AUGUST 2023

 ABOUT

Dad played a mandolin, mom would sing in the kitchen
or in the garage if we were watching a thunderstorm.

The seed was planted.

I’ve played guitar all my life, never hitting pause.

I don’t gig.
I don't do crowds.
But I’ll grab an instrument and play
in an intimate setting with friends.

I have a recording studio in my home.
And I also have the box of my music cassette recordings
dating back to my childhood.

Upon retiring from decades as a 
short-form commercial songwriter and composer,
I finally started to take more time to explore my personal music.

And more time to watch thunderstorms.

No surprise.
More seeds.

STATS 

INSTRUMENTS:
Multi-instrumentalist,
although guitar, tenor guitar, mandolin, banjo (strings and frets) are my main instruments (4ths, 5ths, Nashville, & Irish tunings)
 
RECORDING STUDIO:
Protools 

MUSIC-SPECIFIC EDUCATION:
Berklee College of Music [Songwriting]
UNH Violin Craftsmanship Institute [Sound Optimization]
Decades of workshops, lessons and collaborations

MUSIC KUDOS:
Emmy Awards  [Music Composition / Original Music]
Billboard Music Awards [World Song Competition: Songwriter, Instrumental]
Telly Awards  [Original Music]
Davey Awards  [Original Music]
Others

Music placements on Networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, DISCOVERY, USA, NAT GEO, Hallmark, Weather Channel

CURRENT GENRE:
Contemporary Folk/Trad, Acoustic,
often with Celtic or Bluegrass nuance

CURRENT STYLE:
Instrumental or with vocals; mid-tempo;
reduced production with crispy acoustic attitude 

LYRICAL CONTENT:
A deep essay for another time,
but my past stories took inspiration from volunteer projects (homelessness, autism, developmentally-challenged, more than a decade as a big sister for Big Brothers/Big Sisters) and general observations of peoples' personal challenges ("Life Gets A Chance" and "Closed the Door" projects).

Current stories take cues from observations of all environments. Many are told without lyric content - such as the "Never Ends" project having taken vibes directly from the loons and owls I would hear nightly while sitting by the water. In this case, I was inspired to interpret their expressions through the warm tonal breath of cedar, mahogany, bamboo flutes with guitar, and performed with organic meter.

Really everything continues to be explored. 

RECENT BOOK:
The Creative Act, by Rick Ruben