Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Homebase: Santa Barbara, CA

Why is your album called Bury Me In Philly?

I was born and raised in Philly, spent most of my life there. In 2013 I moved out to California, and experienced homesickness, culture shock, a lot of joy, and a new found pride in where I am from. Philly is like religion. You can grow up, leave, and if you want to, deny it, but at the end of the day it’s always in your blood and always will shape who you are.

Did you have a specific songwriting process for it?

Any way it happens, I try. It’s not one set thing, but the most common is a snippet of melody hits, and I record a scratch version of it. I collect random quotes, ideas, concepts and such for lyrics and then later, try to figure out what fits best. It’s often sort of like a trip around the junk yard. “Oh, that door might look nice on that car, or maybe this carburetor would run well on this old pickup.” Then it’s trial and error, editing and refinement.

The album is supposed to be a tribute to your musical heroes. Who are they?

There are so many. Patty Griffin, Conor Oberst, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Dolly Parton, Joe Strummer, Leonard Cohen, Jenny Lewis…too many to really name. I find it inspiring when my favorite writers put it all out on the page in a way that is unique and succinct to their vision. I love hearing the singularity of each of their voices come through.

You’ve been in a bunch of bands … what’s the wildest thing a fan has ever done for you?

There have been many strange encounters, but thankfully my fans sort of understand my story, where and what I’m from, and know that I’m not really busy with much nonsense. There has been EXTREME circumstances where fans have been financially very benevolent, which is super crazy. Random gifts, cash, overpaying for records and shirts, it has really run the gamut.

What about crazy Myspace stories? You must have one.

Well when my old band The Loved Ones was gaining steam, someone made up a personal MySpace page for me, which was super weird and really creepy. We had to get the MySpace police involved to shut it down, they were putting up weird shit. That was for sure the first moment I realized how new, weird and wild social media truly is.

Do you have a big 2017 goal?

Balance. I have so much going on, so much to be thankful for, so much work ahead. The key is to smell the roses, to treat people honorably, maintain gratitude and humility, and do my damnedest to kick ass. That’s how you honor the opportunities that are given to you.

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