Here are some questions people have been asking me. I hope this answers them. If you have questions feel free to email me on here and I will do my best to get to them. Thanks!


1. How did you learn how to play guitar and do you play anything other then guitar? I grew up listening to My Dad (Arden Dawson), Willie Nelson, BJ Jones, Jimi Hendrix and many others. When I heard Hendrix it changed my life though! That wah wah on the first of Voodoo Chile caught my ear and when he dropped down on that low E into the groove I was hooked for life man! That’s when I knew that I was going to be an artist/musician one day. My rockstar Dad started me off with songs like “Wipeout” by The Surfaris and “Don’t come around here anymore” by Willie Nelson then I started picking up songs by ear. I did play trumpet in school and I play piano and really pick around anything else with strings. I try to learn different things all the time and I still take guitar lessons and vocal lessons. There is always room for development.

2. How old where you when you started playing guitar? I was like 14 or 15 years old when I started to really get into it. I use to jump up and down on my Dad’s guitar case when I was a wee lad, does that count? I think the string did rattle in that case. Sorry Dad! I still have that guitar and it is still broken but sounds like a jewel. Haha!

3. At what age did you start singing? Been singing my whole life. Grew up singing in church and Floy Lothman (Living Word Fellowship in Guymon, Oklahoma) really impacted me by the way she led worship at our church. Great presence and a great woman of the LORD! Her husband Leon Lothman who recently passed also impacted me in a great way too. I will love and miss him always! I also loved waking up and getting ready for school hearing my Mom sing and hum gospel songs, there is nothing like that sound, very angelic.

4. How and when did you know this was what you wanted to do? I’ve known I’ve wanted to do this since I was about 15 or so. Don’t know how. GOD just instills things in us that we cannot explain but it gives us a voice to speak out for good causes.

5. If I’m right you moved to Nashville in 2004 and what made you move there? You know I don’t know the exact date but I pretty sure you’re right. I’ve always wanted to be here but in the beginning and I’m sure this goes for everyone who moves here, but we all have in our minds that there are soooo many artists and writers there, nobody is going to pay attention to me or someone is going to be better then me or someone might not like my songs…..yadee yadee yada… Well the truth is there is always going to be someone different than you (not necessarily better) but there is never going to be another you. You only live once on earth so why not give it a shot and take a chance. I’ve had people tell me a song isn’t that good and then have the exact opposite reaction from somebody else. Who cares!!! Just go for it! Mark Chestnutt told me to move my you know what here years ago and that set a fire beneath me but I was always trying to please everyone else and didn’t do it. It also scared the you know what outta me. Haha! Some of the experiences that life throws at us or the experiences that we put ourselves through happened, I just decided to up and move after asking my Parents to pray about it, cause I respect their opinion, and they had peace about it and here I am today, living my dream! Nashville is very cool!

6 . When did you start songwriting? Which may I say you do so well!! Thank you much! I’ve written ever since I was a kid but I started writing real songs which were worship songs when I was going to youth group at my church back home.

7. Do you like songwriting or performing better? I like both equally, I like sharing my heart in a song and just hope it helps someone like it helps me by getting it out there.

8. What are you top 20 favorite songs?
1.) Jimi Hendrix- Voodoo Chile
2.) Bryan Adams- Everything I do
3.) Willie Nelson- Don’t get around much anymore
4.) Eastwest- She Cries
5.) The Cranberries- Linger 6.) Nine Inch Nails- Hurt
7.) Skillet- (The older I get, The thirst is taking over, A little more…too many Skillet songs to name
8.) U2- With or without you
9.) Dream Theater- Another Day
10.) Candlebox- Far behind
11.) Green Day- Basketcase 12.) Galactic Cowboys- Ranch on mars pt.2 (set me free)
13.) The Cure- Burn (off of the Crow soundtrack)
14.) The Ramones- (We want the airwaves and Beat on the brat)
15.) Modern English- Melt with you 16.) Gary Numan- Cars
17.) Simple Minds- Don’t you (Forget about me)
18.) Goo Goo Dolls- Iris
19.) Bobby Terry and Anthony Smith (anything by those doods!)
20.) Tantric- Mourning
21.) All Together Seperate- Paradigm
I’ll give you a few extra ones. There are so many to name! And……
22.) dirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..rrrrrrrrrrr drum roll from Christmas Vacation haha! I’d have to say Lincoln Brewster- What kind of man (Wow!!! What a guitar solo!!!!)

9. What are you favorite movies? The Passion of the CHRIST, Tommy Boy (ANYTHING WITH CHRIS IN IT!), CHRISTmas Vacation, School of Rock, Citizen Kane, Braveheart, Gladiator,The Crow (the 1st one), Please Be Kind Rewind, Jaws (ALL OF THEM NO MATTER HOW CHEESY SOME WERE), Dawn of the Dead, Blade, Happy Gilmore, The Sword in the Stone, A Goofy Movie, Labryinth, Team America, Office Space, The Dark Crystal, Emmet Otter’s Jugband CHRISTmas, Finding Nemo, Airheads, Pete’s Dragon, Bio-Dome, Gremlins, Critters, Teen Wolf, Little Monsters, Billy Madison, Pirates of the Caribbean, Resident Evil, The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Twister, Ghostbusters, The Notebook, The Matrix, Shrek, Silent Hill, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Dead Alive, Shaun of the Dead, Gran Torino, Zombieland, Ladyhawke, The Breakfast Club, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, McLintock! (anything with John Wayne in it) AND TOO MANY MORE TO NAME!

10. What are your favorite TV shows? The Simpsons, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, South Park, Looney Toons, Tim and Eric Awesome show, Crankyankers, Conan O’Brian, Oprah, Dr. Phil, MAD tv., The Office, Real Tv, SNL (CHRIS FARLEY ERA), Full House, Punk’d, Saved by the Bell, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Squidbillies, Korgoth of Barbaria, when I was a kid my favorite shows were: The Flying House, Voltron, Teen Wolf the cartoon, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K. and once again too many more to name!

11. Where are your top 10 favorite places to eat in the world?
1.) My Mom’s cooking is the best so no comparison there!

2.) Roberts Grill in El Reno, Oklahoma best burgers on the planet and conies too!! 300 South Bickford Ave (405) 262-1262

3.) Mr. Burger in Dumas, Texas
1517 S Dumas Ave (806) 935-4550

4.) Ted’s Café Escondido in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2836 NW 68th St (405) 848-8337

5.) Sundance Mexican Food Restaurant in Red River, New Mexico
401 High Street Red River (575) 754-2971
6.) Joey’s House of Pizza here in Brentwood, Tennessee
214 Ward Circle Suite 400 also one in Springhill, TN 404 Mclemore Ave (615) 661-0032 and (931) 489-5992

7.) Paula’s BBQ in Dumas, Texas 324 S Dumas Ave (806) 935-7425
8.) Neely’s BBQ here in Nashville, Tennessee 2292 Rosa L Parks Blvd (615) 251-8895

9.) By Pass Deli in Columbia, Tennessee
1323 S James Campbell Blvd (931) 381-9634 (just found this place, amazing burgers!)
10.) Dairy Delight in Springer, New Mexico
42 U S Hwy 56 (575) 483-2813
There are plenty of other delicious places but those are the one’s I thought of first

p.s. if you are ever in Texas or New Mexico and see an Allsups convenient store please pull over and go get a Tallsup Dr. Pepper and 2 beef and bean burritos, you will never regret it!!!!! Amazing! Try them with mustard I’ve had people tell me groooosssss! But once they try them they are hooked for life!

12. What are you favorite past times? Snowboarding, Boating, Cooking, Working out, Shopping preferably in stores haha, Fishing and I use to be really big into Sports Card Collecting oh yeah and eating Allsups burritos but didn’t I already mention that before “Oh yeah I did!” cause they are AWESOME!

13. Where is you favorite place in the world? Red River, New Mexico and hanging with my Family, hanging with good friends and last but not least hanging with my girlfriend!

14. What would be some advice for new songwriters and artist out there trying to break into the industy? I would just encourage them to keep on writing and singing and playing or whatever they do. A friend and co-writer of mine once said that he read a book that talked about the success of 10,000 hours. This goes for any line of work too. One example was they took 3 violinist from the same school and evaluated them. The violinist that practiced 4,000 hours went on to do nothing in music except for maybe playing as a hobby, the 2nd violinist practiced like 8,000 hours and went on to be a teacher of music at a school and the 3rd violinist that practiced for 10,000 hours went on to be a great performer. That is incredible! Also another friend and co-writer of mine says he’s bound to run across an amazing song after writing 100 songs. That is a lot of freaking tunes and he is an amazing writer, one of the best! Haha! So just keep on keeping on! I’ve had people tell me they don’t like a song and then others tell me it is one of their favorites so just take it as a grain of salt and sprinkle that salt on some steak and just enjoy what you do. Haha! If you don’t enjoy it find something else to do. Just have fun! Work on your craft like there is no tomorrow. Someone might tell you, you might not have what it takes but what do they know. There is only one you and you could pour out an amazing song that might touch a life or millions of lives all over the world. You never know what your song might do to a person. It might save a life, help get over a loved one leaving or passing away, take you back to a place you had forgot about, make you smile or just plain piss you off! Haha! That is what music is about. Anyways, that is what I’d say to people who wanna take a whack at the biz. GODspeed in it!