About

Kansas is flat. That is well known.
But I think being from the Sunflower State taught me that looking up was the best way to stay alive.
Maybe that is because looking ahead always felt like looking behind, or just more of the same.

I do not think I will ever stop trying to reach new heights.
Looking up, to me, has always meant looking into the unknown.
Sometimes toward something good.
Sometimes into something that hurts.

Most of what I have learned has come from reaching for things I did not fully understand.
But that is the part I have come to appreciate, the not knowing.

The older I get, the more I realize that back then, I thought the blues was mostly about solos.
I kind of saw lyrics as a shortcut.
I mean, you write one line, repeat it, write another, and you have got most of the song done right there.
Do that three times and you are good.

But looking back, I think I was always more lyrically focused than I gave myself credit for.
Maybe it is because I liked the challenge, trying to explain what you are feeling, or experiencing, or just watching go by.
Turning that into words is a strange job.
But it is an interesting one.

You know, when you teach someone something, you usually end up learning more about it yourself.
You figure out how to explain something that used to be foreign or complicated, and suddenly it makes sense.
You understand it from the inside out.

I think that is what songwriting is to me.
I am always trying to understand myself.
And with enough reps, I get closer.
Or maybe I just find another door.
Honestly, I do not always know.

If you have got questions or something to say, throw it in the Q and A section.
I like hearing people’s stories.
I think what I really love is just relating to people.

But one thing always holds up, people relate to honesty.
I still catch myself sometimes trying to write a song for something, a purpose, a goal, whatever.
But every time I come back to just being honest, the song works.
Even if it is about something simple.
Even if it is not all that interesting on the surface.
Honesty, ironically, sells the song, and it does it without selling yourself.

My music now?
I mean, half the time it is a mix of chaos and curiosity.
I like pushing things, sonically, emotionally, whatever.
I like blending textures that do not usually go together.
That is fun for me.
Seeing what works.
Learning what clearly does not.
And sometimes being surprised.

That is one of the beautiful aspects about music.
You can argue with anyone about anything and be just as much argued against.
The truth is, neither one of you is wrong.
You just have to know it.