I moved from Minnesota out to Los Angeles and I thought I was going to hate it out there, but I really like it.
I’m not a fast, stream-of-consciousness lyricist at all – I know some guys who are, and if there is one skill I wish I had, it’s that.
Apparently, there’s this whole set of disgruntled people but obviously it’s not my intention to offend anyone by changing the style of music that I’ve done.
Yeah, touring can get rough some times and draining, but I always have to pinch myself and realize that I’m doing what I love.
I’ve probably gone a month or two without playing guitar, just because I’ve gotten so burnt on it touring all year or whatever.
During a big rock show, you can flub a few things and nobody will hear it, because it gets buried under everything else.
Probably my favorite artists to listen to James Taylor, Stevie Wonder – I haven’t gone back in a really long time and really listened to them – my first guitar influences. It’s been awhile since I revisited that.
My dad used to play drums in a country band, and my mom is an incredible singer.
My parents had a huge pile of records – vinyl! – that I loved, especially the Motown stuff, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding.
With the style of music that I do, I don’t think it’s at the top of their agenda to push me into doing any compromising material.
Who I am musically I hope will just keep changing and changing.
When you get just that right audience and just that right sound on stage and you can just sit back and kinda just let it happen and it’s not really any work. I love those moments. Nothing can beat that for me.
Well, people who are blues purist types are usually the most vocal and the ones that pop up on the websites.
Well, I got married about two and a half years ago, and that’s been a big change in my life.
Sometimes I’ll get a burst when I write lyrics, it usually happens in 20 minutes and I’ll write the whole song, and that’s really the only way it feels comfortable.
Some of my influences are black gospel artists so I definitely want to do a soul-gospel type thing.
Right, yeah, you know, my favorite thing just globally about music is just hopefully I’m able to be, you know, blessing the people in any way that I can.
Right now I really enjoy writing songs.
My passion is for playing music and although everyone needs a break sometimes just to keep things interesting and fresh, there’s no way I would ever give that up.
When I began my career, I was constantly referred to as the kid who could play the blues.
I think you have to know exactly what you want. Whether you want to be a guitar player or a musician, you have to be really focused on it if you really want to do it.