01. Introducing…
Originally published June 26, 2024
For hobbies, I love gardening, cooking, spending time with my family, traveling, watching movies with my wife, listening to podcasts and audio books with my wife and ALL THINGS MUSIC!
As an independent recording artist myself, I love writing, composing, and recording my own music. I am a fan of all music; my taste is pretty diverse. In fact, there is no one genre I don’t like. To give you an idea of where my tastes land, some of my favorite artists are Radiohead (and all subsequent solo, side projects, compositions, etc) Bon Iver, Brandi Carlisle, Childish Gambino, The National, Foo Fighters, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Tones and I, Mother Mother, Quadeca , Kendrick Lamar, Lake Street Dive, The Teskey Brothers, etc. But there are certainly too many to name.
For full transparency, my social views tend to lean towards the liberal side of conversations, I am not a religious person but I have an extensive background with regards to studying religion- including working for non-profit religious organizations and studying religious philosophy in college. I am extremely objective and, though our views on some things may not align, I welcome ANY conversation about ANY topic.
My musical background: I started playing the classical violin at three years of age and singing on an amateur level at around ten years. My mother is a retired orchestra and chorus teacher and continues to teach violin, viola, cello, and guitar privately. She continues to play the cello privately and was the bass player for her jazz band in high school (bad ass!) My father was an avid traditional country music fan and has written one published song, “More Than Anything” by the Country Music Performer, TJ Nelson. My father passed away in 2019.
In 1993, my family moved from New Bern, North Carolina to Nashville, Tennessee. It took a few years for me adjust to my new home but I met a circle of friends in highschool that would motivate me to explore my passion for music. That passion is a big part of why I am the person I am today. From the late 90’s to 2010, I performed as a solo artist, in various bands and had the opportunity to play on the stage of legendary venues like Exit/In, Mercy Lounge, even the opportunity to play violin on stage at the Ryman Auditorium. I toured the East Coast and played/hosted a music festival. I’ve got to meet some legendary musicians, work with them, and hear so many stories.
As a recording artist, I have two EP’s, an LP, and three singles released to the public, through various streaming entities like Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, YouTube, and more. As an author, I’ve published one book, available in digital format, on Amazon.
Why a blog? Because I love music. I know there are thousands of musicians out there like me who don’t get to do this full time. Some of them may be trying to. Some of them may just need an artistic outlet, like I do. Maybe they’re struggling to get exposure. Maybe I can help. I want to post reviews of music released by independent artists that are working on networking their music through various social media platforms. I hope that it will be beneficial free publicity for them, a reference they can use to promote their music, and a constructive outlet to receive feedback on the work they’re doing. With that being said, thank you for taking the time to read and please come back to read some of the reviews I will be posting!
Good morning Jeff. I'm along for the ride! Thanks for what you do.
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