Singer, songwriter, guitar player originally from Illinois, now living in Virginia. He is a Navy Veteran and Boot Campaign Veteran Ambassador who has written a song for the TV show, "Sons of Anarchy." He has opened for notable artists including Cheap Trick, 38 Special, and Florida Georgia Line. His most recent album has made a handful of Billboard charts, including No. 11 in country album sales and he talks here about his next album, which he is working on. He blends traditional country and Americana music with southern rock and rock 'n' roll to bring you a new but familiar sound.
"I try to write songs that are now my experiences, but people can relate to them."
"As I'm growing as an artist and as a musician and as a songwriter, I want now it to be more meaningful to not only me, but I want to hit people in their emotions and let them feel what I'm feeling."
"For anybody that's up and coming... don't chase the carrot. I feel like game shows... like The Voice and America's Got Talent and American Idol... what's happening is that it's almost like instant fame."
"Why I think a lot of these older bands, the legends (made it)... is because they struggled and they paid their dues. They made a connection with the audiences because they played to two to three people in the audience... There is an education... that happens when you are paying your dues."
"What I feel has happened in the music industry is it's lost its depth. It's lost its meaning. It's become a formula."
"Social media is a necessary thing to promote, however, I just feel like nowadays that's the go-to. Like, a career now is being an Instagram model or an influencer or a YouTube god."
"If you're up and coming, what companies tend to look for are people that are out there, because they want to see you working, because if you're not out there how can you promote their stuff?"
"There's songs that come and you can write 'em in two minutes and those are the best songs sometimes. And then there are songs that tend to take a little bit more time. But, anybody that's coming up, write. Write, write, write, write, write. If it's cheesy, it's cheesy. But at least you wrote something... But write from the heart, don't write what's out there... If you're writing songs that are today, you're already behind."
"Come Back to Me"
"Deep South Symphony"
Bonus audio content with Brian Grilli