In October, I had the privilege of appearing on a WFUV Radio show in Burlington. DJ Lea Jae interviewed me over the course of Thursday morning drive time, and I was able to play songs that I’ve written over the past 17 years and chat about my musical history.
TL;DR the full show can be downloaded here.
The music track list was:
Go For Better Love
Simple Charlie (Do the Crazy)
Wedding Song
Michael O’Brien
Looking For a Ride
Don’t Rain Today
Preparing for the show, which I originally booked in August, was two months of going through my entire song catalog, rediscovering and relearning songs, some of which I had not played in years. It was also about coming to terms with my music, and what it means to me.
There was a time in the years after college, where I wanted to be a professional musician rock star. I wanted to play in a band, make albums, go on tour, and all that happy jazz. That didn’t happen in the way I had childish dreams about. Instead, I became a singer/songwriter who has played in bands, recorded a few albums, and is happy singing with friends, writing songs with my musical buds, and playing out whenever I am able. My love language is “Hey, you should grab your guitar.”
I learned to sing as a kid, growing up in a supportive, musical family. I have always loved musical theatre, and was fortunate to experience live performances throughout my youth. I also was lucky to have great mentors and models.
I sang a cappella in college. It’s where I first found my voice, learned to harmonize, and experienced being in a band. It’s where I found my tribe, and the Derbies are the reason I return to Brown every few years to feed my nostalgia.
I first picked up a guitar in earnest when Kevin Bau lent me his Ovation® during my last year at Brown. I wrote my first songs with Isaac Hazard and Adam Werbach, hacking through grunge puppy chord progressions.
I went to Japan to sing with my college a cappella group, the Brown Derbies. We travelled across Japan, I got to climb Mt. Fuji, perform acoustic music at the Glass Onion club, and experience an incredible, unforgettable time.
I grew up musically, after college, busking in Suburban Station, in center city Philadelphia. I jammed with a motley bunch of musicians and singers who I encountered in the subterranean tunnels of Philly’s subway system. Then I met Jason Travers, and we jammed for a few years before performing out as ‘El Kabong’.
I reunited with Derby alums Aaron Presbrey and Isaac Hazard in San Francisco to form Simple Charlie. Soon after came Tim Muzzin on drums, and then Joe Agrillo on bass, and then Rafi Lago took over the skins for us. We wrote some of my favorite songs, by any artist. I hope someday to get back to the songwriting of ‘Last Bottle of Whiskey’ and ‘Starchild’. I left San Francisco right after recording my first solo album, Tunes from the Pomegranate, the name a barely hidden homage to the story of Persephone.
I went to New York and played solo for a while. I recorded Trick, my second album, in my bedroom in Port Chester. Played with my brother in a band called The Otherwise. Got a regular gig at the 12:31 Club on the East Side with an audition that included my cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Talking About a Revolution”. Recorded another CD, East, in a Williamsburg studio. Upgraded to a weekly show at an Italian Restaurant called Il Sogno in midtown. I played open mics and some live shows with all the amazing musicians I knew then, including Emile Menasche, Tommy De Martino, Ben Lempert, Tom Hickey, King Downing, Mike Argano, Alex Charalambides, and Mark Blackmon. I remember covering Black Sabbath’s War Pigs at the C Note on Halloween, with guitars playing through an amplifier hollowed out of a pumpkin.
I moved to Vermont in 2006, and didn’t play out for a long time. Bought a house, dug into my career, and started a family. I stopped using a guitar pick, and started finger styling. Eventually the itch to perform became persistent, and I began looking around for an outlet. King came up to Vermont a few times, and we played a few town parties in Chittenden County. I spent a few years in Root 7, an a cappella group, and rediscovered my voice. It’s a little scratchier, but hopefully it’s traded range for something else.
My coworker Jeff, a DJ at WRUV, started playing songs from East on his show. They did a review of the album. He helped set up the gig at WRUV with DJ Lea Jae.
And that’s what’s recorded here. I hope you like it. I know I loved doing it.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.