Andrew Philip DeCaro was born on September 1, 1983, in Washington, D.C. He moved to Baltimore with his parents, Teresa and Jeffrey, when he was three years old.[3] At the age of 10, he found an old guitar in his house that was left by his uncle during a move and convinced his uncle to let him keep the guitar. Assembling kids from the neighborhood, he formed a band and began writing songs and rehearsing in a friend's basement.[4]
Career
At the age of 15, while working at a local pub, he met an older drummer and entered Baltimore's rock and heavy metal scene.[5] The resulting band, called Ex-Rate, was influenced by the metal bands of the early 2000s and east coast hip hop.[6] They played shows around the Mid-Atlantic, sharing the bill with The Strokes, Good Charlotte, and Pissing Razors, and recording an EP at Omega Studios. Maintaining his connection with Matt Long, DeCaro sought his assistance once again in the formation of his subsequent musical ensemble To a Science. This was a four-member, progressive rock band with DeCaro retaining his role as the chief songwriter and de facto leader of the group as they created their sole EP Why Stop Now.[7]
At the age of 20, DeCaro moved to Los Angeles and studied jazz guitar at Cal State University, Northridge.[8] He landed a job bartending at the Viper Room and soon began booking shows and performing weekly there. It was on the Viper Room's stage that he first played with Erykah Badu at an impromptu jam session, which ultimately set him off on a course of RnB, soul, and urban music.[9]
He met DJ Skee and became Skee's house guitarist, later playing, recording, and producing for Snoop Dogg, The Game, Ice Cube, and others.[4] He then led a 10-piece band and hosted a weekly jam at the nearby House of Blues, doing so for two years until he started touring heavily.[10]
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