"Private Investigations covers music produced over the past two years and the label wanted to capture that whole period which is why they went for a double CD. So in a sense, you've got 28 tracks produced using evolving technologies in both software and hardware and I'm still only just getting to grips with the last purchase for the WJ Armoury!"

Well, I guess like any musician, I’m a fan first.. a fan since I was about 7 or 8 years old, hearing my older siblings 45’s and LP’s being played from rooms that were off limits to me. I vividly remember “non-radio” artists such as Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck, and even obscure bands such as Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies and Captain Beyond creating ripples of wonderment within my young brain. From that early age and even at the present time, the enrichment of limitless audio pleasures awaits anyone with the patience to find it. That, and just a strong, genuine love of music drove me down many avenues of appreciation, including the desire and ability to express myself through composition, with both conventional and modern tools and mediums.

As a teenager, I goofed around a bit with little makeshift bands that didn’t really exist. Looking back, there was not one among us that had the drive or insight to take us to higher levels. Catholic school choirs was probably the pinnacle of my young career, in terms of performance as well as accomplishment.

Composing and recording with current technologies has made things easier for me personally in some respects and harder in others like learning to use new hardware and software effectively only to find something new to replace it all with.

Private Investigations covers music produced over the past two years and the label wanted to capture that whole period which is why they went for a double CD. So in a sense, you've got 28 tracks produced using evolving technologies in both software and hardware and I'm still only just getting to grips with the last purchase for the WJ Armoury!

They would all be within the last few years, as I have become active in a company committed to working within the industry, providing the various services necessary to promote music through media relations, production and journalism. Oh and releasing albums on the R Cat Record Label isn’t bad either!

I don't really see anything as a low point. In my work with R Cat Media I'm continually faced with the fact there’s a huge amount of great music and deserving artists that don’t get a fair chance at being heard by the right people. That would be a major low for anyone in terms of the frustration. Some aspects of modern technology and internet capabilities could have a positive impact on that situation.

I would definitely go back to when I was about 12 years old, and “stay the course” in those first guitar lessons. From then it would have been on to piano, an institute of higher learning, and today I would possibly be signing copies of Grammy-nominated CD’s!

In 2005 and early 2006, I experimented with the addition of some female vocals from some talented singers but I haven't had the time to move them forward from demo projects. It would be nice to get the right voice to the right tracks and I'm hoping to sort that out sooner rather than later! I've also co-written a few things.. usually in providing the lyrics here and there for other artists.

Private Investigations is a completely solo effort musically, and quite a team effort on the release and distribution side of things. It's a great feeling to have your first album issued as a double album but if the truth be told, R Cat would have tried to squeeze a triple album out of me if they'd thought they could get away with it!

Besides the music, I love the photography that's courtesy of the very talented British Photographer Ian Hanslope. I think Ian has captured everything perfectly for the theme of the album as well as for the actual sounds.

Out of the 28 tracks on Private Investigations, I’d say my current favorite is “Hope Springs Ethereal”

Yamaha keyboards, Korg midi controller, guitars, accordion, and a host of software programs like Cubase, Acid, Ableton Live and 20 or so VST instruments.

Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Cello and Harp are among my absolute favorites, as they all can produce music that gives you chills!

I had to have been 7, and the Catholic Nuns cast me as Joseph in a Nativity production. It was in front of all the older kids and it seemed like thousands, and we did our little acting thing and sang our little songs. I’m sure we did great, just as good little catholic boys and girls always do.

The instrument I would choose in this situation is a fine set of bagpipes, because being trapped on a desert island I would have a lot of time on my hands, so why not try to learn a difficult instrument? And the 5 albums would be Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells 2 and 3, as well as Amarok, The Celtic Woman Show CD, Enya’s Paint The Sky With Stars, and WJ Plecha’s Private Investigations.

Mike Oldfield-Light And Shade, Enya-Amarantine, Goo Goo Dolls-Let Love In, A compilation called Ultra-Chilled (Disc 2) from 2004, and Mariead Nesbitt-Raining Up.

Pirates-Dead Man’s Chest, The Red Planet, A Christmas Story, Mulholland Drive, and Gone With The Wind.

I would love to have written the classic Christmas song, “O Holy Night”

I wish the compassion in every human being would be permanently increased by a thousand percent.

I wish I could spend 12 hours of every day working in the field of music. And of course, I wish I had 3 more wishes!

Something about a broken water pipe, and people running around being stupid!

We’d be up early, probably before 6 AM. We’d have 4-6 cups of stout English tea while we checked various emails, and the usual, daily-visited websites. From Monday through Friday, we’d take care of media related tasks on behalf of independent artists, do things like internet research, songwriting, or even interviews while waiting for the clock to strike 6. We may get interrupted from time to time and have to make the time up to do some additional work.

Comosing and recording could happen at any time, whenever the inspiration moves me. Weekends we are more apt to be creative, and it’s usually in the early morning hours!

It was a tiring start to the day, with an early morning snowstorm. The cold and snow wears me down a bit, but it was a slow, typical day of work, and I had a nice dinner. Winter has set in at the time of this interview, so many outdoor activities have all but stopped, as hibernation is now in order for the next several months!

I’d fill one case with my favorite CD’s and books, one with as many clothes that could fit, and the other one would have whatever musical-related stuff I could grab.

Producing and completing any musical project. Acquiring a new musical “toy”. Making anyone laugh or smile.

I’d like to successfully promote my first album, and complete at least one more project for release. It would also be wonderful to work on a Christmas project for the end of 2007. I’d also like to see R Cat continue its success in the main areas of current focus.