Hometown: Forestville, California

How would you describe your music to people who had never heard it before? For someone who has never been to one of your shows, what can they expect from you as a performer?  

It’s always hard to describe music to people who have never heard the music before.  But I like to call the music that I write as singer/songwriter, rowdy Americana, folk/rock music.   And that’s what I would say the shows are like.  I really like to tell stories, and I try to do that in song and on stage.  The shows that I like to put on get pretty rowdy, and yet also have mellow more intimate moments where I play a melancholy song or two.   I just like to share my songs and stories with people and have a really good time.  

After being introduced to the work of John Prine, why did you decide to leave school to pursue your dreams? What do you think would have been different had you continued your schooling while still maintaining an active interest in music?  

At the time I was at Berklee in Boston, I was studying film-scoring, since previously, I had been writing more cinematic piano music.  But after hearing John Prine’s music for the first time, it resonated with me so strongly that it felt like I had just found out what I truly wanted to do.  I wanted to be a singer/songwriter/Americana artist. I also figured that I could go back to school at a later date, but I needed to do the Americana thing right then.  

Who are some of your other musical influences? What aspects of their music drew you to them and in what ways did they inspire you?

Man, I have listened to a lot of different music over the years, from Mr. Bungle, to Radiohead, to John Prine, to Fourtet, to Ryan Adams, to James Blake, and I can’t help but think that everything I have listened to has had an affect on my music in some way.  But to be more specific, aside from John Prine, my main other influences have been Ryan Adams, Blaze Foley, Townes Van Zandt, and Devil Makes Three.  I think the musicality of Ryan Adams, is what influences me with most with him.  I love the arrangements that he has and how they tie in to the lyrics and the range from mellow singer/songwriter to rock n roller in his songs.  Blaze Foley’s lyrics really move me.  I guess, the main thing that inspires me from the artists that are influential to me is that they create music that moves me.  I get super inspired by music that moves me; music that strongly makes me feel a certain way.  

Many songs are written based on past and current relationships with people. How are you personally inspired by your interactions, past and present?

I think there is nothing more real and honest than stories in your own life.   I like to draw from stories in my own life because I can connect with them the most.  It feels weird and wrong to write a song that I myself don’t connect with.  Even if the song is fictional, there is usually a bit of it that is inspired by events in my life or interactions I’ve had, or things that I have witnessed.  

What's the songwriting process like?

Usually, when I write a song, it starts with the guitar or piano, then I proceed to sing and mumble along with it to get the music part of the song.  Sometimes, some of that mumbling will actually produce a line and from there I write the lyrics around that line.  Other times, I just write the lyrics to the song that replace the mumble.  It’s funny, I have shown these mumble songs to different people, before the lyrics have been written, and the non-lyric listeners who focus on the music, like it, but the lyrical focused listeners tell me they don’t get it, and wish that I would annunciate more.  

How did you go about formulating your own unique sound?

I’ve delved into a lot of different kinds of music throughout my life, ranging from electronic music, and hip-hop beats, to cinematic pieces, to strange experimental rock bands, and then finally to Americana singer/songwriter folk rock music.   Americana music resonated with me so immensely, and I felt like I could be more honest and really be myself in this genre. 

Let’s talk about your new album Restless. The title implies a state of mental or emotional distress — what’s the story behind it and the songs you’ve selected for it? How does it differ from your previous bodies of work?

The title Restless came about because I think it totally captures the elements and themes that are in this record.   And to be honest, it wasn’t necessarily planned, it just worked out that way.  The songs were chosen by my producer Karl Derfler and myself.   The one thing we both didn’t want to do, was to create a record where all the songs were very similar.  So we picked the songs to go on this record that we agreed were the best songs and also had enough variety to them.   It was a work in progress.  The songs were chosen as we went along and while they had to be different, we did choose songs that I think went well together.  And in the end, I think one of the main reasons the songs fit together, was because there were some underlying themes that, in some way, tied all the songs together.   

Tell us about one of the your favorite/most memorable performances.

One of my favorite performances that I’ve ever seen was watching Todd Snider play at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma.  He is one of the best storytellers I have ever heard and so incredibly funny that he makes two hours fly by like a snap of the fingers!  

In the music industry, there tends to be an understandable excitement that sometimes becomes entitlement for instant gratification.  What impact do you feel starting small with open mic nights, playing local shows eventually touring had on your present day successes? 

It’s all been an awesome learning experience for me.  I have learned a ton over the years that I have been doing this career and to think if I had had immediate huge success when I first started out, I think it would have been a disaster.  I really enjoy the build.  I think you learn a lot more and it feels more rewarding to reach each of those next steps. 

Now that you’ve had multiple songs featured on television, what's next for you in 2017?  

My plan for 2017 is to tour like crazy, play everywhere I possibly can, and promote this new record!

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