Remember my single "(My) Heart's in Your Bag"? I just found out that it is one of the finalists chosen in the 2022 Great American Song Contest! Now, I didn't *win* but I'm feeling like a winner right now. (Do you remember when "Ocean Floor" made the finals in 2019?)

Snippet of a new song. This is a new kind of vulnerable for me. Maybe it'll resonate with you too.

"There is too much. Let me sum up."

Let's just say a lot has happened. I'm sure that's true for you too. After all, we're all living in a different world now, right?

I have two children and live with my incredible girlfriend and two delightful cats. That's Xena (Furrier Princess) in the picture.

In a few days it will be two years since my mom died, just before the pandemic. It took several trips to Florida but my dad and I managed to sell my childhood home and get him moved here, half a mile from me. It…

I finally took an hour to take off my blinders to recognize that the amazing drummer, Marshall Biever, is actually an even better guitarist for another band called Manic Pixi. Until now, I have ignored this fact for my own selfish reasons and due to being honest-to-God busy.. 

A week ago Manic Pixi released their second album, Iron Heart, and only when the link was *right* in front of my face did I bother to click. Oh, the regret. I could have been a fan for YEARS. The album is ridiculously cohesive…

Decade by decade, our definition of happiness evolves. Our image of liberty changes. And people are discovering how far they can go in the pursuit of happiness.
For some, happiness is having a job and providing for their families. For others, it means being acknowledged. Heard. Listened to.

This Fourth of July, I was angry. It's hard to celebrate the hard-fought freedom of our independence when our country is so divided. Our beautiful [2022 edit: flawed] Constitution, like the Bible, is held aloft, glorified.…

It happens to the best of us. We’re writing the next great song, and Oops! A cliche slips out. One of these things happens next:

A) We don’t notice it.

B) We think, “Well, it sounds good, so I’ll keep it.”

C) We notice it, then forget to change it/get used to it the way it is.

D) Actually fix it.

Most of us are probably guilty of A through C. But it’s never too late!

Now, you may be asking, “How do I know if something is cliche?”

• Have you heard it done before?

• Could…

Whether we admit it or not, music exists to serve a need. We may write for ourselves, but if we want strangers to listen, we must address that need. No one needs to hear you croon about your latest breakup, but maybe someone with a broken heart needs to hear his own feelings through music.

Why do you listen to music?

• To relax

• To fall asleep

• To wake up

• To study/work to

• To party

• To dance

• To feel

• To…

I have always had a belly. Since my pre-teen years, what little fat I had was collected in my middle. As I got older, it got more prominent. Regardless of diet and exercise (even when I was going to the gym 4 times a week), my middle was always the largest part of me. People I knew would say, "You know, if you worked on your tummy you'd be really hot." People I didn't know would ask, "Are you pregnant?" or, my favorite, "When are you due?"

I never saw anyone on TV or in movies that had my shape. Even in…