The Poptimist began playing bass at age 13 after a friend, who was playing "American Idiot" by Green Day, told him he’d have to play bass if they were going to form a band because, as his friend put it, "there can’t be two guitar players in a band." Since then, he’s become a dedicated sideman for various artists and an accomplished producer, with bass credits on sessions for bands like Violet Moons, Norfleet, and Kirk Morrow Jr., as well as his own musical projects.

A self-proclaimed "flatwound supremacist," The Poptimist prefers Fender Basses strung with LaBella Flatwound strings, firmly believing that true bassists play flatwounds—roundwound players, he says, are simply closeted string benders.