened for Meat Loaf,” Paul reminisced.
The group's success continued, and they got to record at famous studios.

“We got to do a demo in a studio in the building where David Letterman does his show. It was a studio where Whitney Houston and the Talking Heads recorded,” he recalled. “You went in and it was lined with platinum and gold albums.”

Still, Paul was doing gigs at all kinds of hours and working a variety of jobs just to keep himself financially stable and fell into a depression. He decided to leave the band after a year and a half.

Throughout his career, Paul tried to join a successful band many times (and he still plans on trying more).

“If I said 50 [bands] I probably wouldn't exaggerate. Maybe 60.”

But in his 20s and 30s, Paul found that his bands frequently ran into trouble.

“You get good players that want to throw their hat in the ring and do something because it might lead to something bigger. But they can only do it for nothing for so long,” he said. “The monetary side clashes with the artistic side a lot of the time.”

He also began to notice the harsh underbelly behind the alleged success.

“‘Cream,’ ‘Blood, Sweat & Tears,’ ‘Crosby, Stills & Nash.’ Guys in the group are broke now. They're having health problems, they have no money, they have no insurance,” he said. “Even if you get that far, you may not make anything, as crazy as that sounds.”

Once he reached his thirties, he decided it was time for a more stable life and began taking up more teaching gigs.

He started teaching after-school lessons at the Berkeley Carroll School and picking up private work at night.

“There were times when I'd have 30 or 40 people a week. So luckily it was pretty busy.”

Paul made a nice home there. He became familiar with the kids, had a nice relationship with the school, and had a good financial package. But after 13 years, Paul made the difficult decision of both leaving The Berkeley Carroll School and quitting club gigs.

“I left the two highest paying jobs I had. From that point until 2010, I had nothing but my own students,” he said.

But Paul doesn’t regret it. 

“Sometimes you have to let go of things to move ahead. I wasn't married back then and it wasn't about security, it was just about trying to feel alive with my work,” he said. “I didn’t want to just do one thing.”

More recently, Paul joined three new schools, where he is still currently employed, and opened his own studio.

“Between the three of them and teaching here, my schedule's full.”

Going forward, Paul wants to have a more relaxing schedule and try once again to have some of his songs get placed with a record company.

“I've been carrying a seven-day work week for years, at some point you don’t want to do that.”

Paul loves that his job allows him to continue learning. Although he is the teacher, his students bring him new things to learn and show him interesting new tricks all the time.

“Everybody sees things differently. If I show you something, it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to see it the same way I do,” he said. So you may come back with a question that makes me see it in a different light.”

Throughout his career, Paul has learned that everything has value.

“I remember everybody I've taught, the recording sessions I've done, the songs I've played on, the groups I've played in, it all makes you who you are as you get older,” he said. “If you can't take pride in the things that you do in life, then what have you got when you get older?”

Paul says his community has helped him in his career. The connections he made from various gigs have gotten him into many jobs and places. He has bonded with many of his students too. Although many connections have been lost with time, it always feels nice when the relationships are rekindled.

“I have people I've taught who reconnected with me on LinkedIn or Facebook. It’s cool when they still play.”

Paul loves the rewarding feeling that comes with teaching.

The most important part to him though, is being nice to his students and maintaining a positive attitude when he’s teaching. His warm smile and gentle approach make learning guitar a fun and relaxing time.

“There are teachers that criticize their students. To me that's counterproductive. If you're the first person somebody sees when they learn an instrument, your job is to inspire them and to keep them interested. You have to make their relationship with music enjoyable. That's the best thing you can give anybody.”

Paul says that even though he has been playing for 50 years, he never sees himself losing his passion for guitar.

“It's addictive. It still puts chills through me, and I can’t say that about a lot of things.”