Poetic, poignant, and emotionally stirring, MC, producer, bassist, and drummer gNotes (pronounced only as "notes") was driven to make music by the explosion of grunge in the early '90s while growing up in Seattle. Born Sean Dwyer, the talented musician first began playing acoustic guitar when he was ten years old, subsequently adding bass and drums to his repertoire as he joined various punk and garage bands throughout middle and high school. Hip-hop became his preferred choice for musical expression, however, as soon as G-funk was ushered into the pop mainstream by its architect, and one of Dwyer's influences, Dr. Dre. Around the turn of the new millennium, Dwyer went off to Boston College initially to play football. Firmly planting himself in the local hip-hop and spoken word scenes, he became more interested in pursuing music and literature, graduating in 2004 with a degree in education. During his senior year, he crossed paths with another student, Canyon Cody, who was searching for an up-and-coming recording artist to start up a record label, and almost immediately the two set up Gnawledge Records. The label's first release, Broken Spoke (2004), was gNotes' debut album, which he issued under his real name. Playing live bass and drums while still showcasing his skills on the MPC, he reappeared in 2006 with the instrumental work Inthrumental, followed by the more proper LP, Rhymes and Beats, in 2007. ~ Cyril Cordor