Can you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your musical journey and background?
Except for my time at college, I have lived my entire life in Indiana. I’d say I had a pretty normal upbringing. I’ve been fortunate to have a stable family and decent education. But, growing up in the suburbs in the 1970s left me curious about what else might be out there in the world. Music opened that door for me. I became intrigued with music and bands when I was in junior high school.
As a kid, I had been familiar with my older sister’s records and my parents had a few records that I recall liking. My mother played the piano. But in junior high, I discovered something deeper and perhaps more personal in songs I was hearing on the radio. I would imagine it was the expression of personal freedom that coincided with my own growing up process. I learned guitar around this time. By the time I was out of college I played in a band with my cousin. He was one of the few people I knew that even played a guitar. It seems crazy now, but back then, there were just not as many young people that played the guitar. He was a Beatles fan and even wrote his own songs. He was a big influence on me at that time.
I pursued a career in graphic design, which had its own connections to music through album cover art. And through design, I met another songwriter whom I played with for several years. Around 2000, I recorded my first solo album and met bluesman, Gordon Bonham. We started our side project called The Brains Behind Pa. I’ve continued to make records under my name with various musicians as well as with The Brains Behind Pa. It’s probably accurate to say that I’m more of a recording artist than a performing artist, although I do play gigs. I just seem to have more desire to write and record new material than I do to play any old gig that comes along. Writing, recording, and playing are all satisfying, though. Each in a different way.
Who are some of your biggest musical influences, and how have they shaped your sound and style?
In terms of songwriting, there are many influences. The two most important are Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. They are not unique by any means. In fact, it’s easy to take them both for granted because they are so well known, but I could not overstate my admiration for them. They continue to inspire me to this day in many ways. Dylan’s biggest influence on me is his use of language and the fact that his lyrics are so incredibly visual. McCartney’s influence is his ability to constantly create new songs that don’t sound similar to any of his previous songs. That is not and an easy thing to do, especially when you’ve written as many songs as he has.
And both Dylan and McCartney have continued to create and continued to change even into old age. They are so impressive to me.
Can you share a specific artist or album that has had a significant impact on your music?
As I mentioned above, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney have had a tremendous impact on how I approach songwriting, recording and just creativity in general.
There are so many songs that I liked when discovering artists, bands and albums for the first time. I remember Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run album being really amazing—especially the title track. When it goes into the section with the “The rain exploded with a mighty crash as we fell into the sun…” just seemed like such an indescribable expression of freedom to me at the time. Still does, actually. A bit later, Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks album was a real eye-opener for me. The song “Tangled Up in Blue” was like nothing I’d ever heard. It was like hearing a whole new world for the first time, as was “Idiot Wind.”
What’s your creative process like when you’re composing or writing a new song?
Musically-speaking, I try to find new and interesting elements: melody, chords, instruments, sounds, rhythms, etc., that might open up an area to explore and go somewhere I haven’t been before. Sometimes I’ll write in a different guitar tuning. That’s one way to find something new and interesting.
In terms of lyrics, like many writers, I keep a notebook of quotes or phrases that I may have heard or have come up with myself. Quotes are a good inspiration, since they tend to boil a concept down to a sentence or two. History is full of things to write about and of course, personal experience is as well. So, there are a lot of places to find topics to explore. For me, the subject has to mean something. Even if it’s humorous or tongue-in-cheek, I need to connect with it on some level or else I have no interest in pursuing it.
Most of my songs start out on the guitar. Occasionally, the piano, but mainly acoustic guitar.
Among all the songs you’ve created, do you have a personal favorite? If so, what makes it special to you?
I don’t have one favorite, although I do think certain songs are better than others or mean more to me than others do. I think “In a Flying Dream” turned out pretty well.
Can you share the story or inspiration behind that particular song?
“In a Flying Dream” is a song with a pretty simple idea. It uses the experience of “flying dreams”—those dreams we have where we feel like we are actually flying—to express hope about how the world could or should be. Lyrically, it starts off with somewhat universal ideas about how history might have been different if… and ends with a more personal reference to a failed relationship. So, it’s kind of nice to express some wishful thinking about both a better world and a better personal relationship in the same song. I was always fond of the line, “In a flying dream, Custer was a poet.” I think that expresses a lot about the American destruction of Native Americans and our unfortunate overuse of war to solve problems, as well as our lack of emphasis on more meaningful things in our culture, like the arts.
Let’s talk about your latest song. What’s the title, and what’s the story or message behind it?
I’ve just released a couple of live performance videos. They are not new songs, but the performances are pretty recent. One of the songs is called “Postcards from Where the Wild Things Are.” That song was inspired by a trip to the American Northwest and Glacier National Park, specifically. Glacier, to me, is a magical place. Not in a “pull a rabbit out of a hat,” magic, but magical in a profound and spiritual sense.
The song is ultimately about finding a true home in the wilderness. It’s about discovering the profound beauty and sense of place in nature and the realization that you both physically and spiritually belong there. Some of the imagery in the song was inspired by an incredible hike along the Highline Trail in the park.
Share a memorable or unique experience from one of your live performances.
There was a tour of the Northwest that I did a few years back with my cello-playing buddy, Grover Parido. We performed in British Columbia, Canada, which had always been a dream of mine. We did a show at the Lake McDonald lodge in Glacier National Park. To play certain songs in that incredible place that inspired them meant a lot to me. We also had a private concert on that same tour, on the shore of Lake Pend d’Oreille in Sandpoint, Idaho—an absolutely beautiful day and a gorgeous location—where, right when I was introducing “Postcards from Where the Wild Things Are,” describing the experience of seeing a hawk circling below us on the trail, someone in the audience interrupted me and said, “Look!” Flying right behind us, just above the surface of the lake was a bald eagle. Synchronicity at its best. When a specific physical experience with nature intersects with a song of mine about that very same specific thing, right as we’re playing it, that’s pretty special.
Beyond music, do you have any hobbies or interests that you’re passionate about? How do they influence your music?
Hiking is probably the main one. Nature finds its way into a lot of my songs.
Is there a dream collaboration you’d like to pursue in the future?
I think it would be interesting to perform a selection of my songs with acoustic guitar accompanied by only string instruments. It wouldn’t need to be a full orchestra— a small ensemble would be enough. Rearrange the songs and see what happens to them in that format. I know that’s been done, but it seems like it would be quite exciting.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are just starting their journey in the music industry?
I think I’d be the last person to ask for advice about the music industry. But, in terms of approach to music and creativity, I would say, stay true to yourself, but be willing to make some adjustments. If you can be flexible without compromising your integrity, you’ll most likely be more satisfied with what you do and create.
Can you give us a sneak peek into any upcoming projects or new music you have in the works? What can your fans and listeners look forward to from you in the near future?
My side project/band, The Brains Behind Pa is finishing a new album—our first since 2016—that we plan to release late this summer. We have recorded enough material for another two records that will follow that one. So, I’ll be finishing those two albums. We also have a lot of “fly on the wall” video from those sessions that I’m compiling into a series of very short video “snippets,” as we’re calling them. They’re just casual clips that I hope people will find fun and interesting. So, those will be going up on YouTube sometime this spring. I’ve also got a small tour set up for July out in the American Northwest with Grover Parido on cello. We both love playing in that area. And of course, I’ll be stopping into Glacier National Park while I’m in the area. Who knows what new inspiration waits for me there!