The Man Behind the Music

As a musician I am more than just the songs I put out. I am a lifetime collection of thoughts and experiences that occasionally reflects in the rhythm and lyrics of my music. Today I’m going to share some of my history and inspiration so you can see the man behind the music.

I’ve been singing for a long time. It all started when I was doing demo recordings off of a Windows 95. Glamorous, I know, but we all start from somewhere, right? I even remember 4-track cassette tapes. It’s been a while! I’ve been playing the guitar for longer than I’ve been singing, but I wasn’t always consistent with it until a few years ago. I also play the flute, bass guitar, upright, banjo, some lap steel, and mandolin. Some instruments are more aspirational like harmonica and piano, but I try. If I had to pick a favorite though I’d go with the banjo since it improved my guitar playing the most.

I always knew that I waned to be a professional musician, but I’ve come to realize that I had the right dream with the wrong genre. I used to play a lot of rock type music.  I made a professional demo and even released an album through Amazon music, but I never felt settled in rock or indie stuff.

Country music on the other hand, it just got me. Country has a longing for home and hardship, and some drinking and heartache. It’s a story I can tell. I started to realize this back in 2013 when I got an upright bass. Then I got a mandolin, and then a banjo, and I was pretty much hooked after that. I learned to play some blue-grassy gypsy jazz type stuff and later came to start jamming with a fiddler and a lap steel player.

Years later, in 2017, my calling was clear. The dark stuff I was writing before just wasn’t me. So I started a 3 piece country western band, Trainchaser. The project was short lived, but was it fun! My drummer left for Nashville, but I still had my dreams. Between shifts I’d sit in the car and practice guitar, write songs, and work on my repertoire. I’d do with a smile on my face every time because I knew I was getting closer to living my dream.

But now I’ve done enough dreaming and I’m ready to start living. I’ve had some setbacks this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I’m still ready to go.

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Stay country folks!

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