And a little about me..

I come from a long line of musicians. A family immersed in music. Our house was filled with the sound of harmony and song. Family gatherings were a concert in the hills of WVA and later on.. the Foothills of NC, where I make my home these days...

My grandma sat me down with a mandolin when I was around 6, I guess. It was the first instrument I learned to play anything on. But the drums - well those intrigued me. Watching my uncle's hardcore Country Western Swing band play and seeing how the drummer lead the band from the back - I was hooked and determined to learn to PLAY.  I turned 13 on Friday the 13th and played my first gig that night. I didn't miss a weekend until I was 21.

I grew up on Country, but really with music so many things are woven into each other - blues, country, jazz.  While I was playing Country, I was also listening to and playing, anything from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Van Halen.. I just dug it all.

My earliest influence is the Beatles. My mom would sing those tunes often. I wasn't really sure who they were (early on)  but I knew the words through her singing. Radney Foster, Tab Boniot, Eric Clapton, Freddie King, The Eagles and contemporaries the likes of Gary Clark Jr and Warren Haynes have all shaped my versatile sound. Music moves me.  Hell, I even named my son after a Gibson guitar!!!

As I've grown older, more life behind me..more perspective and experiences... I've come to appreciate and enjoy many other aspects of music, other genre's that I maybe didn't appreciate nor had been exposed to as much when younger... those experiences and the people who have crossed my path.. all have informed and influenced me, my sound, my approach... and are woven all through this album.

There's a power..a feeling in music that's difficult to find in other things... it's just... well... powerful..