Can you share your musical journey with us, from when you first discovered your passion for music to where you are today as an independent musician?
I grew up listening to Country music from the classics, to Outlaw Country, to Neo-traditional. My first memory of wanting to make music was watching my dad’s friend, Benny Dean, and his band The Black Jacks. The fiddle player and Benny’s singing really got me. I learned to play guitar watching my dad, and took violin lessons in elementary school through high school.
I played fiddle for a short time with a country band as a teenager. When the lead singer got the call for Nashville, I decided to stay home and marry my high school sweetheart rather than move to Nashville and live that life on the road. My wife and I put down roots and raised three children. During the lockdown, my daughter convinced me to post videos of some of my songs and covers.
One day during the lockdown, I found an old safe box I had as a teenager. I surprisingly remembered the combination, and found a bunch of notes my wife and I had sent each other in high school. One read, “I know you’re going to make it in Nashville, and you’re going to take me on tour with you.” After all those years, I’d nearly forgotten that dream.
Those first few videos got a great response. Combined with that note I found, I decided to share my love of Country Music and began posting videos every night of originals and covers. The next thing I knew, I was getting the call from Nashville, we made an album, and have made two more since.
What motivates you to create music, and how do you stay inspired to continue making new and unique music?
I absolutely love writing songs and creating music. It just comes naturally. Life in general is what inspires me. I think there is beauty in everything around us that can be turned into a song; it’s just a matter of finding the right wording and melody. Playing music heals and relaxes me. So, it is really therapeutic. Playing live or just getting responses from listeners of recorded music just adds to the satisfaction of making music.
As an independent musician, you wear many hats – from composing to marketing. How do you balance these different aspects of your career, and what challenges do you face in the process?
I would much rather just concentrate on making the music. The challenges I face are in self-promotion. I don’t like doing that, at all. I am still amazed that people like my music and hearing me sing. So, creating marketing or calling to promote myself is very hard for me. Forget about recording videos and posting to social media. That is so out of character and taxing for me. But, I do it and know it must be done. I’m just not very good at it, and the budget doesn’t allow for me to pay someone to do it!
Could you tell us about your creative process? How do you come up with new ideas for songs, and how do you go about turning those ideas into finished tracks?
Songs usually just come to me. Most of the time, they start with a single word or phrase. If it gets stuck in my head, I’m going to write a song about it, eventually. Some songs come like lightning. Others take a long time.
My idea for the song, “Frog Eye Mud Bog”, came to me over thirty years ago. I always thought Frog Eye Road sounded like a Country song. Then, I found out about the Frog Eye Mud Bog, and knew there was something there. I just couldn’t get the rest of the song. One day, while recording my first album, the song just came to me. I wrote the whole thing in one sitting while Chris Condon was laying guitar tracks for another song.
Once I get the poetry down, I figure out the melody and chord progression that works, make some tweaks to the phrasing, and record a demo to send to my producer, Dr. Ford. Once we get it all charted out, the studio musicians come in and we play with the sound and further tweak it, but that usually only takes an hour or two to get the nearly finished product. After I lay down vocals, we may add some more instrumentation, but it’s done.
Independent musicians often face financial challenges. How do you manage your finances to sustain your music career while also covering your personal expenses?
I wish I could say I’d figured that one out. I do have another job in I.T. I try to keep those separate. Music is its own business and needs to pay for itself. When it doesn’t, I can’t afford to make more music in the studio. Folks buying music, streaming music, and hiring me to play gigs is the only way I can make more music in the studio.
Can you share a particularly memorable or challenging experience from your journey as a musician that has had a significant impact on your career and personal growth?
I have been lucky, and waived to get into the business part of music until I am older and wiser. The challenging experiences I face are all monetary. Folks contact me all the time that want to do something to help for thousands of dollars, and promise the moon.
The other challenge is venues that don’t want to pay a decent rate. I’m not going to play for free or take a loss. So, I don’t play as much as I could, but it’s not fair to musicians to accept these ridiculous rates places offer. I have to pay for musicians, equipment, and transportation.
I can see a lot of younger folks and a younger me falling for these schemes and low rates to play in front of people.
With the rise of digital platforms, the music industry has changed significantly. How do you navigate the digital landscape, including streaming services and social media, to promote your music and connect with your audience?
The digital world affords me the opportunity to make and share my music with an audience that I would never have reached. I wouldn’t even be on this journey without the advancements in digital streaming and social media. My music is played around the world on streaming platforms and terrestrial radio stations, because I can distribute digitally to nearly every country in the world.
My fan base is global, and I owe it all to digital streaming and social media. So, I spend as much time as I can sharing and communicating with folks through social media. I’m no social influencer and should do a lot more, but I wouldn’t use any of it if it weren’t for my music. I love getting messages and seeing my music played all over the country and the world.
Collaboration is a key part of the music industry. Have you worked with other musicians or producers, and how have these collaborations influenced your sound and career?
I work with great folks in Nashville who have really influenced me to push myself further. These guys have worked with everyone in the business. So, I learn a lot from them both musically and professionally. I look to some of them a lot for business questions, especially when it comes to folks reaching out to “help me” with their services.
Your music likely reflects your unique style and perspective. Could you describe your musical identity and what makes your sound stand out in a crowded industry?
I am pretty planted in Traditional Country music, but love all kinds of music. While you’ll mostly hear me play my own very neo-traditional music and classics, I will countrify music from other genres. I have a lot of fun with that. So, I think my identity and what makes me “stand-out” would be that deep planting in Traditional Country. I know where I fit and I will bend a song to me rather than bend myself to a song, and hopefully neither of us breaks.
What role does live performance play in your music career, and how do you approach planning and executing your live shows, especially in light of recent challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic?
I hadn’t played live before the pandemic for nearly 20 years, and I was under-age then. So, I can’t talk much to that, but I played a lot of virtual shows for the first year of the pandemic. Once things opened up a bit, I found a great bunch of guys to back me up, and we started playing live shows. I would say the people at live shows seem much more appreciative of live music.We always have a lot of fun!
Many fans are interested in the stories behind the songs. Could you share the backstory or inspiration behind one of your recent tracks that holds special meaning to you?
“Frog Eye Mud Bog” means a lot to me, because it comes from home. This is a place and an event that everyone loves. Turning it into a song that is a lot of fun reflects that event. People love it and those that have been to the Frog Eye Mud Bog tell me how much they love it. My sister and her boys used to go to this every year. She didn’t hear the song until it went to streaming platforms. When she told me that she loved it, that’s how I knew I’d gotten the song right.
Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations as an independent musician? Are there any upcoming projects or exciting developments in your career that you’d like to share with your fans and the audience?
Right now, it’s mostly touring. We’ve got shows all over the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. this summer and into the fall. I have written songs for another album, but need to sell more vinyls, CDs, and merch to get that off the ground. I’d love to being doing music full-time, and hope to get there in the near future. So, I hope folks follow, share, and purchase my music!
