Judging by the picture of me as a toddler, it would seem apparent that I was influenced by music from an early age. I grew up listening to the Rock-N-Roll of the 60’s-70’s. My dad was a drummer in a band and also played acoustic guitar.
When I first began my music journey, being a songwriter hadn’t crossed my mind. Aside from the toy guitar of my humble toddler beginnings, my first stint playing a real guitar was relatively short lived. My dad had an acoustic guitar and I enjoyed listening to him play. He tried to teach me how to play, but at the time I didn’t really have the hand strength to hold the strings down when trying to make chords. That didn’t make for an enjoyable experience so I gave up on that first go-around.
In my early teens, my dad bought me a Fender Telecaster and a Peavy tube amp. That made all the difference in the world! Now I was able to actually press the strings to the fretboard without much effort. That makes for a much better learning and playing experience. Between my dad and a few friends showing me showing me how to play chords, riffs, songs, and how to read tablature, I was on my way in becoming a guitarist.
While I certainly enjoyed playing rock riffs on the electric guitar, I felt something was missing for me. I also enjoyed singing, but the fact of the matter was that I didn’t feel that I could sing along with other bands and artists that I enjoyed listening to. Believe me, I tried singing along. There’s a reason I’ve never taken part in Karaoke. Then, at some point it dawned on me! If I write my own songs, I can just sing however I sing and I won’t have to try to sound like anyone else. I can just be me. So, I found myself circling back to the acoustic guitar and the songwriting days began.
As far as music is concerned; I don’t care about what is currently popular, what the current trends are, because those are constantly changing and they always will be. What I mean by this is that I have never tried to create music based on what I think people want to hear, or to copy what is popular. I care about what is true and real for me. That is what I want to share. Keeping it simple is what seems to work for me and that’s what I enjoy; just strumming a guitar and singing about life.
I realize my style isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But for those of you who enjoy sipping along with me, thank you.