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Last Edit 5/24/2008 7:14 PM
Inspiration My music is inspired by the sum total of my life's experiences. But my true passion and purpose in life is found in the challenge of changing the world for humanity's most desperate children--children who are often forced to steal, sell their bodies and drugs to eat, and who typically must sleep in sewers beneath city streets. I believe that music must find its inspiration and empowerment beyond the music itself, and my music finds just that in my determination to make a difference for those who are helpless.
I am known for my emotive style and that's why--life is both a journey and a great challenge for me, and my music is a major part of it.. The two go hand-in-hand. I believe we must strive to avoid following cookie-cutter paths set by pop culture.. Such cloning is soulless and spells death to vision, making way for lifeless institutionalism. I believe that there is a real-life crossroads we come to as artists, where we must make that decision whether to remain true to our dreams or to sell our musical souls to the devil. Hopefully, I can inspire many other musicians and artists to do something truly great with their talents rather than settling for the fleeting, empty pursuit of personal fame and fortune. Together, I believe we can change the world.
While I have always been a musician, I chose not to follow the typical path of a musician. Instead I grasped whatever opportunity presented itself to expand my world. And I'm glad I did. Aside from being a musician, I've worked as a lumberjack and a sawyer, I raced motocross, I was a farmer, a counselor, a mechanic, a school bus driver, a heavy equipment operator, a teacher, a preacher, an independent, long-haul trucker and a published author. I've endured the heartache of divorce and rejection. I raised 2 great musician sons, and 2 wonderful step-daughters who have given me 3 grandkids so far. I've been rich and poor, healthy and left-for-dead. I've survived all the drugs of my hippie years and the whiskey of my redneck years. I found a Jesus who is the polar opposite of the one espoused by pop-Christendom. I've learned that mercy trumps judgment. I've learned to love the unlovable and care for the homeless and marginalized. I've learned what unconditional love is. I've been both and asshole and a saint, and some days I'm still not sure which one I am. And despite it all, I've somehow been blessed with the love of my life.
All this has led me to very diverse paths in my music. the blues,avant-garde jazz, hippie desert rock, outlaw country, progressive rock, gospel, R&B, classical romantic, big band swing, western swing, bluegrass, New Orleans, dixieland jazz, southern rock, folk, funk and jam band music all find their way into my big pot of Americana stew--and I wouldn't have it any other way.
For Fans Of Jesus, my wife and kids and grandkids, mom and dad, my brother, my dog, all my rowdy friends, cleveland indians, boston red sox, pittsburgh steelers, penn state nittany lions, the mount tabor project, merle haggard, waylon, willie, johnny cash, dale watson, bonnie raitt, taj mahal, buddy and julie miller, rich mullins, asleep at the wheel, george strait, bob wills, little feat, kansas, yes, oscar peterson, blind chitlin kahunas, frank wicher, short cummings and the jamcats, woody wolfe, new sweat, elp, allman brothers, marshall tucker, steelydan, jethro tull, hendrix, clapton, billy payne, jon cleary, billy preston, jimmy smith, keith emerson, new riders, the byrds, graham parsons, csn&y, the eagles, poco, flying burrito brothers, commander cody, weather report, vital information, string cheese incident, widespread panic, bb king, derek trucks, government mule, spock's beard, coco montoya, steel guitars, yamaha pianos, b3's, g&l stratocasters & telecasters, beard dobros, hippies, cowboys and girls, little warm puppies, children and girls of the night, homeless people, orphans, single moms and dads, victims of hate crimes, outcasts, gays, lesbians, long haul truckers, farmers, loggers, musicians, victims of racial, religious, sexual or ethnic intolerance, jokes that make fun of humanity, animals, religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual preferences, size of bodies or parts of anatomy, and hair color (because we're all messed up one way or another and we may as well laugh about it as fight, cry or hate, the challenges of life, rotary telephones, cheap gas, fitness walking, weight lifting, sleep, cowboy movies, leinenkeugel's, blue moon, troegs, amber bock (draft only), most micro brews, terrapin station's seafood chimmies, logan's wings, and most of all, unconditional love. Gosh, I know I left somebody or something out. If that was you, I'm sorry.
Record Label i hate putting labels on anything