When I think about the journey on which we embarked in 2011 with this music thing, I realize that what it really all comes down to is sharing. As mediocre a guitar player as I am, I've been playing for 5 years but it wasn't until I started getting the opportunity to play for a true audience that it started to feel like I was doing something that mattered. I could sit around the house and learn songs to play to an empty room until I was blue in the face, but it just seemed tiresome. Now it feels like every show is another chance to make a new connection and maybe make a difference to someone. In the interest of making more connections and trying something new, I thought 2012 would be a good time to start sharing more online, so I've decided to start this blog.
There's still a lot of work to do as far as taking our music to the next level, and so much of what we do has been shaped by our friends, fans, and collaborators along the way. So what next step could possibly be better than sharing more of what we're doing and why we're doing it? I'd like to use this blog to talk about the music that's influenced me as well as our own music and that of fellow musicians in the area. Eventually I'll be writing entries that talk about the stories behind some of my songs, and I also hope to share info about the album we may or may not get around to making in the coming months. It seems like I've built up quite a catalog of original music, so it's going to be very interesting to see which songs make it onto the first record to tell the best story possible. It's definitely not a task that we're taking lightly.
I've also been thinking a lot lately about how to define our music. It's not something I like to do personally, but it gets tough when you're trying to book a venue and they need something to put down in black and white. East Texas can be a tough place to find work as a musician if you don't fall into specific categories, but I continue to be inspired by the groups out there that I see pushing the envelope and refusing to fit the stereotypes. For months I only played in gigs with my dad and we seem to have developed our own distinctive sound. It's something I'm really proud to be a part of because I think we're unique in what we do. But I've also noticed that my sound does change when I play solo shows. It's been nice to collaborate in different groups as well - I've had the chance to stretch my heavier "rock" chops playing in Reconstructed with my friends Walker Waggonner and Paula Coots, and in recent weeks it's been a lot of fun to go unplugged for jam sessions at the Purple Pig doing some harmony-heavy Americana tunes. So what kind of music do I play? I still don't know and I still don't care, because it's all just rock and roll.
Hopefully in coming months I'll be able to populate this space with a few more entries of substance, but, until then, welcome to the blog!
Great blog!
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