I bought my first guitar in 2001 and learned my first few chords from my friend Alan Clark.  The first song I ever wrote was about a patient.  I find songwriting an interesting escape but have always been drawn to true experiences as inspiration.  I haven't had much interest or luck in just trying to make up things to sing about.  I think that authenticity can be heard in most of the songs.

 

The growth of my songwriting has been direclty related to the encouragement of several close friends.  However, its easy to put too much confidence in folks that  just aren't that objective.  So, In the spring of 05, I entered some songs in a "play for publishers" contest and was invited to Austin for a weekend of doing just that.  That went well, and I was invited to Nashville in October of 05.  All in all, I think it was a great experience.  That being said, the most important revelation was how glad I was that I wasn't trying to make a living in music.  "Commercial" seems to be the word everyone works to hear.  I just like writing the songs my way (most are decidedly non-commercial).

 

The BLACKLAND project got started through encouragement from the same groups of friends but really is a result of my collaborative efforts with John Kent.  John, being steeped in the alt-rock world, was able to bring a whole new piont of view to the music.  Although I wrote all the songs, his producing skills really helped the songs to find their true sound.  I honestly could not be more happy or proud of the way the record turned out.