music

I was born in Philadelphia and currently live in Los Angeles. Music has always been a constant in my life. My father paid his way through school playing bass in jazz bands, and I grew up immersed in classical music, jazz, and the songwriting legacy of the Beatles and 1960s rock and roll. Punk, metal, and emo entered my life in high school, reframing music from something I loved into something I needed. After decades of playing, I committed to music as a professional pursuit two years ago.

I’m a touring guitarist and vocalist, with a background that spans guitar, synth, bass, violin, voice, and ambient composition. Predominantly self-taught after early instruction, my approach is shaped by artists like Ella Fitzgerald, the Beatles, Between the Buried and Me, Marilyn Manson, and Brand New — influences that inform both emotional range and confrontation. I aim to create music that feels energetic, sensual, and alive, whether through my personal work or collaborative projects.

I tour nationally with Dead Things as a guitarist and backing vocalist, where shadow, spectacle and intensity are central to the experience. With Dead Things I have played in almost all 50 states including major festivals. I also play guitar in Shadowspell, a hard rock project with my wife, and release solo industrial metal and rock under the name BALTHACZAR, a project rooted in absurdism and the occult. Alongside these projects, I produce records and create ambient music. My work is driven by momentum, collaboration, and a belief that music should move people — physically, emotionally, and collectively.