You
have played in a number of bands, what is it like to craft your own song versus
doing it with a group?
So many things happen to us in
life that we are forced to deal with, that we have no control over. When
I write a song, I feel a sense of control and ownership. I’m building a refuge
where I can rest comfortably. Whether it’s in nostalgia or the excitement of
the unwritten future, it’s the one part of my life in which I can decide
how it ends. A blank page and a vague melody can be the start to something that
justifies an experience, gives us hope, or lets us appreciate what we have
become and how it came to be. From whatever angle, I find it very
empowering.
You
called your solo debut, “Now is the Time,” is this for any other reason aside
from going solo and doing it on your own?
I spent a lot of time in
Ecuador over the course of a couple of years. In retrospect, I realize
that it was an intermission that I granted myself in a time of my life that I
was still trying to figure out where I should be and what I should be doing.
My final trip there ended with me on a boat in the jungle asking myself “what
now?” I realized that the novelty of this escape had worn off and I should go
home and do the one thing I know how to do. Make music. It wasn’t long until I
decided to move to Los Angeles.
What
is it like to finally be working on your own album?
The album happened
accidentally, in a way. After Ecuador, and a few months in a camper van
in Washington State, I went to live with my father in Atlanta. He has a
beautiful grand piano in his home and I spent a few months playing it.
All day, every day. I had been a hired-gun guitar player for years and it was a
new adventure for me. It became my preferred instrument for writing. I
decided to demo some very loose song ideas on that piano before leaving to LA.
While struggling through my first few months in a new town, I listened to those
demos and started working out some lyrics, then writing arrangements for other
instruments. Eventually, I thought, “This could be something.” So I flew
back to Atlanta once everything was written and enlisted the help of some very
talented players I knew from my time there. To this day, I am still
baffled that it ever came together, and so thankful for those who helped me do
it. There is no feeling, that I have yet to know, that rivals the sheer
thrill of hearing a finished recording that had started as an idea in my head
months, maybe years before.
Like
most singer/songwriters, your songs are autobiographical, if there was one
track you would say defines you the most, which would it be and why?
"Came back home” is about a
three-month period I spent living around Bellingham, Washington. It was there,
in a camper van parked in the town of Glacier, at the base of Mount Baker, that
I wrote some of my first lyrics. These songs come from late nights in the
woods looking back on where I had been, who I had known and left behind, and
where I wanted to go. Most of the record deals with this idea of being
old enough to realize some of your mistakes and young enough to want more, to
still have the strength to go out on a limb and take a chance. All of the
songs on the record are somehow related to those feelings.
How
would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard of you before?
I spent eight years playing in
bands around the southeast. My music is definitely influenced by
traditional southern sounds, especially New Orleans style jazz, blues, and
gospel. The songs are all auto-biographical and I really try to represent
the feeling of the place where those particular stories happened. The end
result is somewhere between rolling New Orleans R&B and cinematic pop. My
approach to the instrumentation is very much influenced by singer songwriters
of the early 70's. I had grown tired of the rock band format and opted
for more full orchestration, utilizing both horn and string sections.
Who
are some of your influences?
Harry Nilsson. Early Randy
Newman. Early Elton John. I love debut albums. In my opinion, a lot
of my favorite artists (mostly 70's singer/songwriters) did some of their best
work, in their first few records. They seem more honest, more raw, before
the record companies got too involved. They focused on a lot of cinematic
arrangements, more orchestral stuff. I have taken a lot from some of
those records and on "Now is the Time" I really tried to capture some
of what made that era such a special time for songwriters.
Most
piano driven singer/songwriters always get lumped into the category of Billy
Joel, Elton, Ben Folds, etc, how do you differ from that particular style? How
has it influenced you, if it has?
I love being a piano man. We
are a rare breed these days. Though there are few of us, we are not all the
same. The piano is simply a tool for us as songwriters. For me, it is the
most effective tool. I can play a guitar backwards and front, but by
design, it does not offer the range or flexibility in attack that I need to
fully express a lot of ideas. Yes, its at times awkward to sit onstage
with a piano or electric piano, and does not allow one to rock out and dance
around like a maniac, but thats not what I'm trying to do. I am inviting
you in to hear a story, to tell you about something that happened. Because
stuff happens to us everyday and if we can talk about it, it makes us feel
better.
Being
based in LA, how has the city influenced your work?
While a lot of the first
record is retrospective, my recent work is more about the future. Through
writing and recording "Now is the Time" I reached a certain sense of
closure with the wild, young adventures of my early twenties and am thinking
more and more about what the future holds. The songs I am writing now are
based around a sense of optimism in a new chapter, in a new place.
You
come from Indiana and then moved to LA, did the shift in atmosphere change you
as an artist?
This is where I first
considered myself an artist, not just a musician. LA is a place that people
come to looking for something better. I came looking for a better me, to write
better songs, to try myself out in this swamp of dreams, in a place where all the
craziest people from every small town in America have come to compete in a kind
of Mad Max Thunderdome. Growing up in Indiana, moving to Atlanta, and then
finally settling into California have all given me a lot. But Los Angeles is by
far the most inspiring environment I have yet to experience. I have a feeling I
will be staying here for a while.
What prompted the
move to LA?
For some reason, I thought
that by moving to a new place I would be able to escape the tings that had held
me back. I realized though, where ever you go you are there with
yourself. There is nowhere you can run from your own limitations. It was
good for me to finally realize this as I had tried to run before. This
realization, paired with the insanity of LA (make no mistake, it’s an F-ing
circus out here) has really influenced my writing.
Bringing out a certain honesty
that I was not emotionally equipped top express before being humbled by this
strange oasis by the sea.
Even though you are
working on your debut, does an artist like yourself still write songs that
could appear on that record or be held for another time down the line?
I am writing everyday.
Trying to let songs breathe on their own without shaping them into this idea of
how I should sound and how I should present myself. The songs dictate who you
are. The truth will come through, but you have to let it. I am always
trying to get more honest with myself by not trying so hard.
What is next for you
this year?
I have a killer group of players
who are doing the live stuff with me. We will be keeping pretty busy in and
around LA for a while. In the studio, I am working on an EP that will be
somewhat different than the full length. We are recording it on a Fender
Rohdes, whereas ‘Now is the Time’ was done all on a grand piano. Instead of
full instrumentation (strings, horns, rhythm section) the new songs will be a
lot more bare bones. They will each feature one accompanying instrument,
instead of a whole section. I have enlisted the help of some close
friends who work more in the electronic music world and we are toying with some
underlying soundscapes, atmospheric stuff. I love the idea of combining
traditional songwriting with more modern electronic elements (or as my
collaborators call it, IDM, intelligent dance music.)