While playing in the UCSC Jazz ensembles under the direction of Ray Brown and Smith Dobson, he met drummer E. Dillon Westbrook and asked him if he wanted to start a group.
They added Charlie Gurke to the group and began playing around local venues in Santa Cruz, California.
When they returned they added Luke Kirley on trombone and Matthew Val Hall on trumpet to the band and began playing again.
They were featured in Metro Santa Cruz's column "New Band Alert" where they were described as "the Latin Squirrel Nut Zippers."
In 2004 the band moved to [Oakland, California] where they re-formed, adding bassist Ayla Davila who had recently graduated from the prestigious [Berklee College of Music] and drummer David M. Flores.