My solo career was a long time coming. I started writing songs when I was 13 for my little middle school rock band. From then on songwriting was something I always did. For every project I’ve been involved with I’ve done some writing in one way or another. All throughout those years playing in different groups I secretly dreamed of putting out my own music under my own name and leading a band. But my lack of self confidence got in the way of that dream. Even with all the songwriting I did for projects with other people I was never really sure what I had written was any good, it took other musicians telling me they liked what I had done for me to even consider using my songs with a group.
When 2020 came around, like every other musician, my performance work stopped dead in its tracks. With a big unknown future in front of me and a lot more free time than I was used to, I just started writing songs. Initially this songwriting was just for my own enjoyment and a way to kill time. Like the writing I did earlier, this work was more or less my own private thing. As the year went by I started spending more and more time writing, more than I ever had before. Themes started to emerge and my own peculiar little style started to come out. Every part of the work I had done up to this point – my jazz training, my time playing emo and indie rock, and my interest in music from the late 60’s and early 70’s – coexisted together in a really exciting way. I still wasn’t sure if any of it was good, but I was really enjoying the work and getting really deep into something new.
In the spring of 2021 I mustered up the courage to share these songs with my longtime friend and collaborator Whit Fineberg with the intent of recording a few of them together. To my surprise, after listening to all my demos he told me he thought there was a whole album there! We then went into the long process of making a record. With the help of a bunch of music friends in Michigan, we recorded in the fall of 2021 and mixed and mastered the project in early 2022. The resulting record, Don’t Cry, was released on May 6th 2022.
After releasing my record, I’ve had the opportunity and pleasure to share and perform my songs in Michigan as well as in my current home of Asheville. Some performance highlights are playing the 2022 Third Place Musicfest, making video performances for the Asheville based Seed&Stone, performing numerous times at Golden Folk (formerly Open Folk), participating in the 2024 WNC Hurricane Helene benefit concert Rock for Relief, and performing live on 103.3FM, Asheville’s community radio station.
Currently I am preparing to release a new single recorded last fall, as well as a collaborative EP with two of my favorite songwriters in Asheville. Both are slated for release in 2025!
