About Me
Music is why I’m here. Music and Peace. And Love. A near-death bout of appendicitis brought me to the path of music when I was 16, and I haven’t looked back since. As soon as that wood and steel was in my hands, I began writing songs, and within three months, I had a number of regular gigs at coffeehouses all over Northeast Ohio. After attending a Jewel concert, I decided music was what I wanted to do forever. Music is who I am. By the time my second CD came out in 2000, I was performing 100+ shows a year, and I had begun touring around the region. In most places I played, I found myself the youngest one in the room, especially in the venues I wasn’t even legally allowed into. When my 21st birthday rolled around, my 3rd CD was coming out, and I had jumped up to 200 shows a year. As 2011 clicks in, I just released my 10th official CD and tour coast- to-coast. In fact, my van (The Buffalo) and I are on the move someplace in the country more often than not. Nothing makes me happier than writing songs and singing them for people. Everything from house concerts to amphitheaters to charities to cafes to theaters are on my touring schedule.
The last few years, I have been in the midst of a spiritual and personal quest that lead me to the works of Gandhi, Tolstoy, and in turn, Martin Luther King. A new door opened inside me as I read about the work for nonviolence within and without. With a friend, I created the Akron Peace Project to spread nonviolence in the self, the home, and the community. It has made leaps and bounds in its short existence. Coupled with my Love Initiative movement, my music which is naturally very hopeful and optimistic has been able to lend its voice to the power we all have to change ourselves and the world.
