When I set out on this journey of playing and promoting my music, one of my biggest concerns that I had was building my band.  Who would I call? Would they be committed?  How would the chemistry work with the group?  There were so many questions that couldn't be answered until I took the first step.  Due to my experiences in perfoming, I was also very concerned about the ability of the guys to express my music in a very effective way.  I started by calling Clay Wilson, one of the nicest guys that I know.  Clay played some of my music at AHS when we had talent shows.  So, I knew that he was a solid guitar player, but more than that, I knew that he was a good guy that I could count on.  I also called Orlando Johnson to play percussion for us.  Orlando is also a terrific person who is very talented and he played our first three gigs with us. Orlando took a job that required him to work late in the evenings and he was unable to continue on with us.  When I got ready to produce my songs live, I knew that the most important element to my music was the harmonies.  I think because of my background in harmony and great music growing up, that my music is automatically built for harmonies.  So, the best person that I knew to contact was another one of my former students at AHS named Damian Faul.  Damian is a super person with a nice voice and a great personality.  Damian joined us before the CD Release and has been with us since.  So, at the Cd Release, we were four strong with myself, Damian, Clay and Orlando.  When Orlando took his new job, I called one of my good friends Lance Stevens to see if he would sit in with us for one of our Garrison's gigs.  Lance has been with us ever since.  Lance brings an artistic element to our group that accents my taste in music. He and I spend time talking about the purest music on the earth.....americana folk!  Lance's presence in our band has really brought a diversity in our music selection.  If you watch Lance at one of our gigs, you may see him playing the congas, bongos, djembes or shaking seashells or playing harmonica while shaking what looks like an over-grown zukini squash. I know that is not what it is called Lance, but it does look like one!  Shortly after Lance joined us, it became obvious that we were going to need a drummer to play a set to fill in the gaps.  Todd Hayden, who is my cousin, had been talking with me through email about my music.  Todd expressed a lot of interest in my music and was very complimentary of the Directions project.  Through email, I began to tell Todd that I really needed a full time drummer.  He took some time to consider the decision and then he dove in head first.  Todd is an incredible guy with a passion and zeal for his art like nobody I have ever seen before.  Todd is definitely the guy you would want to count on to walk over the hill in battle.  Todd practices intensly and takes every aspect of my music seriously.  So, now the band is me, Clay, Damian, Lance and Todd.  We have played four gigs with the whole band together and I am very pleased. We grow each week and get tighter and tighter.  At this point, I am searching for a bass player to complete our band for now.  We have a really full sound but I think the bass will top it off.  I am very proud of my group and I really like the chemistry that we have in rehearsals and performances.  The most important thing for me is for all of the guys to have a great time and enjoy the music. I am looking forward to a lot of great shows with these guys.  I hope you get the opportunity to come out, meet the band and hear us at one of our gigs in the future.

Someone once said that "A songwriter is always writing a song".  Sorry, I don’t know who said it but I figure it had to be a good songwriter because nothing could be more accurate. This saying has turned out to describe my life each day.  While I very seldom get to be in solitude with nature or in some inspirational acoustic setting (like at the baby grand), I find myself constantly thinking of ideas or concepts while I work.  I usually start with music that I work on for days and days before ever putting an idea or a concept to it.  Music drives my writing and leads me to the right idea for each song.  Once I discover the perfect topic for the song that fits the music, then I spend weeks developing ideas, terminlogy and background information on the topic.  For instance, right now, I am working on a song for the next project.  This song uses water and sailing as imagery to describe the feeling and messsage of the song.  For weeks now, I have been working on this topic and developing ideas.  During Spring Break, I will retreat and finish this song.  I am writing a song in tribute to my grandfather who just made 90.  I have been working on this song for six months because I am so concerned with the perfect words and getting it right. Through experience, I have learned that it is better to develop ideas over time and work on adding to the topic each day. It is like fine wine and it can not be rushed.  I have sat down before and rushed myself to finish a song in a restricted time frame but I have never been pleased with the result.  In fact, I believe that rushing the ideas and the lyrics does the music a great injustice.  After all, I will not write another song with the same rhythms or sounds again, so I feel a great deal of pressure to make the most of it. 

The perfect setting for writing is vital!  If I had my druthers, I would take a wooden chair and table on the bank of a lake with a slight breeze and a little overcast sky.  I am very much inspired by nature and I believe that I was intended to live on a beach or on a lake.  My perfect days are when I can rise early with a good coffee and my guitar in the perfect setting with no deadlines.  I wrote Long Time Coming in five hours.  However, that was an exception because the lyrics just jumped out at me and it was not one that I had to work on for weeks.  Dignity took me two weeks on and off to develop the whole thing.  The creative process to writing a song is very unpredictable.  In my songs, I strive for meaning and a direct purpose that is sometimes hidden in the lyrics. I have always had a real appreciation for artists like Jackson Browne whose lyrics are deeper and more complex.  I try to write songs that bring that element of complexity to the table.  I am now halfway through with writing for the next project which I will record in June.  I hope to finish two more tunes for the project next week!  I will hope for great weather,  a good coffee, my guitar, a legal pad and a full day to put my heart and soul into the songs.