He took up formal drum instruction at age 10 and began studying jazz two years later, citing the workof masters like Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones and Roy Haynes as early influences.
Steven Wyner's client, Deborah Porter, asked the Manhattan Beach district (south of Santa Monica) to give her fourth-grade son extra reading instruction and work on his socializing skills. (He would later be diagnosed with autism.) She won an administrative ruling requiring the district to provide them.