When I first picked up a guitar it was Ozzy that I listened to the most and Randy Rhoads that really made me want to play. While I was significantly older and more mellow at this stage of life I had to track something that represented the Manic…

This track continued my throwback to the Ozzy/Sabbath phase of my musical life. I've heard that the track Paranoid was already used and so Paranoia it is. This track is off my 2017 release Six Strings & Sore Fingers.

A high school friend of mine was the person who tuned me on to the RPM Challenge and I'll be forever grateful. During the time I was writing songs for the challenge her beloved cat Purrcy passed away. There was no way I couldn't name a song…

The idea with this track was to have the bass lay down the foundational harmony while the guitar focused solely on the melody. The vibe that it gave me was essentially someone saying "back off me, I'm Untouchable." This was off my 2017 release…

Sometimes a song will just tell you what the name should be. I always feel good when that happens and when I name it and then listen to it again and the imagery matches the song I know it was right. This is off my 2017 release Six Strings &…

Well, my 3rd release was in 2018 again tied to the RPM Challenge. I wanted to play around with some fun tracks and let the MIDI speak again. My daughter had a beta fish named Algernon and since they have to live alone it seemed that Algernon…

This was my introduction to tracking a synth piece as a backer to accompany the bass while the guitar sang what was on its heart. Listening to this felt like a Dream State to me, so it had to be the name. This is off my 2018 release Words to…

You're near the end of the deadline and you've worked like crazy to complete the project but you need one last track to meet the requirements. When you get one completed that marks off the last box, it is absolutely the End Of The Storm. This…

What are you able to do? How do you find out? I believe when it comes to songwriting the best way is to Learn The Hard Way and that is to write, write, and write again. But don't throw anything away, record it all. This is from my 2018 release…

Parthenon was Algernon's brother, despite the fact that they could not share a tank. It was only fair that Parthenon get a song that was so opposite of his brother's song. So Algernon had all MIDI, this track has just the drums. This is off…

So this release could have been named Pet Names or something like that. Bentley was a new pet for our youngest daughter and so he needed a song. I called him Sir Bentley almost immediately, so it seemed fitting that he would have adventures…

For me any period of my life surrounded by uncertainty is immediately up near the worst times. That to me is the Certainty of Uncertainty. In that same vibe the uncertainty of where the next part of a song is going and it seems like each part…

The one truth to me about music is how it can take me from a pit of despair to a place of hope in such a short period of time. So when you sit down to write a song and let out whatever is in your heart at that time, you are truly The Optimist…

For me the goal of this songwriting and recording endeavor is to learn, to grow and to continue just enjoying the process. I share this so much with my students and explain that you'll pick apart every song you ever write and probably never feel…

This was actually the first track for my 2018 release Words To Live By and so the name just seemed appropriate as I was starting the RPM Challenge Games so to say. I tell students all the time they will never regret learning to play such a beautiful…

2020 thus far has been a year most of us would be glad to see end. In the midst of all the sadness and tragedy, I was able to celebrate February in a huge way with the RPM Challenge. The celebration is because about half of the songs were written…

This is one of the handful of tracks that were all mine from my collaborative 2020 release with my students Class In Session - The Strummer Games. It felt like a throwback tune for me so it was recalling Back In The Day.

So the ongoing goal for me in songwriting and recording is to play in different styles. This song was meant to capture a Latin vibe, so I researched chords and scales that would flavor it that way and then played around with percussion until…

This song was composed with one of my newer students David Robinson. We were just dipping our toes into the global pandemic so he had some fun with the name. It was his first time tracking any guitars so it was a lot of fun doing this one…

This track for me was a reflection of the progress in both my playing and producing. I'm still nowhere near where I ultimately want to be, but my progress makes me continue to push forward, and thus the Darkness Falls. This is from my 2020 collaborative…