I was on the verge of retiring about a month ago. I played a songwriter's showcase and absolutley blew....so I was gonna cop out and give up. But, recetently I've been doing some soul searching in my life and I've had a lot of time to think. The other day I decided to choose 12 of my best songs and get really good at them and just play those 12 songs whenever I play...instead of writing all the time and trying to perform the new songs. I feel that if I do this, I'll be more confident in trying to get gigs. I've let myself get sloppy, and I'm embarassed to play in pubic. The thought is, if I perfect the 12 I'll be able to play more shows...we'll see.

As for writing...I've been focusing a lot of my writing attention on Asphodel. I really like what we're doing and feel artisticly relieved after band practices...therefore, I don't have much of a desire to write for my solo stuff.

And I stopped looking for a back up band...I think I need my solo thing solo...

So fans (especially Robert), I'm not quitting...I'm just getting better.  I hope to be gigging strong by December.

Though it's a little bit late I've decided to recap my Applegate Park experience.

First of all thank you to all who came to watch me. And thanks for the tips $$$  

So it turned out to be really dark, but it was okay! I couldn't see anyone that well, but that was a good thing; I wasn't as nervous. I played a set and it lasted longer than I expected. I really liked the fact that there were no mics and no wires. I could just move around...even though I didn't move that much. I also liked the rawness of it. I felt really open and I think that made me perform more openly too...who knows? And I proved to myself I could play ALL my songs in the dark...kick ass!

I had a blast and I'm so happy that people came and I hope you all had fun too.

Maybe I'll do it again someday.

Leave me feedback on what you thought of it. Some of you already did and I thank you much.

Until next time!

I have been thinking a lot about the music scene in Merced. I feel very lucky to be a musician here. The location is not the best, but at least we aren't in some littel town in Oklahoma...we are only 4 or 5 hours away from Los Angeles. That is really awesome if you think about it.

 But that's not why I feel lucky to be a musician here. I feel lucky because we have a growing, bonding music community. We have awesome bands and musicians in this town and the surrounding towns. Everytime I go to a show and hear a band I like (which is usually always) I think about how awesome these musicians are and how grateful we all should be to have them here for us to see and listen to live and a cost of only 5 or 10 bucks.

I also feel lucky because everyone is so supportive of eachother. There are the few people who I hear talking about how lame this band or that band is, but for the most part everyone in the Merced music community is very supportive of eachother. I for one have made more of an effort recently to go see live shows of all types. I enjoy almost every show I go to (except for the red lite music, but they aren't local anyway...there are plenty of local bands that are much better). But yeah, all the bands here have something unique and inspiring.

So basically I want to say THANK YOU to the people of Merced who come to the shows and support the local music. You are what keeps me going and keeps me writing and keeps me alive. And thank you to the bands who bring this great music to this small, boring town.

Peace out!

Check out my lyrics. To access them you click on the word 'lyrics' under each song on my main page. I hope that explains where they are