I was born and raised in the hills of Central Oregon, and moved seven times while I was growing up because of changing family dynamics. I’m currently living in Los Angeles and working as a film and TV editor, sound designer, and songwriter. Prior to LA I lived in Nashville for four years to pursue songwriting full-time with a publishing company. My passion for songwriting brought me to Nashville, but a girl brought me to LA. I regret leaving Nashville and songwriting for someone else, and not staying for myself. That relationship has since ended, and I’m in the process of finding myself and my love for songwriting again
I discovered my love for music at a young age through my family’s record collection. The voices of Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Otis Redding, Cat Stevens, and Neil Young filled my living room. I played drums in church as a kid, then picked up a guitar when I was 16 to start writing songs. I began experimenting across genres and eventually found my niche—having a pure focus on the final product: a great song, regardless of genre.
My uncle is a songwriter and is the first person who inspired me to play and write. I grew up sitting next to my mom on the piano, listening to her play for hours. My great grandfather was a violin maker and a conductor with the Portland symphony. My grandmother's older brother played live piano for the movie theaters in the early 1900s, and my 3rd cousin Elmer wrote the song Elmer's Tune in the 1920s and sold it when he was drunk at a piano bar in Chicago. Writing songs is in my blood and is the only thing I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.
To be honest, when I was young, songwriting was something that flowed effortlessly and seemed like it could happen overnight. But after several years, the reality and rejection of the music industry has made it harder to flow like it used to. The same passion is still there, and now that I’m older I feel like I have more to say. More pain and life experiences on my hard drive. I have more soul and feeling in my writing than I’ve ever had.
My songwriting process often begins with one idea—a melody, a chord progression, or a title. A nugget of inspiration. I’ve always thought of songwriting as finding your way with your eyes closed, walking in the dark, using your senses to feel your way for what feels right. When it’s right you feel deep emotions, and you just know that you’re onto something special.
One of my favorite aspects of songwriting is the collaboration. Having zero ego and accepting anything and everything that other artists want to try. Letting the song go where it wants to go. Songwriters are a channel that pull songs into the ethos, and the best songwriters let songs flow through them.
I love writing country for the storytelling and cleverness that has to come through as authentic. I love writing pop music because of the diversity in melodies and the creative room to be more abstract with the lyrics and melody. With that being said, if the melody (the lifeblood of a song) can translate to any genre, it will be a great song. That diversity and timelessness is something I’m always striving for.
I’ve written over 500 songs to date. My biggest musical accomplishment was getting signed to Madison House Inc and touring with artists that I admired and looked up to. I was lucky enough to share venues with names like Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, The Dead, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Butler Trio Brett Dennen and more. My songs have featured songwriters and studio musicians like Dean Butterworth (The Used, Good Charlotte, Ben Harper), Steve Brewster (Dierks Bentley, Jewel, Faith Hill), Adam Topol (Jack Johnson), Chris Joyner (Jason Mraz, Ray Lamontagne, Amos Lee), Jeff King (Johnny Cash, Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire), Blair Masters (Jerrod Niemann, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow) and more.