HomeGrown

Music has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. I used to have a vinyl record player back in the early days (and I thought it was state-of-the-art) and I used to play Neil Young all the time. The albums I loved most were Harvest and Harvest Moon, and I played the heck out of those LP’s. His lyrics always fascinated me at the emotive qualities they had whilst being so plainly simple. He has remained my greatest influence, that’s where a lot of this current “Homegrown Project” stems from. Then there were the years in my hometown where we had the Cruise Night festivals. It was such a joy to get to meet all those musicians and see what they can do. Almost single handedly made me want to be a musician. Of course, cooler heads prevailed and I ended up studying to be a mathematician. Big jump from “guitar hero”, no?

I have been a working musician for six years, playing mainly small venues and private parties, also for family and friends. I’ve also done various music workshops, including one guest spot on invitation of Literature Professor Olivia Castellano of Sac State University (who also performed at the Woodland Opera House…long time ago) for a poetry and music interpretation workshop (about 200 people at that class). There has been so much I’ve had to learn, and much left to learn, but as it turns out I’ve got a lot of determination. I’m currently producing and working on my own album of original material which will debut October of this year. On top of being a guitarist, I’ve played and learned to play all the instruments on the album (drums, harmonicas, bass, keyboards, spoons, and the kitchen sink). I’ve also composed everything and wrote all lyrics, as well as mixing and mastering everything. Much of that album is about experiences in my life and the life of my ancestors in Texas, and there are even some about my hometown, Woodland (there is one track called “City of Trees”). It’s been a long road, but it’s invaluable experience to have, and I would love to support my town through the arts and through performing, and to give back to my community.