I got my first guitar when I was 13 years old. I was having an open heart surgery and would have to miss a bunch of school, so my mom got it for me as something I could learn in my downtime - and I never put it down. My uncle taught me my first chords. He was living with us at the time and we'd stay up until 4am sometimes playing. When I was 17, he brought me to a guitar circle at a place called Cafe Bohemia in Plano, TX. I was the youngest there by far and I didn't think they liked the songs I played... but on the way out, the owner gave me her card and invited me to play there. It was an hour and half from home and it didn't pay, but it was an opportunity to spread my wings - I had some absolutely brutal sets in that cafe, but it gave me a safe place to fail 'till I learned to fly a little.
My home town is pretty small... we had a pizza joint and a Mexican restaurant. I went to both of them and asked if I could play a night for free - that if all went well, maybe we could talk about pay. Those became my first paying gigs and before I knew it, I was able to quit my restaurant job and call myself a "full-time musician." I was playing 5... 7... sometimes 9 gigs a week. None of them paid much, but added up, it was pretty good for 18-19 years old. I was starting to grow a fan base and have regulars at my shows. It was one of the coolest times of my life.
One day, I saw an ad for a songwriting competition at a bar called The Blue Light in Dallas. It had 3 rounds and then a final. I hadn't written many songs at that point, but I decided to give it a shot. I was pretty damn crushed when I didn't make the finals, but they told me I could come back the next week and try again. I wrote songs every day that week. I missed the finals again, but they said I could come back a third time and give it another go. I don't think it was my songs... I think they just saw a kid with a little bit of talent who could take the hits and keep coming back. That whole week I all but locked myself in my room and wrote until it was time for the final round. I think I even finished a song in the green room of the venue. And it got me to the finals! ... and then I lost again. By that point, I didn't even care about losing. I had found this community of songwriters that played every Monday night and genuinely cared about one another. Along with having a place to grow and learn, I made friends that I still have today.
A show I played in Las Colinas, TX filmed and uploaded the set to their socials... A couple weeks later, I got an email from a casting producer with American Idol asking if I had any interest in auditioning. Truth be told, I was hesitant. I didn't know how some of the singer-songwriter purists would take it, and I'd never done anything with television before. Ultimately, I ended up doing the show! My first audition was in Waco, TX, then Nashville, TN, and finally Sunriver, OR in front of the celebrity judges. I made the show and got past Hollywood week to the round in Hawaii. I was cut just before the top 20, but I had the experience of a lifetime. I'm a small-town kid who got to spend a week in LA and the Disney resort in Hawaii. It was an experience I'll never forget.
After I was cut from American Idol, I met a guy named Scott who invited me to Nashville. He helped me get on a songwriting round called the Music Row Freakshow. Again, I went up on stage with a few songs I thought were special, and... crickets. Except for one guy in the back of the room named Blue. He came up to me and told me he loved my songs and would love to write with me. He told me about all these people he'd written songs for and he made me feel so seen and believed in. Scott told me afterwards that if I could just commit to coming one week a month, it would help get my foot in the door. I came up as often as I could for probably six months - until one day Blue said he had a room available for rent. Without even thinking about it, I said yes. I knew if I didn't right then, it could be years before I made it happen.
I moved to Nashville in November of 2021, smack dab in the middle of COVID and I haven't looked back. Since then, not only have I gotten to play all across the US - but also Denmark, Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Jamaica... it's changed my life. I spent most of my life feeling like the kid at lunch who didn't know which table to sit at, but Nashville became my lunch table. It's this place where everybody is chasing the same thing... on their own and away from their family, but trying to make a new family along the way. I've become a full time songwriter, writing for not only my own project, but for other artists as well.
As a writer, I recently got word of my first official cut by an artist named Bryan Martin. I've had a couple songs on hold by artists before, but this is the first time someone has put it on their record. It's been such a blessing - my first taste of earning money from songs that I helped create. And this year, I've had the opportunity to make my first studio project. Seeing the best of the songs I've written over the past couple of years come to life... it's been so special. It's one thing to hear something the day you write it, or on an acoustic guitar, but to hear it come to life with a band in the studio is like nothing I've ever experienced. The project is five songs and set to come out at the end of 2023. I can't wait to share it with everyone!
I got my first guitar when I was 13 years old. I was having an open heart surgery and would have to miss a bunch of school, so my mom got it for me as something I could learn in my downtime - and I never put it down. My uncle taught me my first chords. He was living with us at the time and we'd stay up until 4am sometimes playing. When I was 17, he brought me to a guitar circle at a place called Cafe Bohemia in Plano, TX. I was the youngest there by far and I didn't think they liked the songs I played... but on the way out, the owner gave me her card and invited me to play there. It was an hour and half from home and it didn't pay, but it was an opportunity to spread my wings - I had some absolutely brutal sets in that cafe, but it gave me a safe place to fail 'till I learned to fly a little.
My home town is pretty small... we had a pizza joint and a Mexican restaurant. I went to both of them and asked if I could play a night for free - that if all went well, maybe we could talk about pay. Those became my first paying gigs and before I knew it, I was able to quit my restaurant job and call myself a "full-time musician." I was playing 5... 7... sometimes 9 gigs a week. None of them paid much, but added up, it was pretty good for 18-19 years old. I was starting to grow a fan base and have regulars at my shows. It was one of the coolest times of my life.
One day, I saw an ad for a songwriting competition at a bar called The Blue Light in Dallas. It had 3 rounds and then a final. I hadn't written many songs at that point, but I decided to give it a shot. I was pretty damn crushed when I didn't make the finals, but they told me I could come back the next week and try again. I wrote songs every day that week. I missed the finals again, but they said I could come back a third time and give it another go. I don't think it was my songs... I think they just saw a kid with a little bit of talent who could take the hits and keep coming back. That whole week I all but locked myself in my room and wrote until it was time for the final round. I think I even finished a song in the green room of the venue. And it got me to the finals! ... and then I lost again. By that point, I didn't even care about losing. I had found this community of songwriters that played every Monday night and genuinely cared about one another. Along with having a place to grow and learn, I made friends that I still have today.
A show I played in Las Colinas, TX filmed and uploaded the set to their socials... A couple weeks later, I got an email from a casting producer with American Idol asking if I had any interest in auditioning. Truth be told, I was hesitant. I didn't know how some of the singer-songwriter purists would take it, and I'd never done anything with television before. Ultimately, I ended up doing the show! My first audition was in Waco, TX, then Nashville, TN, and finally Sunriver, OR in front of the celebrity judges. I made the show and got past Hollywood week to the round in Hawaii. I was cut just before the top 20, but I had the experience of a lifetime. I'm a small-town kid who got to spend a week in LA and the Disney resort in Hawaii. It was an experience I'll never forget.
After I was cut from American Idol, I met a guy named Scott who invited me to Nashville. He helped me get on a songwriting round called the Music Row Freakshow. Again, I went up on stage with a few songs I thought were special, and... crickets. Except for one guy in the back of the room named Blue. He came up to me and told me he loved my songs and would love to write with me. He told me about all these people he'd written songs for and he made me feel so seen and believed in. Scott told me afterwards that if I could just commit to coming one week a month, it would help get my foot in the door. I came up as often as I could for probably six months - until one day Blue said he had a room available for rent. Without even thinking about it, I said yes. I knew if I didn't right then, it could be years before I made it happen.
I moved to Nashville in November of 2021, smack dab in the middle of COVID and I haven't looked back. Since then, not only have I gotten to play all across the US - but also Denmark, Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Jamaica... it's changed my life. I spent most of my life feeling like the kid at lunch who didn't know which table to sit at, but Nashville became my lunch table. It's this place where everybody is chasing the same thing... on their own and away from their family, but trying to make a new family along the way. I've become a full time songwriter, writing for not only my own project, but for other artists as well.
As a writer, I recently got word of my first official cut by an artist named Bryan Martin. I've had a couple songs on hold by artists before, but this is the first time someone has put it on their record. It's been such a blessing - my first taste of earning money from songs that I helped create. And this year, I've had the opportunity to make my first studio project. Seeing the best of the songs I've written over the past couple of years come to life... it's been so special. It's one thing to hear something the day you write it, or on an acoustic guitar, but to hear it come to life with a band in the studio is like nothing I've ever experienced. The project is five songs and set to come out at the end of 2023. I can't wait to share it with everyone!
I got my first guitar when I was 13 years old. I was having an open heart surgery and would have to miss a bunch of school, so my mom got it for me as something I could learn in my downtime - and I never put it down. My uncle taught me my first chords. He was living with us at the time and we'd stay up until 4am sometimes playing. When I was 17, he brought me to a guitar circle at a place called Cafe Bohemia in Plano, TX. I was the youngest there by far and I didn't think they liked the songs I played... but on the way out, the owner gave me her card and invited me to play there. It was an hour and half from home and it didn't pay, but it was an opportunity to spread my wings - I had some absolutely brutal sets in that cafe, but it gave me a safe place to fail 'till I learned to fly a little.
My home town is pretty small... we had a pizza joint and a Mexican restaurant. I went to both of them and asked if I could play a night for free - that if all went well, maybe we could talk about pay. Those became my first paying gigs and before I knew it, I was able to quit my restaurant job and call myself a "full-time musician." I was playing 5... 7... sometimes 9 gigs a week. None of them paid much, but added up, it was pretty good for 18-19 years old. I was starting to grow a fan base and have regulars at my shows. It was one of the coolest times of my life.
One day, I saw an ad for a songwriting competition at a bar called The Blue Light in Dallas. It had 3 rounds and then a final. I hadn't written many songs at that point, but I decided to give it a shot. I was pretty damn crushed when I didn't make the finals, but they told me I could come back the next week and try again. I wrote songs every day that week. I missed the finals again, but they said I could come back a third time and give it another go. I don't think it was my songs... I think they just saw a kid with a little bit of talent who could take the hits and keep coming back. That whole week I all but locked myself in my room and wrote until it was time for the final round. I think I even finished a song in the green room of the venue. And it got me to the finals! ... and then I lost again. By that point, I didn't even care about losing. I had found this community of songwriters that played every Monday night and genuinely cared about one another. Along with having a place to grow and learn, I made friends that I still have today.
A show I played in Las Colinas, TX filmed and uploaded the set to their socials... A couple weeks later, I got an email from a casting producer with American Idol asking if I had any interest in auditioning. Truth be told, I was hesitant. I didn't know how some of the singer-songwriter purists would take it, and I'd never done anything with television before. Ultimately, I ended up doing the show! My first audition was in Waco, TX, then Nashville, TN, and finally Sunriver, OR in front of the celebrity judges. I made the show and got past Hollywood week to the round in Hawaii. I was cut just before the top 20, but I had the experience of a lifetime. I'm a small-town kid who got to spend a week in LA and the Disney resort in Hawaii. It was an experience I'll never forget.
After I was cut from American Idol, I met a guy named Scott who invited me to Nashville. He helped me get on a songwriting round called the Music Row Freakshow. Again, I went up on stage with a few songs I thought were special, and... crickets. Except for one guy in the back of the room named Blue. He came up to me and told me he loved my songs and would love to write with me. He told me about all these people he'd written songs for and he made me feel so seen and believed in. Scott told me afterwards that if I could just commit to coming one week a month, it would help get my foot in the door. I came up as often as I could for probably six months - until one day Blue said he had a room available for rent. Without even thinking about it, I said yes. I knew if I didn't right then, it could be years before I made it happen.
I moved to Nashville in November of 2021, smack dab in the middle of COVID and I haven't looked back. Since then, not only have I gotten to play all across the US - but also Denmark, Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Jamaica... it's changed my life. I spent most of my life feeling like the kid at lunch who didn't know which table to sit at, but Nashville became my lunch table. It's this place where everybody is chasing the same thing... on their own and away from their family, but trying to make a new family along the way. I've become a full time songwriter, writing for not only my own project, but for other artists as well.
As a writer, I recently got word of my first official cut by an artist named Bryan Martin. I've had a couple songs on hold by artists before, but this is the first time someone has put it on their record. It's been such a blessing - my first taste of earning money from songs that I helped create. And this year, I've had the opportunity to make my first studio project. Seeing the best of the songs I've written over the past couple of years come to life... it's been so special. It's one thing to hear something the day you write it, or on an acoustic guitar, but to hear it come to life with a band in the studio is like nothing I've ever experienced. The project is five songs and set to come out at the end of 2023. I can't wait to share it with everyone!
I'm still writing my story... bear with me, it's been a long road!
I'm still writing my story... bear with me, it's been a long road!
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