Who Am I?

I posit myself in this world in the role of a sponge. My main goal has always been absorption; always searching for a new experience or a new perspective. In a non academic sense I consider myself to be a student of the world, constantly searching for some new facet of life to explore. My primary passion thus far in my life has been music. I come from a music household, taking most of my influence and insight from my father. He was the one who introduced me to the drums and all the possibilities that exist for the instrument. His stories of touring the world and seeing the highs and lows of the industry have guided me and led me to seek out my own experiences, using his failures as lessons. Since my father was the gateway into music, I have tried to forge my own road beyond his experiences to seek out my own. The baseline of knowledge and ideas that he laid out for me provided a stable exoskeleton to fill in the blanks where I see fit. We often have discussions and disagreements about musical topics and it delights me to see that I am not just a carbon copy of my father; thought the similarities are still evident.

Growing up, hearing the autobiographical tales my father would tell of being a traveling musician always inspired me to seek out my own adventures. I try to push myself out of my comfort zone an try new things when the opportunity strikes. One way in which I have found that is the use of networking in a musical/ art community. Working with different styles of musician and different people gave my playing most versatility and allowed me to form strong relationships within the community. Above all I play music for a basic hedonistic catharsis. Though it can sometimes be a tool for money or popularity I had the thought set at a young age to play the way I wanted to and the play what I wanted to. Do not mistake this for selfishness or some ego driven search for gratification. I play music to enrich my life, and I think many other could say the same. Every week, every gig that happens bring a new experience and a new side to music. It forces you to evolve in order to better connect with people. Even the worst gig can be the best because it taught you something about yourself and it keeps you in a state of imperfection. How boring would it be to be perfect? I don’t think perfection exists, at least not in the rational mind of music. If you are no longer willing to learn and improve then you are lost. I seek to live in the moment and take it one gig at a time.

Thinking about the future has a way of bringing everyone down, or at least dampening the fire of youth that I think should be fanned for as long as possible. I seek to give people what I get from music. There is no worry at a show. Escapism is the primary goal; for a few hours you can be surrounded by people who all want to forget whats going on outside the walls of the show. A show is a place where young people, and frankly anyone, can be unabashedly themselves. There is a common purpose that is shared between he performers and the audience; a kind of symbiosis. There is true unity through live music and a way of bringing artists together to be involved with something greater than the sum of its parts.