Stuermer was born on November 27, 1952 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He cites his elder brother of two years, also a musician, who introduced him to music by Elvis Presley and Ray Charles. As a youngster he became a fan of the instrumental rock band The Ventures, which "really got me going". He began to play the guitar at age eleven, and moved into jazz guitar four years later. In 1970, Stuermer graduated from St. Francis High School in St. Francis, Wisconsin.\n', 'In the early 1970s, Stuermer formed his Milwaukee-based jazz rock band Sweetbottom, playing local gigs five nights a week. It was during one of these gigs in 1975 that keyboardist George Duke, then of The Mothers of Invention with Frank Zappa, was in attendance after being on stage with the group and liked Stuermer\'s playing. Duke then suggested his name to jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, who was looking for a guitarist to join his own band. After a successful audition, Stuermer became a full time member and is featured on three of their albums released between 1975 and 1977: Aurora, Imaginary Voyage, and Enigmatic Ocean.\n', 'In addition to Ponty, he played on Duke\'s solo albums I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry and Liberated Fantasies.\n', '

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