Q: Can you talk about musical background?
A: I started seriously learning to play guitar in high school to turn the lyrics I was writing in my notebook during class into songs. Steve Van Zandt would be proud to know my public school music education gave me a good foundation for teaching myself how to play. Over the years, I continued to play and write songs, but living in a more rural area made it difficult to find people with a similar musical vision to play with and bring the songs to life. Eventually, advances in recording technology and learning to play more instruments a bit made it possible for me to do things at home that once required a studio. Now I’m regularly working on new recording projects and playing solo acoustic versions of my songs at local venues.
Q: What are some of the themes and concepts on your album Lifetime on I-79?
A: A central theme of the songs on “Lifetime on I-79” is reckoning with the past and seeing it as a lesson to learn from rather than a burdened to be carried. Previously I wrote in more general terms, but these songs mostly tell more concrete stories and many are autobiographical, such as the title track, “Ontario,” and “Sunnyside Blues.” I wanted to look my own past in the eye and find a better way forward, and I hope others can listen to these songs and do the same.
Similarly, another central theme is taking a hard look at the times we are living through and trying to find a better way. This is true of “Between the Moon and Stars” and “People Are the Problem.” Though these songs address big topics, I tried to do so in a more intimate way that shows how major events impact individual lives.
I brought both of these thematic concepts together in “Fine Day,” which is why it closes the album. The world is a tough place, life is hard, and people and things we love pass away. But life persists, and so does hope. We can often rediscover hope by looking back at our guiding principles and the things that sparked our dreams, even if those dreams haven’t come true.
Q: Can you talk about your creative process? Did you approach change from Over the Street Lights to the Stars to Lifetime on I-79?
A: I set out to make this album more stripped down than my past efforts to better suit the more intimate songs. “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen is my all-time favorite album and I have a natural inclination to favor big, dramatic arrangements. With a couple of exceptions, I actively tried to avoid that on this album and used “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty and “Nebraska” by Bruce as my guides.
While I am extremely proud of the songs themselves on “Over the Street Lights,” a big part of that album was also me trying to accomplish new and different sounds in the recording process, such as the Middle Eastern textures of “Exile” and electronic industrial rhythm of “Unspeakable.” This album is all about the songs and I wanted to make the arrangements simple and more direct. I got a new Taylor acoustic last fall, and I found it very inspiring for writing songs in that vein. I wrote and recorded most of the songs on this album with that guitar, and using it helped establish a very different feel than “Over the Street Lights.”
Q: What was the recording process like for the album?
A: The recording process for the album was very simple. I usually had a defined vision for each song before I started recording, and it was just a matter of how to bring that vision to life. I wrote all these songs with the intent that they would all work if you just stripped it down to vocals and acoustic guitar, so I would begin by laying down the main acoustic rhythm track. I’d experiment with different guitars and microphone placements until I got a sound I liked, and I built the rest of the arrangements around that. I used some additional percussion elements to add to the atmosphere as well. Sometimes the process took me to unexpected places, which is always exciting. This was true for “Mountain’s Majesty” in particular.
Since I was consciously trying to make most of the songs as simple and direct as possible, I tried to come up with interesting acoustic guitar parts that didn’t rely on a lot of orchestration. For example, I resisted the urge to make “Fine Day” a more grandiose production to end the album. I was pleased with leaving it more stripped down and letting the spirit of the song speak more organically, and I think that approached worked very well.
Q: Is there anything you hope people take with them when they listen to your music?
A: I hope people are able to listen to the album and see something of themselves in the songs. Our stories may not be identical, but we all experience dashed hopes, disappointments, and the weariness that comes with the passage of time and living through these days . Despite this, we can make a better way, both for ourselves individually and our world. I hope people listen to this album and understand the pain and heartache while still feeling a spark of hope for the future
Q: What other things should we know about the music? Any live shows we should know about?
A: In the near future, I plan to play solo acoustic shows in my home state of West Virginia. I’m also working on turning the songs of “Lifetime on I-79” into a combination of a musical and narrative performance, inspired by “Springsteen on Broadway.” I’m still working on it, but I hope to have that show ready to perform in the coming months to share this album in an interesting live setting. These songs tell stories, and I am interested in turning them into a compelling music narrative for audiences.
A: I started seriously learning to play guitar in high school to turn the lyrics I was writing in my notebook during class into songs. Steve Van Zandt would be proud to know my public school music education gave me a good foundation for teaching myself how to play. Over the years, I continued to play and write songs, but living in a more rural area made it difficult to find people with a similar musical vision to play with and bring the songs to life. Eventually, advances in recording technology and learning to play more instruments a bit made it possible for me to do things at home that once required a studio. Now I’m regularly working on new recording projects and playing solo acoustic versions of my songs at local venues.
Q: What are some of the themes and concepts on your album Lifetime on I-79?
A: A central theme of the songs on “Lifetime on I-79” is reckoning with the past and seeing it as a lesson to learn from rather than a burdened to be carried. Previously I wrote in more general terms, but these songs mostly tell more concrete stories and many are autobiographical, such as the title track, “Ontario,” and “Sunnyside Blues.” I wanted to look my own past in the eye and find a better way forward, and I hope others can listen to these songs and do the same.
Similarly, another central theme is taking a hard look at the times we are living through and trying to find a better way. This is true of “Between the Moon and Stars” and “People Are the Problem.” Though these songs address big topics, I tried to do so in a more intimate way that shows how major events impact individual lives.
I brought both of these thematic concepts together in “Fine Day,” which is why it closes the album. The world is a tough place, life is hard, and people and things we love pass away. But life persists, and so does hope. We can often rediscover hope by looking back at our guiding principles and the things that sparked our dreams, even if those dreams haven’t come true.
Q: Can you talk about your creative process? Did you approach change from Over the Street Lights to the Stars to Lifetime on I-79?
A: I set out to make this album more stripped down than my past efforts to better suit the more intimate songs. “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen is my all-time favorite album and I have a natural inclination to favor big, dramatic arrangements. With a couple of exceptions, I actively tried to avoid that on this album and used “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty and “Nebraska” by Bruce as my guides.
While I am extremely proud of the songs themselves on “Over the Street Lights,” a big part of that album was also me trying to accomplish new and different sounds in the recording process, such as the Middle Eastern textures of “Exile” and electronic industrial rhythm of “Unspeakable.” This album is all about the songs and I wanted to make the arrangements simple and more direct. I got a new Taylor acoustic last fall, and I found it very inspiring for writing songs in that vein. I wrote and recorded most of the songs on this album with that guitar, and using it helped establish a very different feel than “Over the Street Lights.”
Q: What was the recording process like for the album?
A: The recording process for the album was very simple. I usually had a defined vision for each song before I started recording, and it was just a matter of how to bring that vision to life. I wrote all these songs with the intent that they would all work if you just stripped it down to vocals and acoustic guitar, so I would begin by laying down the main acoustic rhythm track. I’d experiment with different guitars and microphone placements until I got a sound I liked, and I built the rest of the arrangements around that. I used some additional percussion elements to add to the atmosphere as well. Sometimes the process took me to unexpected places, which is always exciting. This was true for “Mountain’s Majesty” in particular.
Since I was consciously trying to make most of the songs as simple and direct as possible, I tried to come up with interesting acoustic guitar parts that didn’t rely on a lot of orchestration. For example, I resisted the urge to make “Fine Day” a more grandiose production to end the album. I was pleased with leaving it more stripped down and letting the spirit of the song speak more organically, and I think that approached worked very well.
Q: Is there anything you hope people take with them when they listen to your music?
A: I hope people are able to listen to the album and see something of themselves in the songs. Our stories may not be identical, but we all experience dashed hopes, disappointments, and the weariness that comes with the passage of time and living through these days . Despite this, we can make a better way, both for ourselves individually and our world. I hope people listen to this album and understand the pain and heartache while still feeling a spark of hope for the future
Q: What other things should we know about the music? Any live shows we should know about?
A: In the near future, I plan to play solo acoustic shows in my home state of West Virginia. I’m also working on turning the songs of “Lifetime on I-79” into a combination of a musical and narrative performance, inspired by “Springsteen on Broadway.” I’m still working on it, but I hope to have that show ready to perform in the coming months to share this album in an interesting live setting. These songs tell stories, and I am interested in turning them into a compelling music narrative for audiences.