When I tell people I’m a singer songwriter, most ask what instrument I play. When I say “piano” they usually respond with “Wow! How cool… where did you study?” Restraining a smile, I explain that I play by ear and that piano is more of a songwriting tool for me. Truth is, I never set out to be this flashy musician who can fall into pocket with any band and dazzle everyone. I only know a handful of chords, and from that humble knowledge I write songs. That was my goal…my calling, really…to be a songwriter.

Growing up in Hannibal, Missouri my musical influences came through FM radio and MTV. Even at an early age I had an obsessive appreciation for the “hits”. It didn’t matter if it was classic rock, bubble gum pop or country…if it was catchy I was drawn to listen...and I listened intently to everything. By the time I was 14 my record collection included everything from Elton John to Olivia Newton John; Hank Williams to Waylon Jennings; Jackson Browne to Led Zepplin. But the bulk of my vinyl and time was devoted to Fleetwood Mac. I’m talking serious time commitments in my bedroom listening Rumours, Tusk and later Bella Donna. In retrospect, I was indeed educating myself. I recognized in Stevie Nicks’ lyrics a timeless mysticism…her lyrics even looked like art…like fragile lace across the glossy inserts. And then there was Tom Petty, Dan Fogelberg, The Eagles…not just extraordinary bands, but extraordinary songwriters.

It was the sheer power of music that seduced me. I had come to understand that it wasn’t necessarily the rockstar that made a song a hit…it was the other way around. I sensed that there was more to music than meets the eye, or should I say, the ear. I had an awakening. I recognized that music played a part in ritual and ceremony across every spiritual tradition and every century since the dawn of man. One could argue that there are thousands if not millions of songs for every single human emotion…every human situation, all the Gods and Goddess’, all the animals seen and unseen, every plant, every color, all the seasons, days of the week, every month, the Earth, moon and stars, all the planets, lovers and enemies, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, children and grandchildren. Through my awakening I found myself longing to be conduit for song. Dad bought me a piano when I was 17. Mom taught me how to play it. I wrote my first song the next day.

After high school I moved to Austin, Texas. In an environment nutrient rich for musicians, I took formative steps that lead to a thriving life in music. I’ve shared the bill with Amy Ray, Bob Schneider, Ruthie Foster, Sara Hickman and the late Stephen Bruton to name a few. My first two CD’s, Out of the Silence and Ghost Stories won me the following praise from Billboard: “heartfelt acoustic rock that conjures immediate images of Counting Crows, Jackson Browne and James Taylor”. My song Someone in Austin came in at #2 on Austin’s MAJIC 95.5 Top 20 Countdown for 2002. Of course I’ve showcased at the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin and the International Folk Alliance Conference in Montreal and Memphis. My latest CD release Color of Rain is, to me anyway, my highest creative achievement to date. In terms of production, it’s the CD I’ve always wanted to make. Beyond that, some of my best music is on this disk. It was designed to be a long play album…a musical journey, like the albums I listened to growing up. On a more ethereal level, Color of Rain resonates with people deeply. I’ve gotten emails from total strangers telling me the CD helped them through difficult times. I had a woman in the airport come up to me with tears in her eyes saying “thank you for Angel Falls” (track 2 on Color of Rain).

And in all this experience I’ve come to yet another realization, or perhaps a reevaluation. Great music doesn’t always lead super stardom…it is, however, a path to the stars. This is why I’ve moved to Santa Fe…where art inhabits a more sacred space… where art is a life force with a deeper reason for being. I feel I belong here, and that this new chapter in my musical life will unfold in ways previously unexplored and unimagined.

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